Los Angeles is fortunate to have many spectacular vintage restaurants, yet many are lost each year due to owners retiring, selling out, or losing leases. These establishments offer more than just a meal; they provide a glimpse into the past with their unique ambiance, character, and stories.
For those who appreciate vintage architecture and old signs, the hope is that these old places will preserve their mid-century or even mid-’70s decor. Finding authentic old-school spots can be a challenge, but a "Master List" is compiled and regularly updated to help locate these treasures.
The criteria for inclusion on this list are that the restaurants are at least 40 years old (1985) or older, with a few exceptions, and located within about an hour’s drive from downtown L.A. The list spans Los Angeles and Orange Counties, as well as the Inland Empire in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Each restaurant includes a Yelp link for checking hours and customer reviews.
Since the list's inception, numerous restaurants have been lost to closure. These closures underscore the importance of preserving these historical landmarks.
Here are some notable vintage restaurants in Los Angeles and surrounding areas:
Read also: Discover the story of Casey Swiderski
Iconic Establishments
The Saugus Cafe (1905)
25861 Railroad Ave, Santa Clarita, CA 91355
This is the oldest restaurant in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties, though the current building dates to 1952. Originally opened in 1887 as part of the Saugus Train Station under the name Saugus Eating House, it took its present name, The Saugus Cafe, in 1899. It moved to its present location in 1905 and was remodeled and enlarged in 1925. President Roosevelt ate here in 1903 & later DW Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Marlena Dietrich, Clark Gable, John Wayne & Frank Sinatra. It is a traditional diner/cafe, with bar attached, featuring wood paneled walls and both counter and booth seating. Housed in a low ranch-style building, its exterior is bordered with mid-century river rock.
Cole’s (1908)
118 E 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
Founded by Henry Cole in 1908 on the bottom floor of the Pacific Electric Building, once L.A.’s tallest. Known for their cocktails and French dip sandwiches, which both Cole’s and nearby Philippe’s claim to have invented. Cole’s story is that the au jus dipped roll was prepared at the request of a customer with sore gums who could not eat the crunchy bread. Closed briefly in March 2007 after 99 years in business, Cole’s was brought back to its original splendor with a new owner in 2008 with vermillion red wallpaper, a long mahogany wooden bar, a copper penny tiled floor, Tiffany-style lamps, old photographs mounted on the walls and a back speakeasy. Claims to have been a hangout of 1930s-40s gangster Mickey Cohen.
Philippe the Original (1908)
1001 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Read also: Sectional Wrestling Tournament Details
An old fashioned delicatessen with sawdust on the concrete floors, long communal wooden tables, vintage wooden booths and photographs and historical ephemera covering the walls. They are most famous for their French dipped roast beef sandwich and roll soaked in gravy. Originally opened at 300 Alameda St in 1908 by French immigrant Philippe Mathieu, it moved to its current location several blocks away in 1951 after being booted from the old one due to construction of the 101 Hollywood freeway. Philippe’s, like Cole’s, also claims to have invented the French Dip sandwich by accidentally dropped the crunchy roll into gravy.
Fair Oaks Pharmacy & Soda Fountain (1915)
1526 Mission St, South Pasadena, CA 91030
Fair Oaks Pharmacy originally opened in 1915 as the South Pasadena Pharmacy at the same location that it still stands today on Mission Street, then known as Route 66. The soda fountain and lunch counter, serving ice cream treats and diner food, was added in the when the business became Raymond’s Pharmacy in the 1920s, and is one of the very few surviving soda fountains in the area. It was remodeled, and considerably spruced up, by owners Michael and Meredith Miller in 1989 adding heavy oak doors with embossed glass, marble counters, tin ceilings, honeycomb tile floors and original period soda fountain equipment acquired from MeGee Pharmacy in Joplin, Missouri.
Musso & Frank (1919)
Old Hollywood classic restaurant opened by Oregon restauranteur, Frank Toulet as Frank’s Cafe. Joseph Musso soon joined the business end and the restaurant was renamed Musso & Frank. Established in 1919, it is the oldest surviving restaurant in Hollywood, though the original location was next door to where it stands today. In 1927 Musso & Frank was bought by new owners, Joseph Carissimi and John Mosso, who moved it to its present site a few years later. back in the 1920s by silent film stars Mary Pickford & Douglas Fairbanks.
Joe Jost (1924)
2803 E Anaheim St, Long Beach, CA 90804
Read also: The story of Angelo Posada
Established as a barber shop & pool hall. Serving sandwiches and pickled eggs since prohibition was appealed, this old-time tavern features a wooden bar, wood booths and a pool room full of memorabilia.
Bay Cities Italian Deli (1925)
1517 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Classic old school Italian market that first opened on the corner of Broadway & Lincoln in Santa Monica in 1925, two doors down from where it is located today. Story says that founder Antonio DiTomasi was a Chicago policeman who relocated west because the local mob was on his back. Bay Cities moved to its current building in the 1970s and its utilitarian brick exterior, with patio and portillo tile overhang, was given a modern era remodel in 2010. Its interior features a long glass deli case and an extensive Italian grocery market, added to the original delicatessen. Serving sandwiches with bread baked on premises, it is known for the “Godmother,” a sandwich loaded five Italian cold-cut and all house salads, first created by DiTomasi in 1952.
Tam O’Shanter (1925)
2980 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039
This Scottish-themed steakhouse opened in 1922 by Lawrence Frank and Walter Van de Kamp and was originally called Montgomery’s Country Inn, becoming Tam ‘O Shanter in 1925. It was built in the storybook style, with a thatched roof, by architect and Hollywood set designer Harry Oliver, who also did the Witch’s House in Beverly Hills and the Van de Kamp bakeries. Fatty Arbuckle, Mary Pickford, silent film cowboy star Tom Mix and John Wayne were regulars while Walt Disney insisted upon Table 31, which bears a plaque today. The interior is ornate, with wood beamed ceilings, fireplaces, stained glass windows, thick carpeting and Scottish inspired decor, such as coats of arms, medieval weapons and historical photos. It is the oldest restaurant/pub continuously operated by the same family in Los Angeles, though it did change names to The Great Scott from 1967 to 1982.
Lanza Brothers Market (1926)
1803 N Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Tiny, authentic neighborhood grocery market that serves up much beloved Italian deli sandwiches in a still rough and tumble area near downtown. The neighborhood was an original Little Italy through the teens and 1920s and this is one of the few pieces left, along with nearby San Antonio Winery.
Barney’s Beanery (1927)
Barney’s Beanery had its start in Berkeley, CA in 1920. It moved to its current location in West Hollywood in 1927, when Santa Monica Blvd was still a dirt road and was surrounded by poinsettia fields. It was always a shack or roadhouse with wooden walls & floors, and still hasn’t changed much. In the early days it was frequented by actors like Clara Bow, John Barrymore, Jean Harlow, Bette Davis, Clark Gable and more. In the 1960s it became a hangout for musicians like Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, who favored booth #34. The bright yellow & orange sign was most likely installed in the ’60s, along with the cool multicolored booths of thick orange/yellow/pink/beige stripes.
El Cholo (1927)
1121 Western Ave Los Angeles, CA 90006
The oldest surviving Mexican restaurant to have stayed located in the same location in Los Angeles. It was first opened on Broadway in downtown L.A. by Alejandro and Rosa Borquez in 1923 as the Sonora Cafe and the name was changed to El Cholo in 1925. The current restaurant on Western Avenue was opened two years later when George Salisbury married Aurelia Borquez, daughter of Alejandro and Rosa. Their restaurant was the second El Cholo location and originally had 8 stools and 3 booths. The restaurant claims to be the first to serve the Tex-Mex dish nachos in Los Angeles, after San Antonio born waitress Carmen Rocha introduced the recipe (first created in 1943) to El Cholo in 1959.
Eastside Market & Italian Deli (1929)
1013 Alpine St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Old-fashioned, tried and true Italian-American deli, opened as a market by Joe Campagna and Domenic Pontrelli in 1929, located in the hills above Chinatown, not far from Dodger Stadium. With a busy and authentic deli counter serving up huge cold-cut sandwiches on crusty bread, Italian dishes and cannoli, it has had minimal remodeling and remains true to the past. The dining area has a handful of wooden tables and chairs, concrete floors, framed historical photos and atmospheric ceiling fans.
The Rock Inn (1929)
17539 Elizabeth Lake Rd, Lake Hughes, CA 93532
The Rock Inn was built in 1929 by Joel Hurd, who after watching his business across the street burn to the ground, decided to build his next one, a hotel, post office and trading post, out of stone. With a castle-like exterior built of river rocks and a large stone fireplace, this restaurant serves American food and burgers and is a known biker hangout.
Brighton Coffee Shop (1930)
9600 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Brighton Coffee Shop opened in 1930 in Beverly Hills. Serving traditional American breakfast and lunch, there are also Korean selections on the menu, influenced by current owner Pil Rai Ahn. The interior is simple and basic, with booths, tables and a breakfast counter. Its decor has been updated over the years, but has still stayed with a more retro feel.
Canter’s (1931)
419 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Canter’s began its Los Angeles journey when New Jersey-born Ben Canter and his two brothers opened Canter’s Brother’s Delicatessen in Boyle Heights, then a distinctly Jewish neighborhood, in 1931. It moved to its current location in 1953 and expanded in 1959; the mid-century decorative touches have remained much the same since that time. Serving an enormous menu of Jewish deli favorites and American diner classics, this casual restaurant is open 24-hours and has a long history of hosting celebrities from film, music and politics.
El Coyote (1931)
7312 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
El Coyote Restaurant was originally opened in 1931 by Blanche & George March. It started as a tiny cafe on La Brea & 1st Street, but relocated to its present location in 1951. With original mid-century signs, multi-colored bottle glass windows, burgundy leather booths, vintage light fixtures and a separate bar room, it is one of the best known original old-school Mexican restaurants left in the city. Its story includes the dark history of having served Sharon Tate and her friends their last meal in 1969 before they went home and were murdered by the Manson family hours later.
Halfway House Cafe (1931)
15564 Sierra Hwy, Santa Clarita, CA 91390
The Halfway House Cafe opened as a restaurant in 1931, but has a history as a trading post dating back to 1906, because of its location exactly halfway between Los Angeles and Palmdale. This casual, old country diner with rustic wood walls, a long wood-paneled eating counter and a handful of tables and chairs has a great weathered Western-style exterior & vintage neon sign standing tall on a pole.
Colonial Kitchen (1933)
1110 Huntington Dr, San Marino, CA 91108
The information available about Colonial Kitchen restaurant in San Marino, is murky at best. No one there seems to know the opening date and the only information I could originally find was in old stories and people’s memories. Now that the building has been up for sale, realtors list the restaurant’s build date as 1933, which fits exactly in with stories of when it got its start. Located in a brick-fronted building with white shutters and amazing old neon, this restaurant/cafe/diner is amazingly quaint inside. With hard wood floors, wood paneled walls, green vintage vinyl booths, colonial-style wooden club...