All the enduring LA landmarks, movie star hangouts and beloved eating places turned to ashes in devastating fires

The Pacific Palisades fire is not just destroying mansions belonging to the rich and famous, it is also burning up top restaurants.

The Reel Inn in Malibu went up in flames on Tuesday.

The seaside restaurant was famous as it was featured on the TV shows The Chew and Man vs. Food.

And celebrities like Cindy Crawford, Paris Hilton, Jerry Seinfeld and Michelle Pfeiffer dined there often.

Rosenthal Wine Bar & Patio, Cafe Vida and Casa Nostra in the Palisades village are in ashes.

A ranch in the Pacific Palisades that hosted a Beverly Hills museum dedicated to the actor Will Rogers was also lost to the flames. 

Also at risk is the tony Italian restaurant Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica. That is where Rihanna and A$AP Rocky often dine.

Kim and Khloe Kardashian have also stopped by the intimate dining spot that serves pasta and salads with a classic selection of wines.

Duke’s Malibu, where Pamela Anderson has dined with her sons, is also in jeopardy of burning down. 

It has been on the Pacific Coast Highway for decades.

The fire is epic and like a disaster movie, say locals. 

Dozens of celebrities have been forced to evacuate their luxury properties in coastal Los Angeles as four fast-moving wildfires threaten to destroy the city. 

The fires, which have scorched nearly 3,000 acres and left dozens of homes in ruins, are tearing through areas where A-listers like Ben Affleck, Tom Hanks, James Woods, Mandy Moore, and the Kardashians live, putting their properties at risk.

Malibu’s Reel Inn 

The 36-year-old Reel Inn in Malibu (seen above)  has been destroyed by the current Pacific Palisades wildfire, marking a heartbreaking loss for the Malibu community and its celebrity patrons.

Many stars, including Jerry Seinfeld, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Paris Hilton, were regulars, drawn to its unpretentious charm and great atmosphere. 

The restaurant also gained wider fame, having been featured on TV shows like The Chew and Man vs. Food. 

Reel Inn owners Teddy and Andy Leonard confirmed the destruction of the restaurant on Instagram. 

The Instagram post said they are ‘heartbroken and unsure of what will be left.’

The owner of the fish restaurant where Vice-President Kamala Harris first met her stepchildren has told of her heartbreak at seeing her family’s business go up in flames.

Therese ‘Teddy’ Leonard, 70, and her husband Andy, 76, have run the iconic Malibu restaurant The Reel Inn for nearly four decades.

But on Tuesday, the couple could only watch helplessly as the raging Pacific Palisades Fire tore through the landmark – looking on via their security cameras as the blaze took hold.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Leonard said: ‘I guess it just knocked the wind out of us – we couldn’t breathe. It was unthinkable.

‘My husband’s had this restaurant for 36 years and most of our 21 employees have worked for us for over 30 years.’

DailyMail.com photos show how the once vibrant eatery has been reduced to a pile of rubble by the conflagration that ripped through star-studded Malibu and Pacific Palisades, with little left but the sheets of corrugated iron that once formed the roof.

The neighboring Topanga Ranch Motel – which was once owned by politician and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst – was also flattened by the inferno, as were the nearby Rosenthal Wine Bar and Cholada Thai restaurant.

Like its neighbors, the Reel Inn had a devoted clientele made up of locals and celebrities alike, with Cindy Crawford, Paris Hilton and Michelle Pfeiffer regularly seen dining there.

Jerry Seinfeld was also a fan, as is Hunter Biden – whose nearby $4m Malibu rental home was also destroyed in the blaze.

‘We have many people that say, oh, ‘I went on first date with my wife there’. ‘We got engaged there’. ‘It was our favorite place’,’ Leonard told DailyMail.com.

‘In fact, even our Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned when she took office as vice president that [the Reel Inn] was where she met her stepchildren with Doug Emhoff for the first time.’

Now the restaurant lies in ruins and Leonard and her family have been forced to evacuate to an AirBNB in Mar Vista – an LA neighborhood close to Venice Beach.

She said: ‘We’ve been through this a few times with the restaurant in past years where the fire went straight up to the building and the firefighters fought it back and saved the restaurant and we stayed open and fed people and that’s sort of been our routine.

‘We always feed the firefighters while they’re working. But this time with this wind, it was so bad that we told the crew get out and the minute the firefighters showed up, our crew left. ‘The last thing we saw on our cameras were the tablecloths on the deck in flames, and then our cameras went dead because the whole restaurant burned.’

Leonard also told DailyMail.com that her home in Topanga Canyon is also at risk, with fire crews battling on Wednesday to save properties in the area.

‘We evacuated last night,’ she said. ‘We could see the flames and the sky had turned red and we saw that it was moving very, very quickly.

‘We’ve just heard that the fire is heading up Topanga Canyon Boulevard so it doesn’t look good at the moment for our home.’

Despite the loss, Leonard has found a silver lining in the outpouring of support and good wishes she and her husband have received since announcing the Reel Inn burned down and told DailyMail.com she has had kind messages from all over the world.

Leonard said: ‘The outpouring of love from the community and from our family and friends all around the globe has really touched my husband.

‘We just keep looking at each other and saying, ‘we are so blessed and so lucky to have this much love coming to us’.’

Now, her focus is on supporting the 21 staff members the couple employed and on their plans to eventually reopen the restaurant.

To those ends, she has begun a GoFundMe to support her employees and has been in contact with officials from California State Parks over a rebuild – the Reel Inn sits on land that is part of the Topanga State Park.

The 70-year-old said: ‘We got through Covid and we’ve gotten through a lot worse with this amazing crew [of employees].

‘Our concern at the moment is for them because they live paycheck to paycheck and we’re working on starting a GoFundMe for them.

‘Our second concern is the rebuilding of the restaurant. It’s been a wonderful, wonderful era and I’m hoping we get to rebuild it.’

 

Will Rogers Ranch

A ranch in the Pacific Palisades that hosted a Beverly Hills museum dedicated to the actor Will Rogers was also lost to the flames. 

Rogers’ great-granddaughter, Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry, said in a statement to the Museums Association, ‘The Rogers family is devastated by the loss of the California ranch and the overwhelming loss of the community. Our hearts go out to all those [neighbors] who have lost their homes.’ 

‘California State Parks mourns the loss of these treasured natural and cultural resources, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area,’ said State Parks Director Armando Quintero. 

In the mid-1930s, Will Rogers was one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood.

From his start in vaudeville theaters with a trick roping act, he rose to worldwide fame as a columnist, ‘cowboy philosopher,’ aviation enthusiast, philanthropist, radio personality and movie star.

During the 1920s, he bought land in Santa Monica where he developed a ranch. 

Eventually, Will Rogers owned about 359 acres in what is now known as Pacific Palisades, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

At the time of his death in a plane crash in 1935, his ranch consisted of a 31-room ranch house with neighboring guest housing, a stable, corrals, golf course and riding trails.

His widow, Betty, donated the ranch to State Parks in 1944 and it became a historic park.

 

Cafe Vida  

This restaurant at Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village shopping center is gone. 

Café Vida provided a one-of-a-kind combination of ‘low-fat California and Latin dishes that bring together a variety of unique and delicious flavors,’ it says online.

They were known for salads and stuffed sandwiches. 

It opened in 2002 and was a favorite with locals like Anthony Hopkins. 

 

Casa Nostra

This Italian restaurant, also at Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village shopping center, is in ashes.

The cozy spot know for authentic food had an incredible pumpkin tortellini and salmon with lemon capers. 

Fans of the restaurant included Tobey Maguire’s ex Jennifer Meyer and model turned actress Molls Sims. 

There is another one in Westlake Village, which is fine.

 

Rosenthal Wine Bar & Patio

A rep for the tasting room off PCH, confirmed that the wine bar fell victim to the fires. 

Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate Tasting Room is located Just across from the beach in Malibu, CA. 

‘The Rosenthal Tasting Room offers a casual atmosphere in which to discover and enjoy our full selection of Rosenthal and Surfrider wines,’ it says online.

‘Come and enjoy the Food Trucks Saturdays and Sundays at Rosenthal with an ocean view from our exquisite garden patio.’

The venue hosted live bands and could fit 300 people. 

 

Topanga Ranch Motel

The hotel, which was on the side of the Pacific Coast Highway, is gone.

It was located across from Topanga Beach in Malibu. 

The old-fashioned hotel was charming as it had small casitas in white and maroon and an Old West feel.

There were small white picket fences in front of the rooms that had eucalyptus trees hovering over them. 

Built in 1929 by William Randolph Hearst, the bungalow-style Topanga Ranch Motel had 30 rooms that once housed Pacific Coast Highway construction workers. 

The motel provided an inexpensive seaside holiday vacation retreat for families and writers and was a popular film and television location. State Parks acquired the motel in 2001 and in recent years, plans had been in the works to restore about 20 of the cabins for public use. 

 

 

 

 

Giorgio Baldi

The iconic Giorgio Baldi, a family-owned Italian restaurant on the border of Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades, is now under threat from the ongoing wildfires. 

Known for its celebrity clientele, Giorgio Baldi has become a go-to dining spot for the A-list crowd. 

Rihanna is a regular, reportedly ordering her favorites like the ricotta ravioli, gnocchi, and spaghetti pomodoro with basil. 

Kim Kardashian even took Pete Davidson there for a date.

Duke’s Malibu

Duke’s Malibu, the laid-back, oceanfront restaurant, is also in danger from the wildfires. 

Stars like Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, along with many others, have been spotted enjoying Duke’s famous fish tacos and tropical cocktails. 

As a beloved spot that offers both great food and stunning views, losing Duke’s would be a real blow to Malibu’s coastal charm. 

Moonshadows

The iconic Moonshadows, a beloved restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway, has been completely destroyed in the LA fires. 

A video reposted by the restaurant shows a reporter standing in front of the charred remnants of what was once a popular celebrity hotspot, known for its stunning, unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean.

In the wake of the loss, Moonshadows’ social media shared several heartfelt tributes, with patrons posting photos and memories.

Mastro’s Ocean Club

Mastro’s Ocean Club in Malibu, a go-to spot for upscale seafood and steaks, is now at risk from the wildfires. 

With stunning ocean views and a chic atmosphere, it’s been a favorite among celebrities looking for a classy dining experience. 

Celebs like Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber are often spotted enjoying its famous dishes, like the butter cake and fresh oysters. 

Nobu Malibu  

Nobu Malibu is also at risk from the ongoing wildfires, threatening one of the most star-studded dining destinations not just in Malibu, but across the entire country.

Many members of the Kardashian family are regulars, along with other big names like Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx, Lori Harvey, and Sofía Vergara, who have celebrated birthdays or special occasions at Nobu. 

Even when it’s not a special event, stars like Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Victoria and David Beckham, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Selena Gomez and Angelina Jolie can often be spotted enjoying the restaurant’s world-class food.

Malibu Pier

The Malibu Pier, another cherished landmark, is also facing the threat of destruction from the wildfires currently ravaging the area. 

Built in 1905, the pier has been a symbol of Malibu’s laid-back coastal lifestyle for over a century. 

After undergoing significant restoration in recent years, it’s once again a bustling spot for locals and tourists, with its picturesque views and popular restaurants like the Malibu Farm Café.   

Celebrities flock to the pier for a relaxed afternoon, whether they’re enjoying a meal or just taking in the stunning ocean vistas

Cholada Thai

The Reel Inn’s neighbor, the popular Thai restaurant Cholada Thai, has also reportedly been destroyed in the wildfire. 

Known for its relaxed beachside atmosphere and delicious Asian cuisine, Cholada Thai was a favorite among locals and celebrities alike. 

LeAnn Rimes, Cindy Crawford, and Rande Gerber were among the famous faces who regularly dined there, enjoying its signature dishes and oceanfront views. 

The loss of this beloved spot adds to the devastation sweeping through Malibu.  

Santa Monica Pier

The Santa Monica Pier, a beloved landmark and one of California’s most iconic attractions, is now threatened by the wildfires sweeping through the area. 

Originally opened in 1909, the pier has long been a symbol of nostalgia and fun, with its historic Ferris wheel, roller coaster, and vibrant boardwalk. 

Over the years, it’s undergone several restorations to maintain its charm while keeping up with the times, making it a popular spot for both tourists and celebrities. 

Celebs often stop by to take in the views, grab a bite at one of the nearby restaurants, or enjoy the pier’s classic rides.

Getty Villa

The Getty Villa, a historic museum in Malibu, is now at risk from the ongoing wildfires. 

Known for its amazing collection of ancient art and beautiful gardens, it’s a favorite spot for both tourists and celebrities looking to soak in some culture. 

Losing the Getty Villa would be a huge loss, not just for the community, but for the cultural scene in Los Angeles.