It's possible to be transported far from the city just by going to dinner. At these restaurants, listen to the rhythmic pounding of the surf, gaze overhead at leafy trees or enjoy the serenity of a garden. The city's hustle and bustle will just melt away ... until you get on the freeway to go home.
Splashes: This restaurant, in a lovely beachfront hotel, has a patio on the beach that looks toward Catalina. Try it or an indoor window seat for sunsets. Menu favorites include the spicy fried calamari and the creme brulee trio: chocolate, vanilla and raspberry. (Dinner entrees, $8 to $34; prix-fixe dinner, $66; spicy fried calamari, $10; creme brulee trio, $8.) Splashes, Surf & Sand Hotel, 1555 S. Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, (949) 497-4477.
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The Inn of the Seventh Ray: Hollywood evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson used this magical spot in Topanga Canyon as a retreat in the '20s. Now it's an elegant health food restaurant under a canopy of trees with its own babbling brook. No dairy products are used, but the menu includes meat, fish and poultry choices along with many vegetarian entrees, and there's a special five-course menu of raw foods. (Dinner entrees, $20 to $30; raw prix-fixe menu, $48.) Inn of the Seventh Ray, 128 Old Topanga Road, Topanga, (310) 455-1311.
