A Shopping Day Along Melrose Ave: Catch, Cecconi's, The Row, The RealReal & More
My husband and I were tourists in our new(ish) city for a day and explored cafes, shops & restaurants on Melrose.
Sometimes, when you live somewhere, even somewhere new, you can get stuck in a rut. You know what I mean, you get lost in the bubble of your day-to-day life. Wake up, work, grab food from your local spot, repeat. I definitely think I was a victim of this day-to-day repetitiveness when I lived in Toronto. But now that we’re living in LA, I want to break out of that cycle.
If we’re being really honest, it was an episode of The Bear that inspired us to be tourists in our city. You know the episode where Marcus goes to Denmark? And he spends his free time wandering, popping into cute bakeries, trying out different foods? That’s what we wanted to do, too. I thought, why not head to an area we don’t usually go to and shop and eat our way around?
For our first tourist day, however, we chose an area that we were vaguely familiar with. There were a few restaurants and boutiques we wanted to pop into, so Melrose made sense. Next time, I want to pick a neighbourhood that we maybe haven’t ever stepped foot in. Or that we’ve heard is cute and walkable and has good matcha.
We did discover a new street that we instantly became smitten with: Orlando Ave. It stretches between Melrose and Santa Monica but feels impossibly quiet and serene when you’re in the thick of it. Trees everywhere, massive hedges, clean and walkable sidewalks. It was dreamy. We both agreed that we need to move there. However, those dreams were quickly squashed when I later looked up a rental on Zillow and it was a whopping $25K per month.
Since discovering that street and wanting to live there but not being able to afford it, I’ve stumbled upon it multiple times. I met up with an author’s group at Hugo’s on Santa Monica, took a seat at the window, looked to my left, and there it was! And then I got an invite to the Jinx Halloween party and the GPS lead us to Orlando Avenue to a ginormous house-turned-event-space.
And finally, after dropping Boa off at Dogue for a grooming, I decided to take a little walk, and where did I accidentally end up? Down the block at Orlando Ave. Why is the universe torturing me like this?
Of course, we’re parents, so these kind of days can’t happen all the time. Unless we bring the kids. But that would switch up the whole vibe. And I’m not sure I’m willing to risk a meltdown on Melrose Place. This time we had our babysitter and her dashing Dalmatian come hang out with the boys while we headed out to explore.
Here’s a recap of our tourist day along Melrose Ave.
Catch
Our first stop: Catch for lunch. We showed up at 1:30, ready to feast, and then found out that our reservation was actually for 1PM. Oops. Mom brain definitely got the better of me. However, they weren’t too busy and still squeezed us in. I ordered an espresso martini—because day drinking without the kids is rare these days. I had half a dozen oysters to start, followed by the Catch Roll and crispy shrimp. I’d order it all again.
Cha Cha Matcha
To spend a day out and about, we needed an extra energy boost. (As if my espresso martini wasn’t enough.) We love Cha Cha Matcha. My favourite thing from there is the “purple drink” with a shot of matcha. It’s my go-to. We first started going to Cha Cha Matcha in New York and I’m so glad it’s in LA too.
H.Lorenzo
Just window shopping here. I saw a few things I’d like to buy, but it was the first stop we made and I didn’t want to blow my whole budget straightaway. Also, some of the things I loved felt like they could be found vintage. Like the Diesel coat I was eyeing up. It was a good spot to get fashion inspiration to then scour secondhand stores for.
The RealReal
Something that does not impress me about The RealReal are their prices. There were plenty of garments in there that cost above retail or close enough to that my first thought was, why wouldn’t I just buy this new? I spotted a few things from Jacquemus, but unfortunately they weren’t in my size.
The best thing to come out of this pit-stop was discovering a cream-coloured blazer by Aya Muse. I’d never heard of that brand before, but the blazer fit me perfectly and I had to have it. After looking them up on SSENSE, I’ve come to the conclusion that Aya Muse is going to be heavy in my rotation. So many things they have are me to a tee.
Reformation Vintage
After seeing Sofia Richie pop into Reformation Vintage on a “24 Hours with…” video, I knew I had to go. I first went last year and, as luck would have it, I’d forgotten to bring sunglasses with me, which was quickly rectified when I spotted their selection of vintage frames. That day, I left with a pair of vintage Gucci sunglasses that are so early aughts.
This time, I sashayed out the door with a mini Dior saddlebag (my fave), a Dior necklace, and a no-name zip-up top that is very 90s fine.
The Row
I was told not to take any photos in The Row, but only after I’d taken this one. I mean, how can you resist snapping a pic in there? The store is gorgeous. I love the windows, the pool, the furniture, and, of course, the products. Most of them, anyway. Not everything in The Row is me, but I could see myself in quite a few things.
At the end of our time there, only the leather Half Moon bag left with me. I use it almost every day; getting my money’s worth.
La Bohème
This is where my husband camped out to wait for me while I went to get a few earrings and new jewels for my navel. It was cute, but they were weird about seating him before I got there, even though I was just popping into a store literally next door, and we were only there for drinks, which he ordered right away.
We had Palomas made with 818 tequila. It quenched my thirst, but there was nothing exceptional about it. Probably wouldn’t go back, or at least go out of my way to go there.
Ancient Adornments
I’d been on the hunt for years for a cute, good quality, blingy belly ring. I had no clue where to begin or end. Finally, I popped into Mejuri on Melrose and asked the piercer if she had any recommendations for body jewelry stores and she told me about Ancient Adornments. The staff were super friendly, knowledgeable, and they had an excellent selection of jewelry.
I ended up getting a stud for my cartilage, a ring for my conch piercing, and a gold belly ring with a good amount of bling. I’ll be going back there for a couple of piercings in a few weeks. Highly recommend.
Cecconi’s
I was so ready to sit down for dinner by the time we did. Cecconi’s was really cute and I’d definitely go back. My husband had been there with a friend before but it was my first time. We ordered a bottle of champagne to celebrate… well, life. The bubbles were followed by way too much food: squash blossoms, calamari, meatballs, lamb ragù, agnolotti. I left there completely full.
Phew! It was an insanely busy day. I felt like I was sweating through my Jacquemus by the end of the day and was definitely ready to get home, shower, and crawl into our Pillo Bed.
What neighbourhoods should we explore next? Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments.