VIBE

Landmark 24-hour downtown diner that’s been dishing up enormous portions of artery-clogging breakfast faves since the 1920s. The staff is as sassy as you would expect from a hardboiled greasy spoon (we’re talking Mike Hammer-worthy), but that doesn’t seem to put off the huge crowds of hungry diners from waiting for eons for one of the prized counter seats.

CROWD

Mix of diehard local fanatics, late-nighters, and curious tourists. (Over the years, they’ve also drawn in celebs as diverse as Humphrey Bogart and Bill Clinton.)

WHAT WE WOULD WEAR

Super casual–we’d just turn up in jeans and a t-shirt.

GO HERE WITH

Friends; yourself

WHY WE LIKE IT

The grittiness, the all-night eats, and the heart-stopping mounds of breakfast. Mmmmm…perfect hangover cure.

WHAT WE WOULD CHANGE

More seating would be a plus.

GOOD TO KNOW

Cash only! There’s an ATM just inside the door in case you forget, though. Also, the owner is former LA Mayor Richard Riordan.

CLOSEST COMPS

The Apple Pan (Los Angeles); The Griddle Café (Los Angeles)

Read more about The Original Pantry Cafe in The Diary

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