Photos from Getty/Mister Freedom/Desert Spot 5/American Beauty
Stomping Grounds invites some of the buzziest personalities in today’s cultural zeitgeist to share their favorite places to spend time in their hometowns.
He may have called himself a Los Angeles resident since 2018, but Dylan Efron still loves finding new ways to see his city—especially if it’s on a skateboard. “LA has a ton of skateparks, but I like using it as a way to explore a neighborhood,” says the television star and Traitors winner. “The Venice boardwalk is great for skateboarding, obviously, but I always love skating through Hollywood, especially along the Walk of Fame because it’s such a weird vibe. It almost feels like a video game.”
That said, Efron doesn’t have much time to ollie across the city’s icons at the moment, as he trains and rehearses for Dancing With the Stars. “I’m rehearsing a minimum of four hours every day, although usually more because I had zero dance experience going into it,” he says. “There are no days off right now.” Downtime means squeezing in his favorite LA rituals when he can, whether it’s finding quiet mornings to jump into the Pacific Ocean, grabbing a breakfast burrito and matcha Americano (“I just need to stay hydrated”) at Dialog Cafe, or doing a spot of vintage shopping at Mister Freedom in West Hollywood, where you can “pick up anything off the rack and you know it’s going to be cool.”
A vintage jacket on display at West Hollywood’s Mister Freedom
Below, Efron guides us through his personal Los Angeles—from his favorite country-themed dance floor to the popular beach where he likes to free dive among kelp forests.
Tell us about your favorite neighborhood.
It’s got to be what I generalize as South Bay, where I live. It’s close to LAX, which is huge for me, and you have Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Marina Del Rey right there. It even spans all the way down to Palos Verdes, which is such a gorgeous stretch of beach. It doesn’t really feel like you’re stuck in the city here, even though you’re 30 minutes to an hour away from everything. It’s just a peaceful, beautiful place. Well, I wouldn’t say that Venice is peaceful, but it’s very fun. I love walking down the boardwalk, which is basically like being in a carnival. But then once you cross over into Marina del Rey and onto Manhattan and Hermosa Beach, it’s completely different. A lot of families, a lot of people walking their dogs, including myself—I love to walk my German Shepherd, Boey, there.
Palos Verdes, which Efron loves for its “gorgeous stretch of beach”
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What’s your go-to breakfast?
The brisket verde breakfast burrito at Dialog Café
Courtesy of Dialog Café
In Hermosa Beach there’s this place called Baran’s 2239. It’s a fine dining kind of restaurant, but on the weekends they make these breakfast burritos that are insane. I think they are some of the best tasting breakfast burritos out there. I also love the burritos at at Dialog Cafe—it’s actually one of my favorite spots in LA—and usually pair it with a matcha Americano (I love coffee, but it dehydrates me). Lastly, there’s also Brother’s Burritos—there’s a few of them—that’s more of your post-surf, post-volleyball kind of spot. It’s pretty affordable and they make them fast. I keep my order simple: avocado, bacon, eggs, and no cheese. I never want my burrito to become all cheese.
You’re rehearsing non-stop for Dancing With the Stars right now. Where do you grab a bite nearby?
Recently I’ve been going to The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker in West Hollywood. I usually order the chicken wrap, although it’s really for the sweet potato fries on the side, which are baked with this delicious ranch dressing seasoning on them. I’m trying to eat a lot of healthy starches for Dancing With Stars, so I’ve probably gone back for those fries about 20 times since the show started. There are no days off right now, and none of us are going out late at the moment—or at least, we’re not supposed to say we are! But we have been grabbing meals after the show every now and then. Koi Sushi is a good place for that. Last time it was me, my dance partner Danny [Karagach], my girlfriend Courtney, Danielle Fishel and her husband, Jensen [Karp], and Pasha [Pashkov].
When you are staying out late, where are you hanging out?
I’m definitely more of a homebody at night, but I do love going out to the bar Desert 5 Spot. It’s kind of a country bar, and it’s a place to go when you want to dance. They have live bands and sometimes cover singers; the music is a lot of country, but there are also early 2000s throwbacks. Plus, there is this huge disco ball in the shape of a [cowboy] boot above the dance floor. Closer to home, in South Bay, I like to get to Abbot Kinney in Venice around sunset—there are plenty of bars to hop in and out of, and lots of food trucks. I always stop at the one selling patacones, or fried green plantains.
Inside the bar area at Desert 5 Spot, where Efron likes to go for a dance
Courtesy of Desert 5 Spot
What about date spots?
As much as I love LA, I don’t love going to super fancy dinners. I’ve never really liked that. If you want really fresh seafood, Fishing With Dynamite in the South Bay is awesome—we go there a couple times a year. Then there is this little place called Captain Kidd’s in Redondo that I always take Courtney to. It has a Southern fish fry type of vibe. I’m talking about the kind of restaurant with those paper mats for you to crack the shellfish on. You show up and order at the counter. Half the space is a local fish market, half of it is a restaurant. The fish is incredibly fresh. I always get the same thing: two fish tacos and a couple of sides for like 13 bucks. It’s one of those rare places in LA where you can get a full dinner for [that cheap], and it’s also such a cool setting, right on the water. It’s our date night spot for when we feel like celebrating nothing.
Where—and how—do you like to get outdoors?
Malibu Creek State Park is home to numerous hiking trails and “incredible rock climbing spots,” says Efron.
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Malibu Canyon Creek made me want to move out to Malibu, just to be closer to its hiking trails. There are incredible rock climbing spots that you have to hike a mile or two to reach, as well as incredible ocean views while you’re trail running. There is also Griffith Park, which I used to live near; I like to take pride in myself, at least, thinking that I’ve done every single trail there. It’s all gorgeous, though, so you can’t really go wrong with whichever one you choose. The park goes all the way from the Hollywood side over into the Burbank side, and you can ride bikes everywhere. People don’t realize how big Griffith Park is. It’s bigger than Central Park!
A view of Griffith Park
Getty Images
And I love to jump in the water and free dive—there’s some of the most incredible diving in the world here in California. It’s a little cold, but Laguna Beach, for example, is a [marine protected area] which means no fishing is allowed, so there is so much [marine life] to see. Malibu has incredible lobster diving and kelp forests. Almost every time I go into the water here, I see something—a small shark, an octopus, a crab. And then for surfing, Malibu is very good for it, although it’s crowded. Huntington Beach is less so, and has maybe better surf. I’ll always grab a sandwich from Mother’s after surfing there.
Finally, you’ve been living in LA since 2018—why do you still love it?
When people first visit LA, they often don’t understand how big it is—and try to do it all. You’re gonna have a miserable time if you do that; you’ve got to find your neighborhood. When I lived in Los Feliz, I loved eating at all the hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurants there; when I lived near Griffith, my life centered around hiking. Now I’m in South Bay, my community is playing beach volleyball in the morning and grabbing those breakfast burritos. And the best thing is that everything else is still at your fingertips living here: your favorite artists might be playing at the Palladium that night; you can go to a Lakers game or a Kings game on the spur of the moment; you can drive a couple hours and go skiing or end up in Joshua Tree for the weekend. I can do everything I want to do right here in LA, which really makes it the best home in the world.
Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler