//
City in California, United States
Photo: pelle68, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, a region of Southern California. Costa Mesa is a robust community that features a focus on performing arts and entertainment. Costa Mesa provides a city-like feel in a suburban setting with a vast amount of storefront shops and residential areas.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Specializes in contemporary art and houses rotating special exhibitions.
Noguchi Garden
Work of public art by Isamu Noguchi that integrates landscaping, sculpture, fountains, surface-level and underground channels of water, and arrangements of rocks and plants. It has a very Zen sensibility that may remind you of traditional Japanese temple rock gardens, but also integrates elements of modernism.
The Orange County Fair is in full swing from mid-July to mid-August, featuring a wide variety of rides, food, games, and live events; with most of the latter being held at the 8,500-capacity Pacific Amphitheater and has featured performers such as ZZ Top, B.B. King, Weird Al Yankovic, Leann Rimes, and Fergie (from The Black Eyed Peas). When the fair isn't in effect, the fairgrounds are open year-round for a wide variety of trade shows, expos, and other events.
The Segerstrom Center for the Arts (formerly the Orange County Performing Arts Center) features several auditoriums the range in capacity from 250-3,000 people to host a variety of plays, ballets, and symphonic performances. The center comprises the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater, plus the Tony-Award-winning South Coast Repertory (SCR), and a visual arts facility to be built at a later date. An expansive 46,000-ft² community plaza, which was created by Peter Walker and Partners, unites the two Centers. There are also many outstanding works of art, including Connector, a towering sculpture designed by Richard Sera that graces the plaza. Visitors are encouraged to take a walking tour of the district to experience the spectacular works of Jean Dubuffet, Henry Moore, Joan Miro, Charles O. Perry, and Isamu Noguchi, among other world-class figures whose artistry is on public display locally. A centerpiece (sited separately: see the "See" section above) is Noguchi’s 1.6-acre collection of sculptures and plantings called California Scenario.
TeWinkle Park has a playground, walking areas, and a Volcom skate park.
Casual, dining overlooking a picturesque lake with outdoor clubhouse seating for those who prefer the fresh air. Breakfast available with fresh fruit, muffins and croissants baked daily, cooked to order omelets. Brasserie-style lunch and dinner menu includes char-grilled meats, fresh seafood and seasonal specialties. Wine list with over 20 California and regional selections.
Family-run hole-in-the-wall is a great place for inexpensive Italian food. German name, Italian menu, US style pizza.
Gourmet Mexican place. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Try to visit between peak hours as this place is very popular.
Seasonally-inspired dining choices.
Live entertainment in an elegant yet energetic atmosphere. Hand-cut USDA steaks on 400⁰ steak plates and fresh seafood. The piano lounge runs 7 nights a week and features specialty dry-ice martinis and cocktails. Mastro’s is Zagat Rated and named one of “the top 10 steakhouses in the US (Gayot).
Japanese supermarket with a food court that has an excellent choice of Japanese meals..
Great place for breakfast. Basic decor, seating inside and out. Mix of US and Mexican style meals.
Immigrant owned small business. Carries hamburgers, gyros, sandwiches, burritos, and even steak. Excellent service and super friendly staff. Great place to grab a quick bite to eat!
New York City style deli right by the Lyon Air Museum. Serves sandwiches and NYC style desserts in a modest location.
A 300-capacity music venue has found itself to be home to a wide variety of acts that have come through town (hip-hop artist GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan has performed here, as have grunge metal pioneers The Melvins in addition to local house DJs on Fridays and karaoke singers on Sundays.) Mondays always feature free cover and showcase the local band of the month all month long.
Very fun, gritty bar complete with a peanut shell-covered floor. 141 different beers on tap. Varied crowd,
Though not a bar, Hi-Time has a broad selection of beer, wine, and spirits. Wine bar, a cooled wine cellar and a cooled walk-in beer refrigerator with exotic beverages from around the world. Hi-Time also features cigars and bulk-food items.
Between the 405 and 5 freeways
One of Orange Counties few remaining bars for gays, lesbians, and straights.
Subterranean steakhouse and lounge. Stiff pours, best entertainment in town. Keep a look out for "Sega Genacide," a 1990s cover band. Dimly lit lounge and bar area. Great dance floor, throwback to a bygone era.
Cool bar next door to Goat Hill.
Small business bar with occasional live music and a mild tiki theme. Two pool tables for $0.75 per play. In the rear is a food stand that only takes cash. Some good bands here and there. No free WiFi. Golf game inside with a vending machine that sells cigarettes and snacks.
Costa Mesa's very own Irish pub. Lots of pool tables, shuffleboard, and stuff on the walls you'd expect in a setting such as this.
Costa Mesa's only AAA recognized 4 Diamond hotel. Amenities include an outdoor pool with private cabanas, the Silver Trumpet Restaurant, complimentary Wi-Fi, complimentary shuttle to/from John Wayne Airport, 24-hour room service, fitness center and concierge desk. Self-parking is $22 per day.
Quality rooms, smallish bedroom but with adjoining lounge with sofa and refrigerator. Many rooms have nice view of lake.
Near the airport.
An enormous shopping plaza that is so large that it has two campuses directly across from each other. Shops include the high-end boutiques that are also found on Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive as well as chain stores such as Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch. It is accessible from the 405 and 5 freeways. Directly across from the mall is the Metro Pointe at South Coast which is an open-air retail, entertainment, and commercial center.
On the other side of the 405 is the outdoor "anti-mall" the Lab, featuring hip nationwide chains such as Urban Outfitters and Buffalo Exchange, but has also contains 2 fabulous restaurants, the vegan-friendly Gyspy Cafe, a great hair salon and more than enough independent boutiques (Carve, Blends, Treasury Dept, etc) Across Bristol St. is the also outdoor Camp, which is newer and more gastronomically-centered. Highlights include the Seed People's Market, Active, tattoo parlor Outer Limits and the restaurants Ecco Italian Cuisine, Native Foods and Valhalla Table. Both have incredible architecture and plenty of places to lounge, including a hammock. Though unaffiliated with the mall, an American Apparel store is located a few blocks away.
By car
Home to one Interstate 405 and California highways 55 and 73; driving into the city is not hard.
OCTA operates a myriad of buses in the city. The most important ones are those that serve South Coast Plaza.
Read in the guideChoose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Santa Ana · International · SNA
Loading places around the airport…
Articles and travel topics about Costa Mesa and United States.
Travel tipsFind the cheapest countries to fly to from the US and UK in 2026. Compare realistic round-trip flight deals, budget airlines, and prime booking windows.
8 min read
Travel tipsFind the best time to visit Hawaii in 2026. Compare whale seasons, big-wave surf, dry shoulder months, hotel rates, and island microclimates.
8 min read
InspirationDiscover the best places to visit in April. Compare Dutch tulip fields, Thailand's Songkran water festival, Roman spring gardens, and cherry blossoms.
6 min read
Travel tipsA practical guide to travelling with medication and refrigerated drugs like insulin and GLP-1s. Learn airline rules, customs papers, and cooling tips.
7 min read
Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.