If you have lived here more than one summer, you already know the shape of July. Sunday belongs to Polliwog. Tuesday belongs to the farmers. Somewhere around the first weekend of August, a costumed volleyball tournament takes over the sand near the Pier and the rest of the calendar rearranges itself around it. What has changed in 2026 is not the anchors. It is the map between them.
For most of the last decade, the honest answer to "where do I go tonight" pointed west, toward Manhattan Avenue and the two-block stretch closest to the pier. That is no longer the whole answer. Between a serious new restaurant on North Sepulveda, a returning concert series in its 49th year, and a downtown room turning over to a French bistro, the summer week now has a genuine east-side arc. Here is how the days actually stack up.
The Thesis, In One Sentence
Manhattan Beach's summer social calendar has shifted from a downtown-centric weekend into a seven-day rhythm with two working centers of gravity: the Manhattan Avenue core and the Sepulveda-Polliwog corridor. If you plan around that, the week feels bigger. If you don't, you keep circling the same three blocks.
Sunday Is Still Polliwog
The single most reliable evening on the summer calendar is Sunday at Polliwog Park Amphitheater, 1601 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Concerts in the Park returns for the 2026 season, bringing free live music to the South Bay every Sunday from July 5 through September 6, from 5 to 7 PM, presented by Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation in partnership with the City of Manhattan Beach and sponsored by Chevron. The series is now in its 49th year, which is worth pausing on. There are neighborhoods in Los Angeles that cannot sustain a summer program for three consecutive years. This one has held for almost half a century.
The 2026 lineup is unusually varied for a free municipal series:
- July 5 — The Satin Dollz
- July 12 — Las Chikas
- July 19 — The Amplified
- July 26 — Elton: The Early Years
- August 2 — Jimmy's Buffet
- August 9 — Cobra Cowboy
- August 16 — Gypsy Dreams
Ten bands total, ranging in styles from Big Band to Motown and the hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Two practical notes, because the etiquette is real. Bring a low chair or a blanket. High chairs get you side-eye. Show up earlier than you think you need to for a spot near the amphitheater bowl. Eat first, or bring the food with you. The picnic culture is the point. Parking can be difficult around the park during the concert series, so carpooling, walking, and rideshare are encouraged.
If you are new to the block and you only pick one recurring event to attend this summer, pick this one.
The Weeknight Frame
Weeknights used to be a gap. In 2026, two civic rhythms fill them.
Tuesday belongs to the Manhattan Beach Certified Farmers Market at the Civic Center Parking Lot and Plaza, running late morning through mid-afternoon. It is close enough to the sand to work as a walk-and-carry lunch and it functions as the week's first informal town square.
Thursday belongs to Manhattan Village. Summer Vibes runs Thursdays through August, 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM, at Manhattan Village, with an evening of live music, a pop-up margarita bar, and family-friendly activities. This is the piece of the week that has quietly redrawn the neighborhood's center of gravity. Five years ago, a Thursday evening at Manhattan Village meant an errand. Now it is a plan.
| Day | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Civic Center Plaza | Certified Farmers Market, 11 AM–3 PM |
| Thursday | Manhattan Village | Summer Vibes, 5:30–8 PM |
| Sunday | Polliwog Park Amphitheater | Concerts in the Park, 5–7 PM |
Three fixed points. The rest of the week fills in around them.
The New Rooms, And Where They Slot
The dining conversation this summer is not a list. It is a question of which room fits which night. A short field guide, organized by that logic.
The Sunday-before-Polliwog dinner. East side, walkable-ish to the park, room for a group. This is where Saint & Second, the modern American restaurant from Hofman Hospitality Group, matters most. The address is 3160 N Sepulveda Blvd, Suite S100, which puts it squarely in walking range for a large chunk of East MB. Saint & Second is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Saturday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to midnight, with a brunch special on the weekends from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and a social hour on weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m. The weekday social hour is the piece to remember.
The Thursday-after-Summer-Vibes anchor. Same corner of the map. Great White, the laid-back Aussie café from Venice, is coming to 3515 Highland Avenue in the former Pitfire Pizza space at Metlox, known for beachy grain bowls, fish tacos, and fresh seasonal dishes. Metlox has been waiting for a daytime tenant that isn't a coffee shop, and Great White fits the courtyard better than what came before.
The downtown night out. Manhattan Avenue still holds this one, and it is about to get more interesting. Coucou, a stylish French bistro concept already popular in Venice and West Hollywood, is coming to downtown Manhattan Beach in the former Nando Trattoria space on Manhattan Avenue, blending classic French bistro favorites with a California coastal influence, along with a strong aperitif and cocktail culture, with dishes like steak frites, oysters, and elevated French comfort classics. Alongside that, Bread Head, at 1116 Manhattan Avenue in the former Tacolicious space, is known for focaccia sandwiches layered with high-quality meats, cheeses, and flavor-packed spreads.
The reference-point dinners. When you need the room to hold, the three names have not moved. Fishing with Dynamite, at 1148 Manhattan Ave, is the oyster bar and coastal seafood spot chef David LeFevre built into a local institution, listed in the 2025 Michelin Guide USA and with multiple appearances on OpenTable's 100 Best Restaurants in America. The Arthur J, at 903 Manhattan Ave, cooks every steak over a live wood fire grill using white oak embers, with a mid-century modern room, a martini program, and Emmental popovers with strawberry butter that make it a top choice for a special occasion dinner in the South Bay. Love & Salt, at 317 Manhattan Beach Blvd, is a decade-old staple for American-Italian pizza, pasta, and salads in an indoor-outdoor setting steps from the pier, with chef Chris Feldmeier back running the kitchen.
If you take one thing from this section, take the geography. The Sunday and Thursday plans work east. The Friday and Saturday plans work west. That was not true in 2022.
The August Spike
Two weekends in the middle of summer break the rhythm on purpose.
The Manhattan Beach Open Tennis Tournament runs July 16–19, 2026, at Live Oak Park Tennis Courts and Mira Costa Tennis Courts, where the finest tennis open and recreational players in the South Bay compete for bragging rights, cash prizes and more.
Two weeks later comes the one everyone plans around. Held near the Manhattan Beach Pier, the Charlie Saikley 6-Man Beach Volleyball Tournament brings together players, spectators, families, visitors, and longtime locals for two days of high-energy beach volleyball and summer fun, with a mix of serious competition and laid-back beach personality, teams of six competing on the sand, and costumes, team themes, and a lively crowd atmosphere.
Two working notes for residents. Downtown parking on 6-Man weekend is a lost cause after 9 AM, and the Strand becomes a slow single-file walk from roughly the pier north through 30th. If you live west of Sepulveda and you are not attending the tournament, this is the weekend to point the car east, get brunch on North Sepulveda, and let the coast belong to the visitors for 48 hours.
Two Smaller Additions Worth Keeping On The Map
The city calendar carries a few dates that are easy to miss if you are not looking. Family Campout runs May 16–17, 2026, at Manhattan Heights Parks, 1600 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, with outdoor activities, arts and crafts, BBQ dinner, movie under the stars, night time snacks and an early morning pancake breakfast, and pre-registration is required. Salute to the Troops runs July 5, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, at the Polliwog Park Amphitheater, 1601 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, and it opens the Sunday concert series rather than competing with it.
One Planning Note
If you moved here in the last two years, the shortcut for building a summer week is not to memorize the restaurant list. It is to fix the three recurring evenings, Tuesday market, Thursday Summer Vibes, Sunday Polliwog, and let the new rooms rotate around them. That is how longtime residents actually use the season. The calendar does the work; the geography follows.
For thoughtful guidance on living in Manhattan Beach, or on a home sale or purchase that fits the way this neighborhood actually functions, Jonnelle Lewin and the Witek Lewin Group at Compass are always glad to talk. Contact us when you are ready.
