The New Century City

If you grew up on the Westside of Los Angeles as I did, when you go back to visit you will notice massive changes.  The most recent is Century City and the surrounding area.  I spent a few days in LA visiting children, grandchildren and my mom recently, and wanted to check out the changes on Santa Monica Blvd.

First, there's a new luxury hotel in town, the Waldorf Astoria.  It's next to the Beverly Hilton.  We parked on Santa Monica Blvd, right in front of Starbucks, and walked a few steps to the Waldorf Astoria.  It is a lovely hotel, but I can't say I was wowed.  It's elegant, sleek, not overdone at all.  I hear the rooms run around $1,000 per night!  They expect to draw a foreign crowd to this hotel, people that are in town to shop in Beverly Hills and Century City.  Because of this, the entire Century City Mall has been expanded and redone, and it is a real show stopper.

Macy's is gorgeous.  It's spacious, with lots of employees to help, all friendly and knowledgeable.  Bloomingdale's has been updated, and it's very classy.  There will ultimately be over 100 stores and boutiques, all very upscale.  And restaurants.  Big, beautiful restaurants like Javier's have not opened yet, but will soon.  Eatly is almost ready to open.  This is the brain child of Mario Batalli et al, with food to go and high end restaurants, gelato stand and lots of Italian imported items.  I can't wait to go back after it's open.  Then there are lots of smaller restaurants, and a food court.  The Shake Shack is wildly popular.  We ate lunch at Obica, and Italian restaurant right next to the Shake Shack.  I had one of the best lunches I've had in a long time.  It's part mozzarella bar, part pizza restaurant, part tapas.  Mom and I ordered a most delicious burrata plate, with arugula, olives and tomatoes and delicious burrata.  Then we had an eggplant casserole, my favorite, mixed with marcona almonds, pine nuts and raisins.  Finally, we ordered prosciutto and melon.  A simple, delicious meal, that I'm still thinking about.

The negatives?  Parking!  You don't know where you are or where to park.  I guess it's just a matter of getting to know the mall.  Validations.  Right now, Gelson's validates with any purchase, and Bloomingdale's validates with a $100 purchase.  They've got to change this, or they will lose customers.  There is no central place for food, other than the upstairs food court, which is being redone.  Restaurants are scattered throughout, so you have to use the map and do a lot of walking.  There will soon be several poke restaurants, several ramen restaurants, among other casual restaurants like Chipotle and Shake Shack.

We had a great  day, but it will take multiple visits to Century City to figure out where everything that you want is located.  If you are a past visitor to Century City or a first timer, you won't want to miss the new Century City shopping center.  It is beautiful.