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Ojai, Calif., a laid-back town at the base of the Topatopa Mountains, some 15 miles from the sea, has long been a year-round destination for Angelenos (the larger city lies about 80 miles to the southeast), but it’s most compelling in spring, when the air is fragrant with citrus — the area’s fruit orchards specialize in the Pixie, a seedless tangerine — and the farmer’s markets are flush with strawberries, cherries and artichokes. It’s also when warmer temperatures start making the swimming holes scattered around Los Padres National Forest, just north and west of town, especially enticing.
The region’s Chumash people were the first recorded inhabitants of the valley (the name Ojai comes from the word ‘awha’y, meaning “moon”), followed by Spanish missionaries and Mexican cattle ranchers. In the late 1800s, easy access to nature helped establish the town as a wellness destination, and by the 1920s, it became something of a spiritual center after the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti moved there to lead an order of the Theosophist Society; he later opened his own foundation and school in Ojai. The area also grew into a creative hub, as artists moved in (among them the ceramist Beatrice Wood, who arrived in 1948) and musicians like the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky spent time in Ojai in the late 1940s and ’50s to participate in its still ongoing music festival. Hollywood stars made the trip to the Ojai Valley Inn, which expanded into a resort in 1947, attached to an 18-hole golf course.
Lately, Ojai (population 7,500) has seen a new influx of creative people along with the opening of new businesses, most notably the nine-month-old Hotel El Roblar, where the interiors of a 1919 building have been refreshed with early California décor and two Aldabra giant tortoises roam the lawn. (One of the property’s co-owners, Eric Goode, also runs the Turtle Conservancy, which is headquartered in Ojai.) Flyers posted outside a restaurant on East Ojai Avenue, the main drag, advertise “The Artist’s Way” classes, a reiki sound bath, a feminine radiance retreat, an introduction to Buddhism and a youth hiking club. “For such a tiny place, you have a high density of artists and creative folks,” says the ceramist Ren von Hasseln, who moved to Ojai in 2018, “and that continues to build upon itself.” The Insiders
Shiny Chan, a former stylist, moved to Ojai from Los Angeles seven years ago. She opened the restaurant Ojai Noodle House with her husband in 2023, and founded the clothing and home goods shop Inyun Collective in 2024. The filmmaker, hotelier and conservationist Eric Goode first lived in Ojai as a child in the 1960s. Since 1989, he’s split his time between Ojai and New York. Saw Naing is the executive chef of the Dutchess, a cafe and Burmese restaurant, and the chef and a co-owner of the barbecue restaurant Joplin’s. He’s lived in Ojai since 2021. Ren von Hasseln founded her ceramics business after she moved from Los Angeles to Ojai in 2018. Sleep
“Kenny Osehan, the owner of the Shelter Social Club hotels, is kind of a genius. There’s a lot of homogeneity in Southern California design; it’s a lot of off-white on off-white that can get a little mundane. Each of the Shelter Social Club hotels [there are three in Ojai including the Capri] is unique. My favorite is the Ojai Rancho Inn, where the bed frames are made of burly logs and perforated pendant lights by Heather Levine cast cozy shadows. At the bar, Chief’s Peak, they have a wall of personal mugs for locals and regular visitors. There are only 60 spots so it’s a coveted thing.” From $200 a night — Ren von Hasseln “The Capri Hotel is a really cozy, affordable spot with a deep pool that’s surrounded by palm trees. The décor is simple but stylish. It’s walking distance from downtown, too.” From $270 a night — Saw Naing “Hotel El Roblar, the new hotel from Eric Goode, who’s also behind the Bowery in New York, has a similarly cool environment. It has a cute lounge, Condor Bar, which serves great tacos and cocktails. I like the Best Friend, a mezcal drink.” From $480 a night — Shiny Chan Eat and Drink
“It’s been a game changer to have Rory’s Place [which opened in 2022] in Ojai. I love the owners [the sisters Rory and Meave McAuliffe]. They do a lot of good salads, and a great roast chicken, too.” “Go to Taco Roma for Mexico City-style tacos and a displaced downtown New York vibe. They grind corn from Oaxaca to make the tortillas.” “Boccali’s has been there forever, and it’s so charming, an old board-and-batten Italian joint. It’s a classic fun place to go sit outside with a beer at sunset. Eat the tomato salad when it’s in season.” — Eric Goode “I eat at Pinyon almost every day [it’s closed Tuesday and Wednesday] because it’s so close to the store. Their wood-fired pizza is delicious, but for lunch, I love the turkey sandwich with ‘the works,’ which refers to the pickled veggies [giardiniera] — onions, cauliflower, etc. — that enhance the meat in all the right ways.” — S.C.
“Rory’s Other Place has excellent coffee and baked goods, plus little French bistro sandwiches and breakfast burritos. I always get the veggie breakfast burrito, which comes with peppers, potatoes and lots of cheese.” “The Dutchess is Burmese-Indian-California fusion. It has amazing bakery offerings during the day and a great bar menu in the evening, along with dinner. I love the Lucky Devil, which is a spicy, smoky mezcal cocktail. For dessert, they have a doughnut made with rice flour that’s light and not supersweet.” — R.V.H. “Ojai Noodle House is a Vietnamese spot in Meiners Oaks [a community just west of Ojai]. I go at least a couple times a week, and I get the classic pho that comes with sliced short rib and rare flank steak.” “Hip Vgn is one of the first places I ate in Ojai, and I still go there on my days off. I like the ashram bowl with brown rice and curried lentils, toasted cashews and serrano chiles.” — S.N. Shop
“I’ve found everything from wonky ceramics to vintage afghans to T-shirts at Violet’s Pink Thrift. It’s well-curated but also not overpriced. [The owner, Vicki Violet] has a really good eye.” “Bart’s Books is a bookstore that’s mostly outdoors, which is its claim to fame. It kind of tells you everything you need to know about Ojai, because there’s no system to protect the books from theft or the elements. I also love that it was once a residential house, so the cookbooks are in what used to be the kitchen.” “Inyun Collective sells clothing, like one-of-a-kind deadstock pieces from the Brooklyn label Thank You Have a Good Day, along with some small home goods and design objects, such as Hilary Walsh’s bulbous ceramics.” “Ojai Olive Oil Company’s tasting room is in this lovely olive grove. They have a Pixie-infused olive oil that can be a dressing all by itself.” — R.V.H. “Blue has home goods; light, flowy clothes; and an apothecary. I go there a lot for gifts, like Flamingo Estate’s tomato-scented candle.” — S.C. “For Hotel El Roblar, I bought almost all the art in the rooms and public spaces from California Auctioneers, this family-run auction house in Casitas Springs, a tiny town south of Ojai. I’ve been buying from them for over 20 years. They have an auction every few months, almost always on a Sunday.” “I also bought a lot from Early California Antiques. The owner, Eric Berg, used to have a store on State Street in Santa Barbara, and now he has everything stored in this industrial park in Oxnard. You can’t make a shopping list, because you’ll come upon something you never imagined you’d buy, like incredible Mexican candelabra and 1930s ceramic planters. He also has a concession on Ojai Avenue right across the street from Hotel El Roblar.” — E.G. Explore
“My friend Lou Mora, who’s a photographer, just made a tiny gallery that’s the size of a mailbox called Ojai Micro Gallery. It’s located outside of Three Birds coffee shop. He only shows miniatures, but he takes shots of the interior that make it look like it’s a full-size gallery.” “The trail I do daily goes up Signal Street to the Pratt Trailhead in Los Padres National Forest. I also love the hike that starts at the Oso Trailhead and crosses the Ventura River. The views of the mountains in Los Padres, looking west toward Santa Barbara, are so beautiful.” “There’s a farmers’ market across two parking lots on East Matilija Street every Sunday. I go for flowers and veggies and Mom’s garlic spread. In the spring, you have to get strawberries.” — R.V.H. “I go up Shelf Road to this hike called Luci’s Trail. It goes up and around the mountain, and it’s epic. You get to see all of Ojai and sometimes, when it’s clear, you can see over to the ocean, too.” — S.C. “There are amazing swimming holes in the Sespe watershed within Los Padres National Forest. The last California condors were collected [to be saved from extinction] from the back country behind the Ojai Valley in the 1980s. For hiking, I recommend Rose Valley. It’s a great place to find coast horned lizards, which prefer sandy areas, where they bury themselves.” “In Santa Barbara [a 45-minute drive away], you have to go to Lotusland. An eccentric opera singer named Ganna Walska amassed this collection of palms, cactuses, cycads — all kinds of amazing plants. And she did this Warholian thing where she wouldn’t just plant one, she’d have 50 of the same thing.” “David Berger recently reopened the Ojai Playhouse across the street from El Roblar, and we’ve done events together. It’s a one-screen theater that was built in 1914 but had been closed for years before David took it over. The concession sells popcorn and Milk Duds but also locally made pie and espresso made with David Lynch’s old machine.” — E.G. These interviews have been edited and condensed. Click here for a map of the locations mentioned above. Read past editions of Flocking To here.
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