Dolores Restaurant: The Westside’s Most Famous Diner

The other day I was ravenous for a traditional breakfast. I didn’t have to go far to find a local restaurant with both hearty fare and food with a homemade taste. Located at the intersection of Santa Monica Blvd. and Purdue, Dolores Restaurant is a hop, skip, and jump from the 405.

First opened in 1944, Dolores Restaurant and Bakery has provided traditional American cuisine for the Santa Monica-West Los Angeles area. Many Los Angelenos have eaten and dined here more than once. Dolores’ menu is wide ranging and continental including omelets, Italian fare, fried chicken, fish, corned beef, pastrami sandwiches, sirloin steak, and much.

This morning, I felt like having a hearty breakfast of eggs over easy:

And a large helping of pancakes:

My girlfriend wanted an early lunch of a luscious Hamburger and Fries:

Dolores Early History

Dolores was founded by Amanda and Ralph Stevens, who after owning various restaurants in different states moved to Los Angeles in 1944 and opened the Dolores drive-in restaurant in Hollywood.

There were many drive-in restaurants in Los Angeles during the mid 1940′s and Dolores fit right in. Then, in 1956 the Stevens’ son Robert and his wife Lucille moved to Los Angeles to help manage the newly leased Dolores Restaurant on Wilshire Blvd. and La Cienega in Beverly Hills. The restaurant was a hit with the local teenagers in the 40′s and 50′s with its carhops, Suzie Q’s and JJ Burgers became a staple in the community for the next thirty years.

These "good times" would soon end when in 1981 Dolores drive-in was forced to close down to make room for a high rise office building. The last of the remaining Dolores Restaurants is the one you see today located at 11407 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Los Angeles where the food and service are like they have never been before. Source: Dolores

If you want to enjoy your meal with free wifi, Dolores provides that also.

Travelin’ Local is as much about the old as the new, and having a meal of comfort food at Dolores is just what the doctor ordered.