Los Angeles Almanac Logo
Home | All Almanac Topics | History

Oldest Surviving Restaurants
& Eating Establishments in Los Angeles County

The Original Saugus Cafe, Santa Clarita

The Original Saugus Cafe in Santa Clarita, founded 1886. Like many eateries at the time of this photo, the restaurant offered outdoor dining during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo from Google Maps, Copyright 2020 Google.


Also see:
-- Origins of Some Local Food Empires in Los Angeles County
-- Food & Beverages Straight Out of Los Angeles (and Pasadena).



Restaurant Established Location
Original Saugus Café 1886 25861 Railroad Ave, Santa Clarita
Big Dean’s Ocean Front Café 1902 1615 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica
Philippe the Original 1908 1001 North Alameda, Downtown Los Angeles
Cole’s 1908 118 East Sixth St, Downtown Los Angeles
Fair Oaks Pharmacy & Soda Fountain 1915 1526 Mission St, South Pasadena
Magee's Kitchen* 1917/1934 6333 West Third St, Farmers' Market (Fairfax, Los Angeles)
Musso & Frank Grill 1919 6667 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood
Barney's Beanery 1920 8447 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood
Mijares Mexican Restaurant** 1920 145 Palmetto Dr, Pasadena, CA
The Tam O'Shanter 1922 2980 Los Feliz Blvd, Atwater Village (Los Angeles)
Mary's Market & Canyon Cafe 1922 561 Woodland Dr, Sierra Madre
The Derby 1922 233 East Huntington Dr, Arcadia
The Original Pantry Cafe 1924 877 South Figueroa, Downtown Los Angeles
Joe Jost's 1924 2803 East Anaheim St, Long Beach
Formosa Cafe 1925 7156 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood
Bay Cities Italian Deli 1925 1517 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica
Greenblatt's Deli-Restaurant & Fine Wine Shop 1926 8017 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood
Lanza Brothers Market 1926 1803 North Main St, Los Angeles
Millie's Cafe 1926 3524 Sunset Blvd, Silverlake (Los Angeles)
El Cholo 1927 1025 Wilshire Blvd, West Los Angeles (also 1121 South Western Ave, Midtown LA)
Taix French Restaurant (originally Les Freres Taix) 1927 1911 Sunset Blvd, Silverlake (Los Angeles)
The Prince (originally The Windsor) 1927 3198 7th St, Koreatown (Los Angeles)
Rock Inn 1929 17539 Elizabeth Lake Rd, Lake Hughes
Wendill's Chicken House 1929 10337 San Fernando Rd, Pacoima
Casa La Golondrina*** 1930 Olvera Street, Downtown Los Angeles
El Paseo Inn 1930 Olvera Street, Downtown Los Angeles
Brighton Coffee Shop 1930 9600 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills
Canter’s Delicatessen & Bakery 1931 419 North Fairfax Ave, Fairfax (Los Angeles) (originally in Boyle Heights)
Halfway House Cafe 1931 5564 Sierra Hwy, Santa Clarita
Cielito Lindo 1934 Olvera Street, Downtown Los Angeles
The Galley 1934 2442 Main St, Santa Monica
Tom Bergins 1936 840 South Fairfax Ave, Fairfax (Los Angeles)
Damon's Steak House 1937 317 North Brand Blvd, Glendale
Lawry’s The Prime Rib 1938 100 North La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills
Phoenix Bakery 1938 969 North Broadway, Chinatown (Los Angeles)
Du-Pars 1938 6333 West Third St, Farmers' Market (Fairfax, Los Angeles)
The Derby 1938 233 Huntington Dr, Arcadia
Pink's Hot Dogs 1939 709 North La Brea Ave, Fairfax (Los Angeles)
Hawkins House of Burgers 1939 11603 Slater St, Watts (Los Angeles)
Newcomb's Ranch 1939 Angeles Crest Highway 2, La Cañada Flintridge
Vince's Market 1939 3250 Silver Lake Blvd, Atwater Village (Los Angeles)

* Originally opened in Grand Central Market in Downtown Los Angeles in 1917, then moved to Farmers' Market in 1934.

** Mijares Mexican Restaurant in Pasadena appears to be Los Angeles County's oldest Mexican restaurant. It was opened in 1920 as a small tortilla factory by Jesucita Mijares, who migrated from Mexico and settled in Pasadena.

*** Restaurateur Consuelo Castillo de Bonzo first opened "La Mision" in 1924 at the current site of Los Angeles City Hall. She was advised to call it a "Spanish" restaurant, rather than Mexican, but insisted, as later crowds enthusiastically affirmed, on calling it "Mexican cooking." She was later forced to close to make way for the building of city hall. She then invited to open a new Mexican restaurant on newly restored Olvera Street and opened Casa La Golondrina there in 1930. It is the oldest restaurant on Olvera Street and said to be the first Mexican restaurant within the city of Los Angeles. It is located in the Pelanconi House (ca. 1855), the oldest brick house in Los Angeles.


And we wish to mention...

Miceli's, opened in Hollywood in 1949, claims to be the oldest Italian restaurant in Los Angeles.
Otomisan, opened in Boyle Heights in 1956, claims to be the oldest Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles.


The Almanac mourns the closing of Clifton's Cafeteria, also once known as Clifton's Brookdale. The restaurant, located at 648 S Broadway in Los Angeles, opened in 1935 as the second of eight Clifton's Cafeterias. It was closed in late 2018 to be reopened as "Clifton's Republic," a high-end bar.