The Sandlot

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Beach Nation
8289 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 654-0020
www.beachnation.com

As evidenced by everyone and their mother's Instagram feeds and early Leo DiCaprio films, the beach is pretty great...as long as you manage to steer clear of "herbal" farmers and Tilda Swinton.

And while this fact is unlikely to change at any age, we can think of one thing that would make it even better: not having to make the long, sunburned trek to-and-from the actual beach. Enter Beach Nation, a sand-covered outdoor café located right smack dab in the middle of West Hollywood.

Designed by the hospitality guru behind Herringbone at the Mondrian LA and the Huntley Hotel, this seaside hangout is the epitome of the laidback California mentality with eclectic yet modern details playing up the beach bungalow vibe; orange accents stylishly clash with the typically neutral beach hues, slabs of trunk-like wood have been refinished into a tables and stools, sea grass sprouts up from long rectangular planters and tiki-like ottomans surround long cabana couches.

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Without venturing past the boardwalk, you can have your own beach day, relaxing in an Adirondack chair with your feet in the sand, sipping on a cup of Joe as the winds coming off Santa Monica Boulevard to rustle the surrounding palm trees.

In a few weeks, they'll also have beer and wine—fully completing the ultimate beach-but-not-a-beach experience. Until then, you can fuel up with Arnold Palmers, cold-brew iced coffee and espresso from locally based Barefoot Coffee, and quality eats like egg-and-cheese sandwiches on Pullman brioche, turkey-and-smoked gouda panini with cranberry-apple chutney, and gruyere-bacon pretzel twists, one of the many miraculously engineered pastries from LA bakery Rockenwagner.

More: E.S.P. Eat. See. Play. Los Angeles

And the beauty of being able to indulge in it all – you don't even have to wear a bathing suit.

By Arielle Sachar