Marina del Rey is building out its restaurant and hospitality infrastructure at a pace that should put the L.A. coastal enclave on the radar of foodservice and lodging operators heading into 2027. New dining concepts, a one-of-a-kind floating venue, and top-to-bottom hotel renovations are converging just as the destination positions itself as a base camp for visitors attending Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in February.
New Venues & Concepts
The most distinctive new addition to the dining scene is The Northwind Experience, which recently opened aboard a 130-foot historic yacht moored in the harbor. The vessel has been converted into a full-service venue offering dining, cocktails, entertainment, and private event bookings against panoramic harbor views — a format that speaks directly to the growing demand for experiential restaurant and hospitality concepts that go beyond a standard table-service model.
Also incoming: Luna Bistro & Cafe, slated to open its third location in Marina del Rey in 2027. The Bakersfield-born concept serves modern Latin and global fusion cuisine, blending Mexican-inspired flavors with Asian, Italian, and American influences. Additional recent openings include STOA Wine Bar & Market and Cafe Cache, signaling a broadening of the neighborhood's beverage and café segment.
At Waterside, the 10-acre outdoor shopping center anchoring much of the district's retail and dining activity, upcoming food-and-beverage additions include Wake & Late and a Brandy Melville outpost featuring its Chill Since '93 café concept — a retail-integrated F&B play that reflects a format gaining traction across lifestyle-oriented mixed-use developments.
Hotel Renovations Drive Room Quality
On the lodging side, two waterfront properties are undergoing significant capital investment. The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey is executing a floor-by-floor renovation of all 304 rooms and suites, designed in partnership with Hirsch Bedner Associates, with completion timed for the Super Bowl. Post-game, the project extends into public spaces and the hotel's signature restaurant, Cast & Plow. Marina del Rey Hotel, meanwhile, will unveil 164 refreshed guest rooms and suites in 2027, updated with contemporary coastal design and new furnishings.
These renovations matter for the broader hospitality and foodservice market because upgraded hotel product typically lifts average daily rates, draws higher-spending guests, and elevates expectations for on-property dining — creating a rising-tide effect for surrounding independent restaurants and bars.
"These developments, along with new and forthcoming openings are creating even more reasons to stay overnight and experience Marina del Rey in 2027," said Janet Zaldua, CEO of the Marina del Rey Tourism Board. "As Los Angeles continues its unprecedented run of hosting global sports events, visitors can make Marina del Rey their home base."
Wellness and Experiential Growth
Beyond food and lodging, the destination is adding wellness concepts that increasingly intersect with hospitality. Fire Pilates Club, a luxury oceanfront Pilates studio, is set to open, joining Bitter Root Pottery Aqueous — a waterfront pottery studio positioned as a meditative, bookable group experience. Both formats reflect the hospitality industry's documented shift toward wellness-adjacent programming as a driver of overnight stays and incremental F&B spend.
With Nordstrom Rack joining the retail mix in spring 2027 and the Marina del Rey Historical Society marking its 20th anniversary, the destination is layering cultural programming on top of its commercial expansion — a combination that tourism boards and hotel operators across coastal markets have used to extend average length of stay and drive repeat visitation.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
