Reese Witherspoon & Chelsea Handler Share Girl Talk (and Dinner) in L.A.

By Pernilla Cedenheim and Jennifer Garcia

04/01/2011 at 02:00 PM EDT

She may be a newlywed, but Reese Witherspoon is still making plenty of time for her girlfriends.

Hours after stepping out for a workout – and flashing her wedding ring! – the Oscar winner grabbed Thursday night dinner at Tavern in Brentwood with pal Chelsea Handler, who picked up the actress from her house.

At the restaurant – which is owned by Suzanne Goin, the chef who catered the actress's wedding – the ladies enjoyed sharing each other's company. "It was a night of girl talk," says an onlooker, "[of] chit-chat and catching up."

PHOTOS: Reese Witherspoon's Wedding-Worthy Whites

But there was also food: Witherspoon ordered fish and a gimlet, and split some spring vegetables with Handler, who also picked up the check.

"Reese was so nice," the onlooker says, adding that she was in a "good mood, always smiling." And the women, who costar in the upcoming comedy This Means War, had each other in stitches during their meal.

Says the onlooker: "They had some good laughs together."

For exclusive photos of Reese's wedding – and all the details of her emotional, joyful ceremony – pick up the next issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Monday!