{"id":286028,"date":"2026-04-25T22:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T22:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/286028\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T22:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T22:04:18","slug":"where-to-eat-sleep-and-shop-in-ojai-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/286028\/","title":{"rendered":"Where to Eat, Sleep and Shop in Ojai, California"},"content":{"rendered":"

T\u2019s monthly travel series, Flocking To<\/a>, highlights places you might already have on your wish list, sharing tips from frequent visitors and locals alike. Sign up here<\/a> to find us in your inbox once a month, along with our weekly roundup of cultural recommendations, monthly beauty guides and the latest stories from our print issues. Have a question? You can always reach us at tmagazine@nytimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ojai, Calif., a laid-back town at the base of the Topatopa Mountains, some 15 miles from the sea, has long been a year-round destination for Angelenos (the larger city lies about 80 miles to the southeast), but it\u2019s most compelling in spring, when the air is fragrant with citrus \u2014 the area\u2019s fruit orchards specialize in the Pixie, a seedless tangerine \u2014 and the farmer\u2019s markets are flush with strawberries, cherries and artichokes. It\u2019s also when warmer temperatures start making the swimming holes scattered around Los Padres National Forest, just north and west of town, especially enticing.<\/p>\n

The region\u2019s Chumash people were the first recorded inhabitants of the valley (the name Ojai comes from the word \u2018awha\u2019y, meaning \u201cmoon\u201d), followed by Spanish missionaries and Mexican cattle ranchers. In the late 1800s, easy access to nature helped establish the town as a wellness destination, and by the 1920s, it became something of a spiritual center after the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti moved there to lead an order of the Theosophist Society; he later opened his own foundation and school in Ojai.<\/p>\n

The area also grew into a creative hub, as artists moved in (among them the ceramist Beatrice Wood<\/a>, who arrived in 1948) and musicians like the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky spent time in Ojai in the late 1940s and \u201950s to participate in its still<\/a> ongoing music festival<\/a>. Hollywood stars made the trip to the Ojai Valley Inn, which expanded into a resort in 1947, attached to an 18-hole golf course.<\/p>\n

Lately, Ojai (population 7,500) has seen a new influx of creative people along with the opening of new businesses, most notably the nine-month-old Hotel El Roblar, where the interiors of a 1919 building have been refreshed with early California d\u00e9cor and two Aldabra giant tortoises roam the lawn. (One of the property\u2019s co-owners, Eric Goode, also runs the Turtle Conservancy<\/a>, which is headquartered in Ojai.) Flyers posted outside a restaurant on East Ojai Avenue, the main drag, advertise \u201cThe Artist\u2019s Way\u201d classes, a reiki sound bath, a feminine radiance retreat, an introduction to Buddhism and a youth hiking club. \u201cFor such a tiny place, you have a high density of artists and creative folks,\u201d says the ceramist Ren von Hasseln, who moved to Ojai in 2018, \u201cand that continues to build upon itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Insiders<\/p>\n

Shiny Chan, a former stylist, moved to Ojai from Los Angeles seven years ago. She opened the restaurant Ojai Noodle House with her husband in 2023, and founded the clothing and home goods shop Inyun Collective in 2024.<\/p>\n

The filmmaker, hotelier and conservationist Eric Goode first lived in Ojai as a child in the 1960s. Since 1989, he\u2019s split his time between Ojai and New York.<\/p>\n

Saw Naing is the executive chef of the Dutchess, a cafe and Burmese restaurant, and the chef and a co-owner of the barbecue restaurant Joplin\u2019s. He\u2019s lived in Ojai since 2021.<\/p>\n

Ren von Hasseln founded her ceramics business after she moved from Los Angeles to Ojai in 2018.<\/p>\n

Illustrations by Richard Pedaline<\/p>\n

\u201cKenny Osehan, the owner of the Shelter Social Club hotels, is kind of a genius. There\u2019s a lot of homogeneity in Southern California design; it\u2019s a lot of off-white on off-white that can get a little mundane. Each of the Shelter Social Club hotels [there are three in Ojai including the Capri] is unique. My favorite is the Ojai Rancho Inn<\/a>, where the bed frames are made of burly logs and perforated pendant lights by Heather Levine cast cozy shadows. At the bar, Chief\u2019s Peak, they have a wall of personal mugs for locals and regular visitors. There are only 60 spots so it\u2019s a coveted thing.\u201d From $200 a night \u2014 Ren von Hasseln<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Capri<\/a> <\/a>Hotel<\/a> is a really cozy, affordable spot with a deep pool that\u2019s surrounded by palm trees. The d\u00e9cor is simple but stylish. It\u2019s walking distance from downtown, too.\u201d From $270 a night \u2014 Saw Naing<\/p>\n

\u201cHotel<\/a> <\/a>El Roblar<\/a>, the new hotel from Eric Goode, who\u2019s also behind the Bowery in New York, has a similarly cool environment. It has a cute lounge, Condor Bar, which serves great tacos and cocktails. I like the Best Friend, a mezcal drink.\u201d From $480 a night \u2014 Shiny Chan<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a game changer to have Rory\u2019s Place<\/a> [which opened in 2022] in Ojai. I love the owners [the sisters Rory and Meave McAuliffe]. They do a lot of good salads, and a great roast chicken, too.\u201d \u201cGo to Taco Roma<\/a> for Mexico City-style tacos and a displaced downtown New York vibe. They grind corn from Oaxaca to make the tortillas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBoccali\u2019s<\/a> has been there forever, and it\u2019s so charming, an old board-and-batten Italian joint. It\u2019s a classic fun place to go sit outside with a beer at sunset. Eat the tomato salad when it\u2019s in season.\u201d \u2014 Eric Goode<\/p>\n

\u201cI eat at Pinyon<\/a> almost every day [it\u2019s closed Tuesday and Wednesday] because it\u2019s so close to the store. Their wood-fired pizza is delicious, but for lunch, I love the turkey sandwich with \u2018the works,\u2019 which refers to the pickled veggies [giardiniera] \u2014 onions, cauliflower, etc. \u2014 that enhance the meat in all the right ways.\u201d \u2014 S.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cRory\u2019s Other Place<\/a> has excellent coffee and baked goods, plus little French bistro sandwiches and breakfast burritos. I always get the veggie breakfast burrito, which comes with peppers, potatoes and lots of cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dutchess<\/a> is Burmese-Indian-California fusion. It has amazing bakery offerings during the day and a great bar menu in the evening, along with dinner. I love the Lucky Devil, which is a spicy, smoky mezcal cocktail. For dessert, they have a doughnut made with rice flour that\u2019s light and not supersweet.\u201d \u2014 R.V.H.<\/p>\n

\u201cOjai Noodle House<\/a> is a Vietnamese spot in Meiners Oaks [a community just west of Ojai]. I go at least a couple times a week, and I get the classic pho that comes with sliced short rib and rare flank steak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHip Vgn<\/a> is one of the first places I ate in Ojai, and I still go there on my days off. I like the ashram bowl with brown rice and curried lentils, toasted cashews and serrano chiles.\u201d \u2014 S.N.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve found everything from wonky ceramics to vintage afghans to T-shirts at Violet\u2019s Pink Thrift<\/a>. It\u2019s well-curated but also not overpriced. [The owner, Vicki Violet] has a really good eye.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBart\u2019s Books<\/a> is a bookstore that\u2019s mostly outdoors, which is its claim to fame. It kind of tells you everything you need to know about Ojai, because there\u2019s no system to protect the books from theft or the elements. I also love that it was once a residential house, so the cookbooks are in what used to be the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInyun Collective<\/a> sells clothing, like one-of-a-kind deadstock pieces from the Brooklyn label Thank You Have a Good Day, along with some small home goods and design objects, such as Hilary Walsh\u2019s bulbous ceramics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOjai Olive Oil Company<\/a>\u2019<\/a>s tasting room is in this lovely olive grove. They have a Pixie-infused olive oil that can be a dressing all by itself.\u201d \u2014 R.V.H.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlue<\/a> has home goods; light, flowy clothes; and an apothecary. I go there a lot for gifts, like Flamingo Estate\u2019s tomato-scented candle.\u201d \u2014 S.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Hotel El Roblar, I bought almost all the art in the rooms and public spaces from California Auctioneers<\/a>, this family-run auction house in Casitas Springs, a tiny town south of Ojai. I\u2019ve been buying from them for over 20 years. They have an auction every few months, almost always on a Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI also bought a lot from Early California Antiques<\/a>. The owner, Eric Berg, used to have a store on State Street in Santa Barbara, and now he has everything stored in this industrial park in Oxnard. You can\u2019t make a shopping list, because you\u2019ll come upon something you never imagined you\u2019d buy, like incredible Mexican candelabra and 1930s ceramic planters. He also has a concession on Ojai Avenue right across the street from Hotel El Roblar.\u201d \u2014 E.G.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend Lou Mora, who\u2019s a photographer, just made a tiny gallery that\u2019s the size of a mailbox called Ojai Micro Gallery<\/a>. It\u2019s located outside of Three Birds coffee shop. He only shows miniatures, but he takes shots of the interior that make it look like it\u2019s a full-size gallery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trail I do daily goes up Signal Street to the Pratt Trailhead<\/a> in Los Padres National Forest. I also love the hike that starts at the Oso Trailhead<\/a> and crosses the Ventura River. The views of the mountains in Los Padres, looking west toward Santa Barbara, are so beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a farmers\u2019 market<\/a> across two parking lots on East Matilija Street every Sunday. I go for flowers and veggies and Mom\u2019s garlic spread. In the spring, you have to get strawberries.\u201d \u2014 R.V.H.<\/p>\n

\u201cI go up Shelf Road to this hike called Luci\u2019s Trail<\/a>. It goes up and around the mountain, and it\u2019s epic. You get to see all of Ojai and sometimes, when it\u2019s clear, you can see over to the ocean, too.\u201d \u2014 S.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are amazing swimming holes in the Sespe watershed<\/a> within Los Padres National Forest. The last California condors were collected [to be saved from extinction] from the back country behind the Ojai Valley in the 1980s. For hiking, I recommend Rose Valley<\/a>. It\u2019s a great place to find coast horned lizards, which prefer sandy areas, where they bury themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Santa Barbara [a 45-minute drive away], you have to go to Lotusland<\/a>. An eccentric opera singer named Ganna Walska amassed this collection of palms, cactuses, cycads \u2014 all kinds of amazing plants. And she did this Warholian thing where she wouldn\u2019t just plant one, she\u2019d have 50 of the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid Berger recently reopened the Ojai Playhouse<\/a> across the street from El Roblar, and we\u2019ve done events together. It\u2019s a one-screen theater that was built in 1914 but had been closed for years before David took it over. The concession sells popcorn and Milk Duds but also locally made pie and espresso made with David Lynch\u2019s old machine.\u201d \u2014 E.G.<\/p>\n

E<\/p>\n

Ella Riley-Adams<\/p>\n

Social Media Editor for T Magazine<\/p>\n

I first visited Ojai in 2018. When I returned in February to report this piece, it was clear that it\u2019s become more popular, and flush with restaurants. At the same time, I was interested to find out how the town has taken steps to preserve its character. Short-term rentals are illegal and, a few years ago, the city council tightened its ban on chain businesses, ruling that shops with more than five locations would not be allowed to open in Ojai (the previous limit was ten).<\/p>\n

Read all comments<\/a><\/p>\n

These interviews have been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n