Pepperdine University Guide: Where to Eat, Drink & Stay (2026)
Find the best restaurants, bars, hotels, cafes, and campus landmarks near Pepperdine University in Malibu, with a saveable map for students, parents, and visitors.
Whether you’re a Pepperdine student working out where to
eat when the dining hall isn’t the answer, an admit seeing the campus for the
first time, a parent in town for move-in or Parents Weekend, an alum back for a
reunion, or a family here for graduation, this guide pulls together the
restaurants, bars, hotels, and campus landmarks worth knowing around Pepperdine
University.
Pepperdine sits on a hillside above the Pacific in Malibu,
roughly 30 miles up the coast from downtown Los Angeles, and that setting
shapes everything about a visit. There’s no college town here. Nearly
everything is strung along Pacific Coast Highway in three pockets: the Cross
Creek and Civic Center cluster about a mile east of campus, where most of the
restaurants and shops sit; the pier and Carbon Beach stretch a couple of miles
further east; and the Point Dume and Trancas end several miles west. Malibu is
also still working through the aftermath of the December 2024 Franklin Fire and
the January 2025 Palisades Fire, so a few longtime names are gone and a few
have come back changed. Everything below is current as of July 2026 and
organized so you can find what you need fast.
Best Restaurants Near Pepperdine
Malibu dining sorts itself by pocket and by price. The
Cross Creek and Civic Center cluster a mile east of campus is the practical
center of gravity, running from counter-service burritos and smoothies at one
end to white-tablecloth steak at the other, all within a couple of shopping
centers. The oceanfront rooms along PCH near the pier are where the splurge
dinners live. The cheapest, most casual food is either two miles west at Malibu
Seafood or five miles up the coast in Point Dume. There’s no cheap student
strip here, so it pays to plan around whichever cluster you’re closest to.
Featured restaurants to check out
Malibu Farm Restaurant at the Pier
23000 CA-1 Bldg A, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
The farm-to-table restaurant at the base of Malibu Pier, open daily with a full bar and about as good as the view gets for brunch. One thing to know before you plan around it: the separate Malibu Farm Pier Cafe out at the end of the pier has been closed since State Parks shut that section in January 2025, so the restaurant at the entrance is the one to book.
Nobu Malibu
22706 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
The splurge dinner, sitting right over the sand on Carbon Beach, with the black cod miso and rock shrimp tempura that built the name. Reserve well ahead for graduation weekend, because walk-ins are not a plan here.
Duke's Malibu
21150 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
Hawaiian-influenced seafood right on the sand, with the casual downstairs Barefoot Bar and the Hula Pie it’s famous for. It reopened in March 2026 after the Palisades Fire and the mudflows that followed, and at roughly five miles east it’s the farthest of these from campus, so allow for PCH traffic.
Malibu Seafood
25653 CA-1, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
A working fish market with a patio cafe attached, out on PCH near Corral Canyon, where you order at the display case and eat at picnic tables looking across the highway at the ocean. It’s the closest genuinely cheap meal to Pepperdine, about two miles west, and the parking lot fills up fast on weekends.
Ollo
23750 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
An all-day restaurant in Malibu Colony Plaza serving breakfast straight through dinner, which makes it one of the more practical calls when a family visit runs long or nobody can agree on a meal. The menu now leans Italian with pasta made to order, though it built its name as a New American kitchen.
Bui Sushi Malibu
23733 Malibu Rd, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
A small sushi bar that’s been tucked on Malibu Road since 2006, about a mile from campus. The Malibu Sunset roll and truffle ponzu salmon sashimi are the house calls, and the room stays quiet enough for a weeknight dinner with parents.
Broad Street Oyster Company
23359 Pacific Coast Hwy #3874A, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
The original location of the lobster roll shop, in Malibu Village across from the beach, served either warm with butter or chilled with mayo. Order at the window, expect a line, and treat it as a casual splurge lunch rather than a sit-down dinner.
Taverna Tony
23410 Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
Greek food and live music on a big covered patio in the Malibu Country Mart, about a mile from campus. Roasted baby lamb and charcoal-grilled octopus anchor the menu, and the room handles large family groups better than almost anywhere else in Malibu. Reservations are by phone only.
Geoffrey's
27400 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
Clifftop terrace dining about three miles west of campus, laid out so that every table faces the ocean. Fire pits, weekend brunch, and steamed Maine lobster make it the default booking when the occasion calls for something nicer, and it’s the one most families land on for graduation dinner.
Lucky's Malibu
3835 Cross Creek Rd Ste 18, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
An old-school steakhouse room in the Country Mart, white tablecloths and USDA Prime, with a 28-ounce porterhouse sliced Luger-style. It’s the most formal dinner in the Cross Creek cluster, which makes it an easy call for a milestone night without a long drive.
Cafe Habana
3939 Cross Creek Rd, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
Cuban-Mexican on Cross Creek with a full bar, grilled Mexican corn, and Cuban sandwiches. The useful detail is the 1am close Wednesday through Saturday, which makes it one of the very few genuinely late options anywhere near Pepperdine.
Lily's Malibu
29211 Heathercliff Rd, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
A counter-service Salvadoran and Mexican cafe in Point Dume Village, run by Lily Castro since the early 1990s and best known for a breakfast burrito that turns up on citywide best-of lists. It keeps daytime hours only and sits about five miles up the coast, so treat it as a morning drive rather than a quick stop.
Howdy's Malibu
23401 Civic Center Way Ste 3A, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
Officially Howdy’s Sonrisa Cafe, a counter-service Mexican spot in The Park at Cross Creek with a Japanese streak running through the menu. The lobster burrito and the spicy tuna burrito are what people order, and there’s a salsa bar and a full bar behind the counter.
Sunlife Organics
3835 Cross Creek Rd Unit 3, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
The Cross Creek juice and acai bar, about a mile from campus and the standard morning or post-beach stop in that center. Smoothies, bowls, and cold-pressed juice from 7am daily, with a second Malibu location out at Point Dume if you’re on that end of town.
Best Bars Near Pepperdine
This is the shortest section in the guide, and it
should be. Malibu has no bar strip, and Pepperdine’s campus is alcohol free, so
nightlife here means a live music venue on PCH, an all-day wine bar on Malibu
Road, a brewery out at Trancas, and a vineyard tasting up in the mountains. For
a proper night out, most people drive toward Santa Monica. These four are
what’s genuinely close to campus.
Featured bars to check out
Malibu Brewing Company
30745 Pacific Coast Hwy R4, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
Malibu’s first brewery, open since 2022 in the Trancas Country Market, with a lager-forward list and a kitchen that goes well beyond usual taproom food. It’s about ten miles west of campus, so pair it with a Zuma beach day rather than making a special trip.
Rosenthal - The Malibu Estate Vineyard
Kanan Dume Rd &, W Newton Canyon Rd, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
The roadside Rosenthal wine bar on PCH burned in the January 2025 Palisades Fire, so what’s open now is the estate itself, up Kanan Dume in the mountains and back in business since August 2025. Plan ahead: it’s a seated, reservation-only tasting on weekends, 21 and over, and there’s no food service, though you’re welcome to bring a picnic.
Aviator Nation Dreamland
22969 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
A live music venue, bar, and restaurant in the old Malibu Inn building on PCH, done up in full 1970s Aviator Nation style with a black onyx bar and a serious sound system. Ticketed shows plus weekly open mic nights, and at about two miles from campus it’s the closest thing Malibu has to a real night out.
Zinqué Malibu
23841 Malibu Rd unit 21, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
A French-Californian cafe and wine bar on Malibu Road that runs from 7am coffee straight through to late drinks, with a dog-friendly patio and a weekday happy hour from 4 to 6. Two miles from campus and one of the easier places to land whatever time of day you turn up.
Best Hotels Near Pepperdine
Malibu is a small, expensive lodging market with very
few rooms, and Pepperdine’s calendar collides with peak beach season. The
coastal hotels put you minutes from campus and price accordingly. The two
inland options, the Four Seasons in Westlake Village and the Cambria in
Calabasas, trade a 25 to 35 minute drive over the canyon roads for better
availability and easier rates. And the one genuinely on-campus option, Villa
Graziadio, is the practical pick if you’re here for a university event.
Featured hotels to check out
Malibu Beach Inn
22878 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
Forty-seven rooms sitting directly on Carbon Beach, each with its own oceanfront balcony, plus the Carbon Beach Club restaurant downstairs. It’s about 2.5 miles east of campus and the splurge choice for graduation weekend or an alumni trip where the hotel is part of the point.
The Surfrider Hotel
23033 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
A 20-room beach house across PCH from Surfrider Beach and the Malibu Pier, with a guests-only rooftop bar and restaurant that’s the real reason to book it. Complimentary surfboards and beach chairs come with the room, and campus is roughly five minutes up the highway.
Calamigos Ranch Resort & Spa
327 Latigo Canyon Rd, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
Freestanding bungalows and cottages spread through an oak canyon up Latigo, with fireplaces, private patios, and outdoor soaking tubs. Formerly Calamigos Guest Ranch, it comes with a spa, the Ranch Club restaurant, and a guests-only beach club down on PCH, though you should budget about 20 minutes to campus.
Hotel June Malibu
28920 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265, USA
Thirteen mid-century bungalows on a wooded property near Point Dume, with a heated pool, free bikes, and surfboards. Worth knowing before you book: there’s no restaurant or bar on site, just grab-and-go breakfast, and it’s a 10 to 12 minute drive down the coast to Pepperdine.
Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, California
2 Dole Dr, Westlake Village, CA 91362, USA
The inland alternative when you want a full-service resort rather than a beach hotel, with a large spa, several restaurants and bars, and multiple pools. Pepperdine lists it at 17 miles out, so plan on 30 to 35 minutes over Malibu Canyon Road.
Villa Graziadio Executive Center
24255 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90263, USA
Pepperdine’s own 32-room hotel on the Drescher Graduate Campus, open to the public and by far the easiest place to stay if you want to be on campus for events. Two things to plan around: the campus is alcohol free, and the on-site Drescher Cafe serves weekdays only, so weekend meals mean driving down the hill.
Cambria Hotel Calabasas - Malibu
26400 Rondell St, Calabasas, CA 91302, USA
A newer hotel on the inland side of the mountains with the Malibu Canyon Bar & Grill, an outdoor pool, and fire pit patios. Figure about 25 minutes to Pepperdine over Malibu Canyon Road, which is the trade you make for easier rates and parking than anything on the coast.
Pepperdine Campus Landmarks
Pepperdine’s campus is compact, steep, and built
entirely around the view, so walking the highlights doesn’t take long. These
five stops cover the ocean overlook, the chapel, the tower you can pick out
from the highway, and the memorial most visitors don’t know is up there.
Featured campus landmarks
Alumni Park
Malibu, CA 90265, USA
The 30-acre lawn at the base of campus running down toward PCH, where commencement is held and where you get the view Pepperdine is known for. Time a September visit for Waves of Flags, the 9/11 installation of nearly 3,000 flags planted across the hillside.
Stauffer Chapel
Malibu, CA 90265, USA
The small hilltop chapel from 1973, seating about 180, where the draw is the stained glass: roughly 3,000 square feet of Tree of Life work in 105 colors spread across two full end walls. It’s a five-minute stop that tells you a lot about the school.
Payson Library
24255 CA-1, Malibu, CA 90263, USA
The main campus library, comprehensively renovated and reopened in 2017, home to Special Collections, the Genesis Lab, and rotating exhibitions. Visitors and community members can browse the print collections for up to two hours a day, which makes it an easy add to a campus tour.
Heroes Garden
Malibu, CA 90265, USA
A 9/11 memorial laid out as a series of outdoor garden rooms near the top of campus, dedicated to Tom Burnett Jr., a Pepperdine MBA who helped lead the effort to retake United Flight 93. The final room opens onto the Plaza of Resolution and the ocean beyond, and it’s the best combination of view and story anywhere on campus.
Phillips Theme Tower
Malibu, CA 90265, USA
The 125-foot bell and cross tower at the top of campus, completed in 1973 to a William Pereira design, and the silhouette you can pick out from PCH below. It chimes roughly 10,000 times a year and is the single most recognizable thing about Pepperdine from a distance.
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