Ercole's

The Erc’s Burger is the thing to order: thick, char-grilled, and made with beef freshly ground next door at Manhattan Meats. That neighbourly detail matters here. The burger is not dressed up as a destination dish; it comes from a counter-service grill inside a bar that has been feeding and watering Manhattan Beach for generations.

Ercole’s first opened in the late 1920s and is Manhattan Beach’s oldest bar. It still has the plain-speaking rhythm of a classic dive: order at the bar, find informal seating, bus your own table. The lack of fuss suits the food. Smoke from the grill, cold drinks, and a burger with proper char do most of the talking.

If you want the full local move, use the takeout window and carry your burger down to the nearby Manhattan Beach sand. The Infatuation and Time Out Los Angeles have both singled it out as a neighbourhood burger and dive-bar favourite, but its appeal is pleasingly simple: a very specific burger in the place it belongs.