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2nd Street and Belmont Shore

2nd Street is a restaurant and shopping district with a bohemian feel located in the upscale neighborhood of Belmont Shore. 2nd Street is home to a diverse array of excellent restaurants, serving authentic Greek, Mediterranean, Lebanese, Mexican, French, Italian, Asian, Indian, and other cuisine. Head to La Creperie for breakfast crepes, Taco Surf for lunch, George’s Greek Café for dinner, and Sweet Jill’s for dessert. Parking is surprisingly not too difficult for a beach area. A long, wide expanse of beach is a five-minute walk from 2nd Street.

Music lovers will delight in Fingerprints Music, a tiny record shop that sells used and new music on CD and vinyl. It’s noted for its unique in-store listening (you can listen to a used CD on a boom box before you buy it) and occasional free in-store performances. Next door to Fingerprints is an upper-end thrift store called Buffalo Exchange that sells designer clothes, but keeps their prices reasonable.

In the summer and winter, the city hosts Stroll & Savor, a restaurant festival where you can buy a $10 book of tickets and sample food from many of the street’s participating restaurants. Come in May to see the annual Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride Festival and Parade on 2nd Street.

Pubs and bars in Belmont Shore contribute to the area’s thriving nightlife, and it is sometimes referred to as Home of the Dive Bar. The two best dives are Shannon’s BayShore, a wild, lively bar; Belmont Station, a dive bar/dance bar with a mostly college crowd on weekends; and the Acapulco Inn, a casual, classic dive complete with pool tables and video games. Legends is a, well, legendary sports bar that is a longstanding 2nd Street mainstay. Ripples, two blocks away from 2nd Street on Broadway, faces the ocean and is a popular gay bar that hosts weekly theme nights, ranging from lesbian night on Fridays to charity nights that raise money for LGBT foundations. Broadway is another lesbian bar, also on Broadway. The Shoreline Café on 2nd Street is open 24 hours and is a good place to snack after a night at the bars.