The Griddle Cafe

11/16/2008 Posted by justicedeja

This place is very cute, i ate outside with my husband and service was fast and friendly. Mimosas are delicious. I ordered the banana pancake which i only finished 1/3 of. it was way too much for one person, but delicous. some celebrity walked out casually but didn't catch her face. I'd go back and chill outside again, it was very pleasant.

Pros: Huge portions, nice outdoor seating

Cons: none

09/06/2008 Posted by AHJamal

My GF and I had breakfast here over the weekend. Man, the line was wrapped around the corner of the building. The place is super tiny inside and they have seating outside.... but you are literally dining on the sidewalk. We ended up sitting outside... and man was it hot! Then all these hungry people are starring at you grub. Awkward! The portions are huge! My GF had "the Cabalerro" & I had the "Gone Shrimping." Both were egg specialty dishes. My GF liked her dish. But mine was so so. I wouldn't have it again. Service is rushed, I must agree, because they are THAT busy. But if you have an appetite.. this place will not let you down.

Pros: Large Portions

Cons: super crowded, small

08/23/2008 Posted by Debbco

I find it funny that people get mad a restaurant for being so popular. There are X amount of seats and if more than X show up, (hmm.. not the restaurants' fault) you have to wait. And if the kitchen gets weeded, oh my goodness... shame on the restaurant again. Hint: Don't show up at a popular breakfast restaurant at 10:30 AM on a Saturday morning and expect service like you are going to be the only people there. You have a choice. Leave when you find out the wait. Go back at a slower time when they have to time to meet your expectations.

07/05/2008 Posted by mhb1954

Just returned from Griddle Cafe. Overall, I like going there, but the wait, food, and service are sometimes sub-par. I don't mind waiting 40 minutes for a table if I'm going to be served promptly, but we (two of us) waited another 40 minutes for food AFTER we gave our order. I inquired about the length of time it was taking to two servers working our table, and they both acted like it just "comes with the territory," as if to imply, "we are wonderful and so you have to wait longer to get your food." I can't say that the food was exceptional, but it wasn't awful either. You just have to be prepared to wait. If the service had been more expeditious, I wouldn't hesitate to give another star or two. But the extended wait and attitude didn't come across well. The place is too frenetic to say it's a "nice place to enjoy a breakfast." They could benefit from having more help (seems like they could afford it what with the number of people who are so eager to dine there). Griddle doesn't rank up there among the great breakfast places, it's just medium good with some attitude.

Pros: Lively, energetic

Cons: Long wait for a table and an equally long wait for your food, plus attitude if you complain

06/14/2008 Posted by guest100

ive been here numberous times. any excuse to come i will come. my family is probably the hardest to please since they THINK they are gourmets of the world. so in that since it was finally NICE to hear something nice about a restaurant instead of ' eh .. it was ok...eh it was fine or this was what was wrong with it.." etc etc when my uncle from taiwan came i took him and his wife here. they call it a "special ...restaurant" even my grandmother loves it here. she loves the irish cream o'latte and the pumpkin pancakes (to me it tastes like gingerbread..yumm) i normally get the "gone shrimpin" or the shrimp egg white omlete...yummmmmmmyyy... the french press coffee is pretty good too!!

Pros: awesome food and CUTE waiters!!! u always see someone famous

Cons: nothing really...maybe parking i hear it can get crowded just go midweek!!

05/22/2008 Posted by foodie114

I ordered their banana pancakes...they were so good! But, be warned, if you order pancakes you will probably want to share. I barely made a dent in my pile of pancakes and I felt very full. It is also pretty cheap for all that food! Also, I think the waitress made a mistake, but she gave us our mimosas for free!

Pros: Great pancakes, price

Cons: Busy, crowded, wait

05/11/2008 Posted by deshavu

So i took my mom there on Mother's day-- they open at 7 and I figured since I didn't make any reservations but still wanted to take her out-- we should go earlier. The Griddle Cafe was already packed by 8:30a but the host was great-- any available room, he was asking around and trying to fit everyone in as fast as possible. So we sat at the counter-- WHICH I TOTALLY RECOMMEND! (it was aesthetically awesome) the server was great-- casual, joked around a bit despite the chaos of the atmosphere. The menu was unique-- I got the delicious lemon-raspberry pancakes. yuuuummmm. The food took a little while to come out-- maybe because the place was packed, maybe because the kitchen was small and there was only 3-4 cooks, but we weren't in a rush, so it was ok. FYI, the food there is HUGE. Well, the pancakes didn't fit onto the plate, the whip cream on my coconut choco-latte was overflowing... I felt as if i was a little kid in a dream of massive food. Overall, the experience was great. My mom enjoyed the place too and it kicked off a great day-- not to mention I now have breakfast leftovers for a few days.

03/03/2008 Posted by MidwestNative

I don't really get why there is always a wait at this place. It didn't impress me at all. First, the portions are just stupid...people are dying in Africa (heck they are dying in downtown LA). Secondly, the food has no flavor. I have to put butter, sugar and syrup on the pancakes to give them any kind of flavor. The scrambles are boring as well...I think the cheese is from smart and final. I guess the only way to offer so much food for the prices is to skimp on quality ingredients. The other complain I have...and I hate to complain...is that the waiters all look a tad dirty. Some of them are very cute, but to serve food I think a little more hygiene would be appreciated. On the bright side, I am 33...maybe I'm just too darn old for this much "coolness".

Pros: location and host

Cons: food

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

01/20/2008 Posted by nikkimouse

I decided to go here after reading good reviews. When I got there, there was a long line. No one wanted to to sit outside so I only waited 15 minutes to be seated. After I sat down, waiter came after 20 minutes. I had blueberry pancakes. It had blueberry yogurt on top. The size of this pancake was big enough for 4 people. Try their coffee its pretty good. By the way, it took 45 minutes to get my panckes. After my meal, I had to wait another 30 minutes for my check (because I never saw my waiter again so I had to ask the host for my check.) Food is good, people are friendly, its a cute little place, but to me, its not worth waiting.

11/28/2007 Posted by hayesld

We went while visiting some friends of ours in LA who are regulars. The recess time pancakes are awesome! If you like the crumble struesel stuff on top of coffee cakes and apple pies then you will love them. I got the bubba something french toast that was supposed to be peanut buttery but it was not at all and basically tasted like cinamon toast crunch on top of regular french toast. My husband ordered the recess time (1 pancake) and I ended up eating his more than mine. We also ordered the Chicago Scramble to share which was very good (eggs mixed with sausage, peppers, and bacon). Between the half order of french toast, pancakes and the scramble we had WAY too much food and were stuffed. The coffe is wonderful and they serve it in your own french press. Our friends split the chili chese fries which were like none I'd ever seen. You can choose your toppings and they had pepers and stuff and I had one and it was great. We were able to get a table outside right away (not as busy during the thanksgiving weekend) but our friends said you could wait more than an hour at lunch time. The street was noisy being right on Sunset but it was a fun atmosphere and the weather was great so we didn't mind. Another nice breakfast place (awesome pastires, cupcakes, more great coffee, and eggs benedict among usuall lunch and breakfast fare) is the Litterati Cafe.

Pros: Food, Cool Vibe, Celebs

Cons: Wait at times, small