Palm Springs has always been a cocktail town, and in recent years it has become a serious eating town too. The dining scene mixes old-school supper clubs and steakhouses, polished new restaurants, inventive hotel kitchens, Mexican food rooted in the region's history and a brunch culture that borders on religion. Here is how to eat well.
Start with the MICHELIN selection
The MICHELIN Guide's Palm Springs directory, as summarized by Visit Palm Springs in October 2026, lists seven restaurants; none holds a star, but all are recommended. 4 Saints, on the seventh floor of the Kimpton Rowan, serves contemporary seasonal cooking and steaks with downtown and mountain views — book a table at sunset. Workshop Kitchen & Bar, in a historic building on Palm Canyon Drive, offers seasonal California cooking in a dramatic, high-ceilinged dining room. Colony Club, inside the Colony Palms Hotel, is a stylish American spot. Bar Cecil is a polished American restaurant, Boozehounds pairs eclectic international food with serious cocktails, Tac/Quila is a lively downtown Mexican favorite, and Cheeky's is the city's beloved breakfast and brunch institution, where the lines on weekend mornings are part of the experience.
Hotel dining worth the trip
Some of the best meals in town are in hotels, and most welcome non-guests. At the Parker Palm Springs, Norma's serves its famously indulgent breakfasts and all-day menu on a garden patio; mister parker's is a dark, intimate dinner room; and Counter Reformation is a tiny hidden wine bar. The Ace Hotel's King's Highway, a roadside diner in a former Denny's, serves diner classics and what it calls world desert cuisine, with Monday night bingo. The Saguaro's El Jefe serves Mexican food and handcrafted cocktails, and its weekend drag brunch is one of the city's most entertaining meals. Down-valley, La Quinta Resort's Twenty6, Adobe Grill and Morgan's in the Desert are good reasons to linger after a spa day.
Brunch is a sport
Weekend brunch in Palm Springs is a social event, often long, often boozy, frequently with drag performers. Book ahead at the popular spots, especially in high season, or go early. Many restaurants serve brunch on patios with misters, which keep things pleasant even on warm days.
Cocktail hour with a view
Sunset is the hour to be outside. The Kimpton Rowan's rooftop High Bar has one of the best views in town, looking straight at the mountains as they turn pink. Many restaurants along Palm Canyon Drive have terraces that fill up from late afternoon. Palm Springs also has a strong tiki and retro cocktail tradition, a reminder of its Rat Pack era, and a lively bar scene, including many LGBTQ+ bars in the Arenas Road area downtown.
Lunch on a culture day
If you are visiting the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, the MálMal Café at the Spa at Séc-he is the museum's recommended lunch stop. Juniper Table at the Kimpton Rowan is a relaxed Mediterranean café for breakfast and lunch downtown. At Sunnylands, the café at the Center & Gardens makes an easy lunch, and picnics are allowed in the gardens.
The date shake: non-negotiable
The Coachella Valley grows most of America's dates, and the date shake — a thick blend of ice cream and dates — is the region's signature treat. The most famous is at Shields Date Garden in Indio, established in 1924 on a 17-acre date garden, where shakes are made with house-made blonde date paste at an original 1960s milkshake counter; it is a natural stop on the way back from Joshua Tree's South Entrance or the festival grounds. In Palm Desert, Lappert's blends date ice cream with house-made date paste. In Palm Springs, Great Shakes, a family-owned downtown shop, makes a date walnut shake, Monster Shakes offers a vegan date shake, and Nature's Health Food & Cafe and Fruit Wonders also have devoted followings. Windmill Market in Desert Hot Springs bills its version as the best in the desert.
Practical tips
Reservations are essential for weekend dinners from January to April and on festival weekends. Many restaurants close on certain weekdays, especially Monday and Tuesday, and some reduce hours or close for vacation in the hottest weeks of summer, so check before you go. Dress is casual-chic almost everywhere. Thursday nights downtown are busy thanks to VillageFest, which is itself a good place for street food and snacks. And if you are driving to Joshua Tree, pack lunch: there is no food in the park.
How to plan a food weekend
Friday: cocktails at High Bar, dinner at 4 Saints. Saturday: brunch at Cheeky's or Norma's, a date shake in the afternoon, dinner at Workshop Kitchen & Bar. Sunday: drag brunch at El Jefe, then tacos at Tac/Quila before heading home. Add Thursday's VillageFest if your trip starts early. That is a delicious introduction to a city that knows how to enjoy itself.
Eating on the road
Day trips need a food plan of their own. For Joshua Tree, stock up in Palm Springs or in the towns along Highway 62 before entering the park, and plan a late lunch or early dinner in Joshua Tree village or Yucca Valley on the way back if you exit through the West Entrance. Coming out through the South Entrance, the drive back along Interstate 10 passes close to Indio, which makes it easy to detour to Shields Date Garden for a shake. Down-valley days at the Living Desert or Sunnylands pair naturally with lunch in Palm Desert, where El Paseo's restaurants and cafés offer plenty of choice. Whatever the outing, carry water and snacks in the car: distances are bigger than they look on the map, and the heat makes hunger and thirst arrive faster than expected. A cooler in the trunk, stocked with cold drinks and fruit, is the most useful accessory a Palm Springs visitor can have.
