Walk any block east of Sepulveda on a Sunday afternoon in August and you will see the same thing: neighbors with low chairs slung over one shoulder, a cooler in the other hand, heading toward Polliwog. Ten years ago the pattern moved the other direction. The weekend belonged to the pier, and the east side borrowed its evening from downtown.
That has changed this summer, and the change is bigger than a restaurant list. A Sepulveda corridor with real operators, a Metlox courtyard with an all-day tenant, and a park programming calendar that treats Sunday as a fixed appointment — three things in place at once. If you already live here, the practical question is how to spend the next four weekends. Here is the shape of them.
The Sunday That Anchors Everything
Concerts in the Park returns to Polliwog for the 2026 season, bringing free live music 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. Admission is free, no tickets required.
The August lineup, so you can decide which Sundays to plan around:
| Date | Act |
|---|---|
| August 2 | Jimmy's Buffet |
| August 9 | Cobra Cowboy |
| August 16 | Gypsy Dreams |
The 2026 roster covers a wide range of musical styles, and the full season list runs on the Local Anchor and Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation calendars if you want the September dates too.
If you have never done it, a short primer on etiquette:
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.
No dogs, barbecues, or wheeled vehicles in the concert area at any time. Umbrellas and pop-up tents can be used before and after the show, but must be taken down during the concert. Parking can be difficult around the park during the concert series, so carpooling, walking, and rideshare are encouraged.
Two things worth doing with Polliwog beyond the Sunday show. The lake loop is a legitimate short walk for anyone trying to avoid the Strand crowds in July, and the playground is one of the few in the South Bay large enough to absorb a birthday party without feeling stacked on top of a stroller line.
The Weekend The Pier Belongs To Volleyball
The first weekend of August is the loudest one on the calendar. The International Surf Festival runs July 27 through August 2, 2026, across Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Torrance, and it hands the baton straight to the tournament that defines this town's summer.
The Charlie Saikley 6-Man Beach Volleyball Tournament, July 31 and August 1, sets up on the south side of the Manhattan Beach Pier. The event combines a high level of beach volleyball with an exciting flair, where amateur players compete with and against the best players on the beach. The mix of serious competition and laid-back beach personality is what makes it work. Teams of six compete on the sand, and the tournament is also known for its costumes, team themes, and lively crowd atmosphere.
If you are bringing kids, keep August 2 open. The Jr. 6-Man Beach Volleyball Tournament runs August 2 on the south side of the pier, and it is free. It is designed to keep youth involved in the sand game that built this beach's identity, and it is one of the easier ways to spend a morning without competing for a Strand parking spot.
A template for the day if you have never patterned it before: watch a couple of matches by mid-morning, walk north for lunch, head home, then reset for Polliwog by 4:30. That is the pattern that has emerged this year, and it is why the east side restaurants matter more than they used to.
Where The East Side Eats Now
The most consequential recent opening on the east side is Saint & Second. The modern American restaurant, owned by Hofman Hospitality Group, opened its new location in Manhattan Village on July 21, bringing its signature blend of American cuisine to the South Bay for the first time, alongside existing Long Beach and Topanga locations. The address is 3160 N Sepulveda Blvd, Suite S100, which puts it inside walking range for a large slice of East MB.
Hours run wide. 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 weekends from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and a social hour on weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m. The late-close is the piece that actually shifts the neighborhood. Sepulveda now has a Sunday night option that does not require driving west and finding a downtown space at 9 PM.
At Metlox, the courtyard finally has a daytime tenant that fits the site. Great White, the all-day cafe that first opened in Venice Beach in 2017, is opening a new location in Manhattan Beach at 401 Manhattan Beach Blvd, moving into the former home of Pitfire Pizza per a recent liquor license application. The laid-back Aussie café is known for beachy grain bowls, fish tacos, and fresh seasonal dishes. If Metlox has felt underused between the morning coffee window and the dinner hour, this is the tenant most likely to change that.
One more downtown-adjacent addition worth knowing about: Bread Head, at 1116 Manhattan Avenue in the former Tacolicious space, known for focaccia sandwiches layered with high-quality meats, cheeses, and flavor-packed spreads. Grab one on the way to the beach and skip the line at the more obvious spots.
Downtown Still Owns The Special-Occasion Table
The east side has caught up on weeknights and lazy Sundays. Downtown still owns the room where you take out-of-town family, and the anchor list has barely moved.
Fishing with Dynamite, at 1148 Manhattan Ave, is consistently the best-reviewed restaurant in Manhattan Beach. Chef David LeFevre built the oyster bar and coastal seafood spot into a local institution, and it is listed in the 2025 Michelin Guide USA with multiple appearances on OpenTable's 100 Best Restaurants in America. The menu rotates with the season and leans into unfussy, ingredient-forward cooking.
The Arthur J, at 903 Manhattan Ave, cooks every steak over a live wood fire grill using white oak embers, with a selection of USDA Prime, True Japanese Wagyu, and Black Angus beef. The mid-century modern room, the martini program, and the Emmental popovers with strawberry butter 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. Chef Chris Feldmeier, known from Nancy Silverton's Osteria Mozza in Hollywood, is back running the kitchen, which signals a new chapter worth revisiting.
The one downtown opening most regulars are watching: 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. It is known for 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 in a lively, design-forward setting. No confirmed opening date yet. When it lands, it will pull a specific kind of downtown night back toward Manhattan Avenue.
The Weekday Habit Worth Keeping
Between the volleyball weekends and the Sunday concerts, the piece of the calendar that quietly holds the season together is Tuesday. The Manhattan Beach Certified Farmers Market runs every Tuesday, 11 AM to 3 PM, at the Civic Center Parking Lot and Plaza, offering fresh, local produce and artisan goods a short stroll from the beach. It is the low-friction way to reset midweek without committing to a restaurant reservation, and it makes the walk from the east side to downtown feel like a purpose rather than a chore.
What This Season Is Actually Telling You
A restaurant list is not a thesis. The pattern behind it is. Manhattan Beach has spent the summer proving that a resident on the east side no longer has to plan around downtown, and a resident downtown has more reasons to walk east than the map used to suggest. Sunday at Polliwog, brunch on Sepulveda, a sandwich from Manhattan Avenue on the way to the sand, and a Wednesday steak when the occasion calls for it. That is the rhythm this town has been building toward, and August is when you feel it most.
If you are thinking about how your own block fits into that rhythm, or what a home a few streets closer to Polliwog or the pier would mean for your weekends, The Dutchover Team knows this market street by street. Get a Free Home Valuation and start the conversation.
