hey everyone,
you may remember me, im the one who posted that big map of Old LA Restaurants (https://maps.app.goo.gl/vvZyMGieF1pfx2RW9?g_st=ic) a few months ago. If you’ve been keeping up with it, you’ll notice that I have different tiers to the map, the highest being the 101 LA Legends. I’ve recently completed my quest to eat at all 101 of them – almost. I’ve been putting reviews of each place up on my instagram (@dinertheory), but I’ve hit a bit of a snag. The last place on my list is Pacific Dining Car, which is set to reopen some time in the vague future, but for now remains closed. So, in place of a proper review of PDC, I want to highlight a spot as a placeholder until our beloved late night steak spot reopens. So, here are all the places I could think of that seem like contenders. r/FoodLosAngeles, if you would, please take a look at my list of potential 101st restaurants, and make a case for why one in particular should nab the spot. Whichever comment gets the most upvotes, I will visit and review ASAP. Try to make a convincing argument for why your chosen spot stands above all the others as being worthy of inclusion. You’re also free to suggest a spot that isn’t included here, but keep in mind, these are Old LA Spots, meaning they have to be more than 20 years old, preferably even older. This isn’t a list of the absolute best restaurants in LA, it’s a list of old, iconic, fabric-of-the-city type places. So without further ado, here are the potential spots as determined by me:
– Nick’s Kitchen (Downtown)
– The Kettle (Manhattan Beach)
– Phoenix Inn (Chinatown)
– Al-Noor (Lawndale)
– Lupe’s Burritos #2 (East LA)
– Saugus Cafe (Santa Clarita)
– Burrito King (Echo Park)
– Larry’s Chili Dog (Burbank)
– Tanuki No Sato (Gardena)
– Old Tony’s on the Pier (Redondo Beach)
– Mel’s Fish Shack (West Adams)
– The Munch Box (Chatsworth)
– Sophy’s (Long Beach)
– Carrillo’s Tortilleria (San Fernando)
– Arturo’s Puffy Taco (Whittier)
– Clearman’s Steak n Stein (Pico Rivera)
– The Derby (Arcadia)
– Spago (Beverly Hills)
– Dulan’s (Inglewood)
– Phillip’s BBQ (West Adams)
– Dino’s Chicken and Burgers (Pico-Union)
– Suehiro Cafe (Little Tokyo)
– Miceli’s (Hollywood)
– Raffi’s Place (Glendale)
– Foo Chow (Chinatown)
– La Dolce Vita (Beverly Hills)
– Ramona’s (Huntington Park?)
– Fisherman’s Outlet (Downtown)
– El Aguila Bakery (El Sereno)
– Fish King (Glendale)
– Shamshiri (Westwood)
– Chateau Marmont (West Hollywood)
– Valley Inn (Sherman Oaks)
– The Tallyrand (Burbank)
– Idle Hour (North Hollywood)
– The Venice Room (Monterey Park)
– Club Tee Gee (Atwater Village)
– Donut Prince (Burbank)
– Colombo’s Italian Steakhouse (Eagle Rock)
– LA Rose Cafe (East Hollywood)
– Jumbo’s Clown Room (East Hollywood)
– Swingers (Beverly Grove)
– Pollo a la Brasa (Gardena/Koreatown)
– Yangji Gamjatang (Koreatown)
– Kobawoo House (Koreatown)
– Dan Sung Sa (Koreatown)
– HMS Bounty (Koreatown)
– Coni’Seafood (Inglewood)
– Carousel (Little Armenia)
– Dai Ho (Temple City)
– NBC Seafood (Monterey Park)
– Newport Seafood (San Gabriel)
– Galco’s (Highland Park)
– Johnny’s Shrimp Boat (Boyle Heights)
– Busy Bee Market (San Pedro)
– The San Franciscan (Torrance)
– The Baked Potato (Toluca Lake)
– Broguiere’s Dairy Farm (Montebello)
– Asanebo (Studio City)
– Chichen Itza (South Central)
– Zamora Bros (Boyle Heights)
– King Taco #2 (East LA, this location still has their famous truck)
– Nate n Al’s (Beverly Hills)
– Mitla Cafe (San Bernardino, not technically LA county but significant enough to warrant consideration)
by Easy_Potential2882
29 Comments
The Apple Pan deserves a look
It’s weird, but I’ll always call it the new Spago, even though by now it has been at the Beverly Hills location longer than it was at the Hollywood location.
My vote is for Swingers. A true classic.
Hide sushi since 1979.
Coni’ Seafood on Imperial is legit amazing for the snook. At least it was last time I was there a couple of years ago.
Al Noor is also great.
Tony’s on the Pier is what it is. Great ambience and mai tai’s.
I would not bother with The Kettle.
My one choice would be Coni’ Seafood.
I feel like since you’ve got Donut Prince, you gotta have Donut Hut (not sure how old they are, but the look of it fits your bill)
Zankou Chicken on this list?
I would skip Larry’s, Idle Hour ( they had old fashions on tap when I was there and that’s a hard pass from me) and Fish King. I do love Fish King, but more for buying fresh fish etc to cook. Eating there is not worth the trip in my opinion.
You have some really great and rare places that span such a large swath of the greater LA area. Great work!
The yum yum donuts (formerly Winchell’s) on Alameda and Glenoaks in Burbank is supposedly the oldest standing donut stand in the nation. Don’t get angry with me I did not make this claim.
Pollo a la Brasa for its iconic rotisserie chicken and sauce… and the backwards sign. The cost-to-taste ratio is unbelievable.
If you’re looking for some comfort food, especially as temperatures are cooling, Yangji Gamjatang’s hearty soups are perfect.
LA Rose Cafe has delicious and huge Filipino silogs in a kitschy decor. They have a $20 halo-halo dessert that feeds like 4-5 people so order carefully. My partner and I mistakenly ordered that with just us two and had no room for their renowned bread pudding. Maybe next time…
Taco Bell
Casa Bianca (Eagle Rock)
Guelaguetza (KTown)
BCD Tofu (KTown)
El Cholo (Mid City) — literally 100 years old this year!
Really strong cases to be made for Rafffi’s, HMS Bounty, and ConiSeafood.
I see that the list is not only restaurants, which opens it up a bit.
I love Tee Gee, but it’s probably not the spot. Maybe Boardner’s moves up a tier?
Pacific Dining Car sold off all their fixtures and furnishings at auction. Are they really scheduled to reopen?
Suehiro Cafe in Little Tokyo is shutting down- lost their lease with the gentrification/rising costs. There’s a small outpost in Chinatown with a somewhat smaller menu. You can replace this with Sushi-gen in Honda Plaza, good value for the fish, especially the sashimi plates.
The Apple Pan (Rancho Park). The Pantry (DTLA).
I would just add some others, and remove some, from consideration:
nstead of Carousel, I would have Marouch
I would also add Zankou chicken, but only the original Hollywood one (there was an amazing melodramatic family rift, and the other ones are run by other branches of the family)
I would put Langers over Nate & Al’s, otherwise wouldn’t include Nate & Al’s (it’s meh)
Fish King is AWESOME but really more of a fishmonger than a restaurant
Miceli’s is so-so in my view
I would include Guelaguetza — amazing Oaxacan food, amazing mole sauce
There’s always Dupar’s (Farmers Market)
Daikokuya has been around for at least 40 years and is emblematic of old school Ramen in LA. Kouraku has also been chugging along for nearly 70 years, and has a kind of anachronistic Japanese food that you don’t really find in Japan anymore either.
NOT Saugus Cafe if you’re hungry. As much of a historic landmark this is (LA Counties first restaurant) the food here is bad. Hate to rip on the place but I’d rather go to Denny’s. If you’re looking to explore the place for its history then it’s a must!
Tanuki no Sato in Gardena is no more, for your information, or at least [the name was changed](https://www.yelp.com/biz/japanese-izakaya-akatsuki-gardena). Here are some that should fit your criteria:
* [Dal Rae](https://www.yelp.com/biz/dal-rae-restaurant-pico-rivera) (Pico Rivera)
* [Phnom Penh Noodle Shack](https://www.yelp.com/biz/phnom-penh-noodle-shack-long-beach) (Long Beach)
* [Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop](https://www.yelp.com/biz/gardena-bowl-coffee-shop-gardena) (Gardena)
* [The Original Rinaldi’s Deli and Cafe](https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-original-rinaldis-deli-and-cafe-el-segundo) (El Segundo)
Kotohira Restaurant, Fukuno Restaurant, and Furaibo (all in Gardena) are also restaurants that have some history behind them, although they may not have the same fabric-of-the-city feel.
Tam O’ Shanter?
[https://www.philippes.com/](https://www.philippes.com/) First French Dip sandwich in the world.
Replace carasol with raffis
Replace yangji with gam ja go ( k town)
Replace kobawoo house with Han bat
Add
Pho holic , com tam tien hoa
Add
Pa ord noodle from Thai town
Add laoxi noodle
Langers deli
You’re missing all of Pasadena and thats where old shit is. Pie n burger. Mijares has been open for 100+ years
Paul’s Kitchen – the best greasy spoon east coast style Cantonese food this side of the Mississippi. Dark brown fried rice and duck sauce ftw. Tommy LaSorta’s favorite chinese food in L.A.
San Pedro Fish Market
Silverlake Ramen (The OG, the expansion spots suck ass)
DuPar’s
Pioneer Chicken (I know it’s not the same but just for what it *was* I feel like it deserves to be on the list)
Oh don’t forget everyone’s favorite: Tito’s Tacos
I don’t like that place, yet it’s a legendary for fooling people that the food is any good.
Can’t skip Musso & Franks.
Epitome of old school Hollywood even before the movie.
Young King, Ktown
El Cholo on Western
The Dresden, Los Feliz