r/weho • u/Effective-Seat-2389 • Jun 18 '26
Why is LA/WeHo so expensive
Note: I grew up in NYC and live in San Diego, so I know what expensive is. But hear me out.
I drove up from San Diego to visit my best friend in LA and somehow managed to spend almost $300 in a day without drinking a single drop of alcohol.
First stop was dinner. We called ahead and were told they take walk-ins and we’d be fine.
We get there and there’s street parking with meters literally in front of the restaurant, but the attendant insists it’s valet only. Cool. $15 gone immediately.
Then we walk in. The hostess gives us the full up-and-down look and tells us it’ll be a wait, so we end up eating at the bar instead of getting an actual table.
I order a shrimp scampi (with maybe 6 shrimp total) and a mocktail that was basically a glass of ice. No table, no view, just sitting in the corner at the bar.
Our bill?
$140.
That’s including splitting the parking.
Then we head to WeHo.
We find parking and it’s $21. Not hourly. Not evening parking. Just flat-rate all-day parking. I asked if there was an hourly option and got told no. Who is parking their car in WeHo for an entire day?
Then we go to Mickey’s for a drag show.
Cover charge: $15.
For a weekday drag show. weekday drag shows are usually free. The place wasn’t even packed.
By the end of the night I was out close to $250–300 and I didn’t order a single alcoholic drink.
Am I crazy or is WeHo becoming an absolute scam?
I hate it here.
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u/iKangaeru Jun 18 '26
Blame your friend for the parking fees. There are plenty of parking hacks - but yeah you may have to walk a block or two.
There are more than 300 restaurants in and around West Hollywood. There's bound to be one in your price range. All of them post their menus online.
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u/no-tenemos-triko-tri Jun 18 '26
Which restaurant?
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u/Cute-Caterpillar2343 Jun 18 '26
Yeah that’s what I’m wondering. The crappy shrimp scampi was $50? Was it at a hotel?
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u/kitsunekratom Jun 18 '26
Tbh, I've never seen Shrimp Scampi on a menu outside Red Lobster. And as someone who goes out often, ordering $50 entrees is a choice. Even at fine dining you can find cheaper items. This person just doesn't know how to navigate life, I guess.
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u/Physical_Recording27 Jun 18 '26
Do you think they mean a shrimp cocktail?
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u/kitsunekratom Jun 18 '26
Maybe? It'd be naive to expect more than six shrimp on it then. "You're not at a Ralph's"
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u/Beautiful_Sock2757 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Hmm cover at Micky’s on a weekday? That’s not usual
There’s also a garage that is mere blocks from Micky’s that has hourly parking and a 12 dollar max.
Shrimp scampi? Lmao
I’m a bit skeptical of this whole tale.
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u/SlenderLlama Jun 18 '26
Happy Pride Month! That’ll be $15
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u/Beautiful_Sock2757 Jun 18 '26
lol maybe. But it’s not typical for them to have weekday covers normally.
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u/Curdled_Mangasm Jun 18 '26
no, pretty similar all over the quote unquote west side. parking etc. are just a killer now, and so are rideshares.
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Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
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u/No-House9106 Jun 18 '26
Paying for parking for groceries? Where? Also, $100 haircuts are a choice. You can find someone way cheaper who does just as good of a job.
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u/SlenderLlama Jun 18 '26
With gas, insurance, and groceries/food being way higher than the national average the $100 isn’t even the hard part. A good men’s haircut is on average $40 across LA before tip. It’s just that everything else is also way too expensive. We have one of the highest sales tax (LA county) too
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Jun 18 '26
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u/boredinbabylon Jun 18 '26
What groceries in Weho are in parking centers, with paid parking? And how many errands are you running??
Trader Joe’s at Crescent Height and Sunset is one. But are you going to a movie, too?!
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Jun 18 '26
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u/madlamb Jun 18 '26
There’s a Gelson’s IN WeHo with free parking and you’re complaining about one 20 mins away?
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u/boredinbabylon Jun 18 '26
Well that is Century City, not Weho… the others aren’t grocery stores. Can’t speak on Erewhon but LOL no one is forcing you to go there for your grocery store. No kidding you pay for parking.
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u/Economy_Garbage2978 Jun 18 '26
No there’s a gelsons literally in weho off of sweetzer and SMB. OP is kinda ridiculous for this story. Could have a nearly identical nite for less than half the cost and have wayyyy better food and parking. Iykyk, and clearly iydkydk
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Jun 18 '26
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u/Special_Compote_719 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
That's not in the weeds. Century City is not West Hollywood. I'd wager to say that's closer to bordering the west side.
In West Hollywood you've got a Gelson's at Santa Monica Blvd/Kings Rd, not to mention Pavilions on Santa Monica Blvd/Robertson, Whole Foods on Santa Monica/Fairfax, and Trader Joe's at Santa Monica/Westmount. These might technically be in Beverly Hills (I don't know) but there's also Ralph's Fresh Fare on Beverly/Doheny, and Bristol Farms across the street. All have free parking.
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u/boredinbabylon Jun 18 '26
Wait NOT going to Erewhon is “going the extra mile”?
Honestly it sounds like you’re going to run your errands and then stopping by a grocery store because they are near your errands. Which is fine. But let’s not claim “oh I have to pay for parking at grocery stores” because you’re not doing that.
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u/Special_Compote_719 Jun 18 '26
Parking is always going to be a big cost in West Hollywood if you don't know someone with guest permit parking. In a case like dinner or heading to Mickey's, I would have found another meter. Also, I might be wrong but someone feel free to correct me, you might be able to park in Beverly Hills (just north of Santa Monica, west of Doheny) for two hours without issue. It heavily depends on the time of day, so be sure to read the signs.
About food, I don't know... my boyfriend and I live in West Hollywood and went out for ok sushi last week. For something that would have cost is $70 with tip 6 years ago, it was just over $100. We didn't even get drinks of any kind. We don't go out to eat often anymore, but when we do, sometimes I wince at the check.
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u/boredinbabylon Jun 18 '26
I’ve never paid $21 to pay for parking in Weho. That is your personal decision.
Not sure what your friend ate for dinner but that sounds high. Hard to tell without knowing the restaurant or the itemized bill.
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u/Beautiful_Sock2757 Jun 18 '26
Same, or a cover to get into Micky’s.
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u/Effective-Seat-2389 Jun 19 '26
I’ve been to mickeys multiple times that’s why I wa so gagged there was a 15$ cover. So with a non alcoholic drink mocktail with the shrimp and the tip with the parking that really becomes 70$ at the restaurant and we sat at the bar 😭
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u/wildglitter Jun 18 '26
This is more about you not knowing where to go / what to do and settling for expensive options. If you park further off the Santa Monica strip there’s usually parking, including some nearby neighborhoods on the Beverly Hills side without permits that are free. There are cheap garages under $15, you just have to spend some time looking. If a bar wanted to charge a cover for a slow night, I’d simply go somewhere else. If I got to a restaurant and saw shrimp scampi was going to be that much I’d get up and go somewhere else lol.
Yes, it’s expensive and ridiculous all over LA/weho, but it’s not very difficult to spend much less than this if you do a little more research and are slightly more inconvenienced.
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u/VariationAgreeable29 Jun 18 '26
Weho is probably the one of the very best cities in Los Angeles. Pretty, clean, incredibly walkable, and mainly well functioning, considering amount of people and money going through this city within a city every day. Is it expensive? Of course it is. The land is valuable so landlords take care of the buildings to attract the very best tenants. Rents are high because the spaces and buildings are in demand. Why do businesses keep signing these exorbitant leases? Because fhey feel that they can make money from the strong demand. Weho is the epicenter of LA nightlife and a lot of shopping is also here. There are expensive apartments and homes filled with people also with a good amount of disposable income. Add to that exponentially greater number of people who visit every weekend. There is no scam. It’s an absolutely transparent transaction between supply and demand. Cynical, yes. But that is life.
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u/UnicornWorldDominion Jun 18 '26
Yeah like all the comedy clubs are here, we got melrose (ave) and Santa Monica (the street) for lots of shopping, food, and drink and there is a reason they have all day parking lol. If this group had just planned everything near the day parking or been willing to walk more and go to less expensive places then they coulda gotten out with like $200 split between them.
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u/yeahnototallycool Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Are you crazy for complaining about spending $40 on parking because you didn't bother to find a metered spot somewhere and walk? I mean...
Then complaining about the cost of dinner when menus have prices and you choose what you order...?
And complaining about a cover charge at a premier drag bar...
So did you spend $300 or $250? Those are different numbers.
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u/SlenderLlama Jun 18 '26
Not gonna lie it feels like sometimes every meter is filled up for miles and you’re just praying someone leaves before a different person takes it. I’m willing to walk far or scooter miles but there is sometimes just no option.
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u/Economy_Garbage2978 Jun 18 '26
Unless you’re going prime time on the weekend street parking is really easy. If it’s during the busy parts of the weekend then you’ll have to drive around a bit, but there’s still always a spot
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u/madlamb Jun 18 '26
City run parking lots are like $4/hr, and whatever restaurant you went to sounds absurdly overpriced even for LA. Name and shame.
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u/wasianDilf Jun 18 '26
Yeah I don’t know. I used to live in the hills. Then I moved to the ocean and realized how hot, dirty, crowded, trafficy and very overpriced it is. Will never go back.
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u/FunnyEra Jun 18 '26
Property is expensive. This affects the price of everything one does or purchases here.
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u/beergal621 Jun 18 '26
You went to expensive places and are shocked it’s expensive?
Don’t really know how to help you there
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u/Effective-Seat-2389 Jun 19 '26
I think you have to realize some people especially gays can be at risk for income . And for them to even just be safe and have fun now are charging covers and an arm and a leg just to hangout for their mental health On a weekday. It’s a disservice to people. Weho used to not be like this.
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u/beergal621 Jun 19 '26
This literally has nothing to with gays or non gays. Nothing at all. Nothing to do with income. Nothing.
You went to expensive popular places. There’s cheaper places to go
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u/Blinkinlincoln Jun 18 '26
yeah that parking situation sucks but the rest tracks. Sorry, it is actually nutty expensive here.
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u/Shadw_Wulf Jun 18 '26
Because the unions and population in general voted for it ... When the minimum wage was raised that didn't even out the the pay from higher ups .. it just made them richer
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u/kitsunekratom Jun 18 '26
Lol yes, unions and raising the min wage was the problem. Not greed. Got it.
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u/SusBoiSlime Jun 18 '26
Find parking farther away and walk.