Trying to get ourselves moving to counter all the food being consumed, we headed out to Malibu to do the Escondido Falls hike. I did this hike a few months ago and there was definitely more water around, but regardless it is a nice hike. Last time I was out doing this hike I tried to get to Malibu Pier to try the cafe at the end but I couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere and had to give up. This time, however, we were using the power of Uber so it was going to happen!
We decided to go to the restaurant at the start of the pier rather than the cafe at the end so we had more menu options. It’s such a beautiful location, you can sit out over the water and look out at the ocean while you eat a yummy lunch. The menu is a really lovely vegie heavy menu that makes me feel like it is nice and healthy, but still has a burger for Al so he doesn’t sulk. It’s a farm to table concept which I of course love, and not just because it feels like it would be a winning thing in buzz word bingo.
Jax and I split the zucchini pizza for starters. This was delicious! Like an old school zucchini slice ( I think everyone’s mum made these in the 80/90s) but flatter, to be the base, then topped with a good tomato sauce, a bit of cheese and some fresh zucchini. I really hope this is actually healthy (please, no one ruin it for me) as I am convinced I can recreate this as a healthy ‘cheat’ meal.
Then we went for a salmon sandwich and the grilled chicken tortilla salad. Both of these were amazing. The salmon was on a brioche bun with a black olive aioli- this was just delicious. Why do I never make myself things like this? It’s light and satisfying. The grilled chicken salad was also great- I loved the multi coloured tortilla strips through it adding both crunch and colour.
Al started off with mini crab cakes which were great, and I’m not normally a fish or crab cake person (something about them weirds me out) but it was good. This was followed by a burger, naturally. I’m guessing the burger was good- he didn’t even offer us a bite! Instead of the sandwiches coming with chips they came with this ridiculously good creamy potato salad. I couldn’t even pretend this was healthy, that’s how good it was. There’s also an option for a beetroot couscous type thing which is also good and not as sinful as the potato salad.
After lunch make sure you stroll down the pier to the end where the cafe is. It’s only a short pier but you’ll still see people fishing or a wedding pic being taken. We actually saw a drone fishing, how did this work? No idea! And he flew off and delivered the little fish somewhere and then we lost him! Next time I will solve the drone mystery- or if anyone sees this and solves it before me, let me know. At the end of the pier is a little gift shop with heaps of cute things. I also plan next time to get the One Ranch cookbook and probably some other stuff, I love stuff.
Malibu is definitely not a walking place so don’t expect to go for a nice long walk after your meal, but you can hang on the beach for a bit so, no complaints. Malibu Pier Restaurant is absolutely worth the journey out, once I have a car I’ll try and work out the parking situation.
Jilltopia 