Which Ivy is the restaurant in which the celebrities visit? The one in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica? Also, where can we go for a good spa visit (hair color and spa treatments) without breaking the bank?

The Ivy in Beverly Hills is the restaurant featured in Get Short and LA Story. I do not know if it is favored still by movie stars. When I ate there a few years ago, I kept thinking I saw someone I "knew" but no names came to mind. Must have been a secondary player day. LMF

Either one, but don't go expecting to see a celebrity. I was at the BH for lunch one day when "Barbra" arrived and the whole place was abuzz, but I've been there quite a few times and if there were celebrities there, I wasn't aware of it.

By the way, if you're concerned about "breaking the bank", you might pass on The Ivy. It is nice and pretty, but undoubtedly one of the most expensive restaurants in the area for what it is.

Thanks for the responses. What is the average price for the lunch or dinner entrees?

Zagat's lists the average price for dinner for 1 including one drink and tip at $51.00. Lunch is maybe a couple dollars less. I think their famous chopped salad (yea, it's good) is something like $24 or $25. I looked in my journal from last summer and see two of us spent a total of $121 on lunch. We each had a Bloody Mary and a glass of wine, each had an entree, and one had dessert.

I went to the one in Santa Monica last year and their Ceasar salad was like 24 dollars, twice the price that it is every where else. I passed. Really nice tropically decorated space, kind of Tommy Bahamas decor. But, come on, those prices are absurd.

I am not sure if it is so much celebrities who go to the Ivey as it is producers and behind the movie scenes guys. In BH you can see stars in lots of different places. Some stars have special out of the way tables so they have privacy, so they could be there and you don't even know it.

We saw a lot of stars at Spago's a few years ago, but it was the IN place at the time. It changes. My friend used to get us in to the back room of a Mexican restaurant and we saw lots of stars there years ago. My neighbor saw a few at the Ruth Chris in BH.

Good luck. It can cost a fortune trying to find them. But you eat well.

This is all great info! Thanks for the warning. I will not waste my $ on overpriced food just at the chance to eat with celebrities. Can you recommend other places to visit while in Santa Monica as far as spas that are a little more affordable? Under $100 for spa services, haircolor, bodywraps, etc.