Malibu Hindu Temple: timings, the canteen, pooja services and what the website doesn't tell you

What are the Malibu Hindu Temple timings, and is there food? The temple's own "Plan a Visit" page (checked 18 Oct 2026) gives weekday hours of 9:00 am to 12:30 pm and 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Monday to Friday. On Saturday and Sunday it's open straight through, 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. The temple also has a canteen. Its Food Service page says everything is saatvik and made without onion or garlic, and it lists dosas, idlis, uttappams, pooris and sweets with prices. The temple's address is 1600 Las Virgenes Canyon Road, Calabasas, CA 91302, so set that in your maps app rather than just "Malibu".

The setting: "Malibu", but the address says Calabasas

The name confuses first-time visitors. The temple's About page talks about the natural beauty of Malibu, but the street address it gives is in Calabasas. Wikipedia places the temple in the Santa Monica Mountains, off Malibu Canyon Road. In practice, you're driving up into the hills, not down to the beach.

The About page says the temple was established in 1981, with architecture inspired by the great temples of India. It names Lord Venkateswara as the presiding deity, and also describes Lord Shiva and Goddess Mahalakshmi. Wikipedia adds two details:

• It is run by the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California.
• It has two temples: an upper one with Venkateswara as the presiding deity, and a lower one for Shiva. Both are built of concrete in the Dravidian style.

In a column dated 31 December 2022, the temple's president wrote that the four temples in the Shiva complex had been finished and were ready to open in 2023. The same column lists other repairs and upgrades since 2018, including foundation work on the main Venkateswara temple, new heating and air conditioning, and an auditorium rebuilt to seat 500.

Why does this matter on the day? There are two complexes to see, not one. Allow time to walk between them, and don't assume the timings you saw for one shrine apply to every part of the site.

Timings

Day	Hours (Plan a Visit page, checked 18 Oct 2026)
Monday to Friday	9:00 am to 12:30 pm, then 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday	9:00 am to 8:00 pm
Festival days and holidays	Open. The page says to check the temple's own notices for times

The home page shows the same weekday and weekend hours.

The weekday gap is the thing to plan around. If you arrive at 1 pm on a Tuesday, the temple is closed until 5 pm. Coming from Los Angeles on a weekday, aim for a morning darshan or an evening one. On a weekend, you can come any time between 9 and 8.

For phone checks, the Contacts page lists two numbers, +1 818-518-4287 and +1 (818) 880-5552, plus a contact email.

The canteen

The Food Service page (checked 18 Oct 2026) is a full priced menu. It opens with a short line: canteen food is saatvik and made without onion or garlic. The sections include:

• Idli specials: plain, sambar idli, several podi idlis, and a tava idli, with peanut chutney and sambar. Also medu vada, poori with potato curry, halwa poori and aamras poori.
• Dosa specials: from plain and ghee dosa to paneer, Mysore masala and "pizza" dosas.
• Uttappam specials: plain, vegetable, paneer, podi and cheese versions.
• Desserts and snacks: gulab jamun, rasmalai, moong dal halwa, aloo bonda, samosa and more.

On the day we checked, the menu's prices ran from $2.99 for a dessert to $14.99 for the most elaborate dosas. Prices change, so treat these as a rough guide.

What the site doesn't say is when the canteen is open. The Food Service page gives no hours. The only clue on the official site is the president's December 2022 column, which mentions the Balaji canteen serving Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. That's almost four years old. If eating there is part of your plan, especially on a weekday, call ahead.

Pooja and temple services

The temple lists a long menu of services that families can book, with a "Book Now" link for each. Both service pages end with the same line: prices are discussed with the people interested, so no fees are published.

Pooja Services page:

• aarathi, archana (any deity, walk-in), sahasranama archana, and abhishekam on scheduled days
• homams, including Ganapathi, Rudra, Chandi, Navagraha, Subramanya, Sudarshana, Mahalakshmi, Dhanvantari, Saraswati, Lakshmi Narasimha, Ayushya (for adults and for children) and others
• samskaras: namakaranam, annaprasanam, chaulam (mundan), aksharabhyasam, upanayanam, vivaham, gruha pravesham, seemantham, and 60th and 80th birthday ceremonies
• final rites and remembrance: apara kriya, the 10th to 12th day ceremonies, tarpanam and first-year shraddham

Temple Services page:

• Sri Satyanarayana pooja
• kalyana utsavam for Balaji or Shiva
• engagement ceremonies
• vahana (car or bike) pooja
• weekly or monthly abhishekam sponsorships
• weddings at the Shiva complex
• cultural hall hire, including weddings and four-hour bookings for non-profits

The page says hall bookings include a deposit, that the kitchen may be used only for warming food, and that whoever books the hall cleans up afterwards.

The Plan a Visit page adds that private services can be scheduled both at the temple and off site.

What the website doesn't tell you (so ask)

We checked the home page, Plan a Visit, About Us, Food Service, both service pages, Contacts and Announcements. None of them sets out:

• a dress code
• a photography rule
• parking arrangements
• canteen hours (see above)

The Announcements page also hadn't been updated since January 2024 when we looked. So the official site can't answer the most-searched practical questions, and we won't guess on its behalf.

What's sensible anywhere, and costs you nothing:

• Dress modestly. Shoulders and knees covered is the norm at most Hindu temples. Our temple dress codes by temple guide shows how strict different temples are.
• Expect to take your shoes off before the shrines, as at practically every Hindu temple.
• Ask before photographing inside a shrine. Many temples don't allow it near the deity, and this temple doesn't publish its own rule.

If any of these matter for your visit, say for a wedding shoot or a large family group, ring the numbers on the Contacts page.

What first-timers don't expect

• Your maps app may show "Calabasas". That's correct. It's the temple's own address.
• The weekday midday closure. 12:30 to 5 pm on weekdays is the trip-wrecker.
• There are two temples. Venkateswara's complex and the Shiva complex are separate, so leave time for both.
• The canteen is priced like a restaurant. It's a menu with prices, not free prasadam. Budget for it, and check it's open.
• Hill driving. The temple is in the Santa Monica Mountains, so allow extra time and take care on the canyon road after dark.

Questions people ask

What are the Malibu Hindu Temple timings today? On weekdays, 9 am to 12:30 pm and 5 to 8 pm. On weekends, 9 am to 8 pm, per the temple's Plan a Visit page (checked 18 Oct 2026). Festival days can differ.

What are the Malibu temple canteen hours? The official site doesn't list them. A December 2022 note from the temple's president says the canteen served on weekends and holidays. Call +1 818-518-4287 or +1 (818) 880-5552 to confirm.

Is the food at Malibu temple made with onion and garlic? No. The Food Service page says the canteen's food is saatvik and made without onion and garlic.

Is there a dress code at the Malibu Hindu Temple? The temple's website doesn't publish one. Modest clothing covering your shoulders and knees is the safe choice.

Can you get married at the Malibu Hindu Temple? The temple lists weddings at its Shiva complex and cultural-hall hire for weddings, with prices discussed on enquiry.

Who runs the Malibu Hindu Temple? Wikipedia names the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California. The temple's website gives its board members and priests on the About Us page.

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