Palm Springs has a restaurant scene disproportionate to its size, driven by decades of wealthy visitors and a resident population that eats out constantly. The strip along Palm Canyon Drive and the parallel Arenas Road have most of the options.
Workshop Kitchen + Bar on Indian Canyon Drive is the most acclaimed restaurant in the area — creative California cuisine in a handsome midcentury space. Reservations are advisable. Birba on Palm Canyon Drive is a solid Italian-Californian with good wood-fired pizza and an excellent outdoor patio. Shanghai Red's Bar and Grill, open since 1968, is a classic Palm Springs watering hole with reliable American comfort food and a loyal local following.
For breakfast, Cheeky's on Belardo Road draws queues on weekends for its rotating seasonal menu and its exceptional bacon flight — yes, that is a tasting menu of different smoked bacons, and yes, it is as absurd and delicious as it sounds. Koffi, with several locations, is the local coffee institution.