Restaurants in Malibu

While you relax on the oceanfront patio and await lunch—starting with appetizers such as skewered rosemary ahi tuna with olive tapenade ($11.95) or Navajo corncakes with black-bean chili, feta, avocado, and sour cream ($10.95)—you can marvel at the human zoo rushing by. Play "guess that person's age and social-security number," or belt out a friendly hello to a Matthew McConaughey lookalike as he jogs by unsurprisingly shirtless. Before long, the amiable, chilled-out staff will come bearing a heavy turkey bacon burger with arugula, red onion, and tomato ($13.55); or the veggie dagwood pile precariously high with zucchini, eggplant, roasted peppers, portobello mushrooms, mozzarella, and pesto on focaccia ($11.75).

La Cachette is an intimate bistro escape from the rollicking area of Santa Monica's hotel strip. While you wait to be seated on the huge outdoor patio, sink into the lounge-esque, relaxed-fit bar with a Chile Martini (chipotle vodka, ginger, cucumber, $13) or a bottle of Green Flash West Coast American IPA ($7). Once seated, feast upon a plate of Mongol-horde-friendly organic beef tartare ($14) or a tower of roasted organic beets with feta cheese, avocado, and tomato ($10). Recall your days quaffing sea spray in your Jet Boat with the taste of black mussels with shallots and thyme in a white-wine-and-spiced-saffron broth ($19), or recall the days spent land cruising on the versatile Jet Boat with dark-meat coq au vin with veal bacon ($18). Complement your meal and yourself with a bottle of Votre Sante Chardonnay ($38), among other liquid wonders.

RAWvolution founders Janabai and Matt Amsden serve up raw foods chock-full of healthy vitamins and enzymes, earning praise from celebrities such as Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Alicia Silverstone. Forged from locally sourced organic produce, the Amsden’s array of gourmet wheat-, soy-, and gluten-free vegan fare tickles health-conscious palates at two café locations in New York City and Los Angeles. Their prepared-meal service, The Box, also fills clients’ fridges with four to five days’ worth of premade organic meals for at-home noshing.

Using predominantly organic and local ingredients, Coogie's Beach Cafe puts a distinctly Californian spin on traditional American comfort food—a natural combination to fill its traveler-friendly oceanside perch just off the Pacific Coast Highway. Chefs fete early birds with breakfast treats such as blueberry pancakes topped with maple-glazed granola and serve a spicy bayou scramble alongside zucchini muffins. Lunch and dinner find organic greens and wild arugula admiring the brawn of Angus beef, filet mignon, and herb-roasted free-range chicken. The menu is broad enough to harbor options for vegetarians (garden veggie tacos), the gluten-averse (quinoa pasta), and kids (sesame-crusted chicken fingers). House-made desserts include Granny Smith apple pie.

The bar sends forth a fountain of fruit smoothies, fresh-squeeze juices, homemade lemonade, and organic hot teas, depending on the season. When sea breezes are favorable, diners relax on a palm-shaded patio; otherwise, they munch beneath a big central skylight and weathered wooden surfboards, safely hiding out from vengeful waves.