Original Pantry Cafe- Los Angeles

Work brought my SO and I to stay about 4 days in Los Angeles. Staying at the Hotel Figueroa, I was excited to see that the Original Pantry Cafe was just right around the corner just 30 seconds walking distance away. I've heard about people lining up just to eat at this "landmark" and couldn't wait to see what the fuss was about.

Maybe I've been spoiled by Omelette Parlor, but after eating at the Pantry Cafe 2x out of convenience, I'm not quite sure why it's so popular.

Our first visit we got lucky and was able to nab a seat right away. All the menus are on the walls and the prices ranged from $3.95 to $14. I ordered the #2 which was 2 eggs, toast, and potatoes.

Eggs were eggs, I rarely have a kitchen that can get my over-medium eggs right. It always comes out over-easy. The potatoes was an odd mixture, it was too chunky in some parts and too mashed in some other parts. I took one bite and left the rest to get cold. The only thing that stood out for me from this was the excellent sourdough toast. Gigantic slices that were buttered and after adding a layer of strawberry jam, it saved my meal. I would order just the sourdough toast.

The 2nd visit, I ordered the Sourdough French Toast since I loved the sourdough so much. Unfortunately that was a bad call on my part as the french toast was WAY too eggy and destroyed the sourdoughyness. The portion was huge, and I was only able to finish one slice out of the 3 or 4 and called it quits. I had also gotten a taste of waiting in line for 15 minutes only to be disappointed with my food.

So overall, I'm not quite sure why people come here besides the fact that it is 24/7 and the possibility of running into a "celebrity."

Another thing that I enjoyed besides the sourdough TOAST, was that the cashier sits pretty much in a tiny closed off closet with protective bars as a window for you to give her your tab and cash.

Original Pantry Cafe (cash only)
877 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 972-9279