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Ozzie's Diner
Rating Details »
7780 E Slauson Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90040
(323) 726-0300
Los Angeles, CA 90040
(323) 726-0300
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
7 reviews for Ozzie's Diner
Best breakfast place in the area. Weird trucker drive, atmosphere is pretty standard diner.
Food is superb. Had the steak and eggs and everything was just perfect.
There's little bit of sleazy money-loving about the place. There's a place mat of 'local businesses' on the table when you arrive. Cashier is also surrounded by candies like you're going to the movies.
Again, the food is superb though.
To say the food is okay is being nice, Ozzie's makes Denny's look like a 5 star Bistro. While the service is pretty good, the place is clean, and the portions are huge it doesn't really make up for the flavor disaster my boyfriend and I just experienced.
My boyfriend ordered a T-bone Steak that the chef recommended, it was dry and flavorless, so much so that I didn't take the leftovers home to our dog. It came with veggies which were OK and a salad that was WAY to big and literally was just chopped romaine lettuce, no toppings of any kind. He also had rice which he said was OK.
I ordered the Ruben sandwich which was without a question was the worst ruben i have ever tasted. The best thing about it was the bread which is their specialty Armenian bread, that was pretty good. I got season fries with it. The season fries are in a whole class of their own, to look at them they are covered in seasoning yet they have no taste whatsoever.
The one thing that was good was the onion rings, if your stopping in for onion rings and a soda i give this place 4 stars. I would avoid anything else. On second thought avoid the soda it was flat.
Now, I know how picky and unfair people can be but let me assure you I am not a snob when it comes to Diner food, I really wanted the food to be good, it just wasn't.
Been to Ozzie's several times and I've got to qualify this review right up front--you're gonna get TWO (reviews) for the price of one. Actually, for free, cuz Yelp t'aint payin' me a nickel to throw in my two cents. For those of you mathematicians out there, if they WERE paying me that grotesquely huge sum, I'd be up 3 cents by now, and after my overhead expenses and taxes, perhaps I'd eke out a 1 cent profit in the deal. Ha, this makes me re-think my campaign to abolish the lowly penny...these be tough times, so I need all the copper I can get! But I digress...
This is a schizophrenic place-- down to the decor, name of the establishment(s), quality of food, ambience, value, etc...
1) OZZIE'S DINER
The Diner's old school 50's, with turquoise vinyl booths and a cool counter area with turquoise vinyl stools, catering to the local City of Commerce work crowd, drive by commuters, and is still a popular truck stop--you can see all the big rigs lined up in the far corner of the expansive parking lot. This part of the restaurant and its faded facade face the intersection of Telegraph Road/Slauson Ave. It's bright and airy.
2) OZZIE'S 'HIDEAWAY' LOUNGE--
There's a separate rear entrance to the 'Hideaway Lounge' off the area of the parking lot which sits under the 5 Freeway (Ominous!). It reveals an extremely dimly lit dining room & bar area. To give you an idea how dim, they've recently added some flat screen tvs and that's about the only illumination in the whole room, save for a peek of light during daytime hours that escapes from the kitchen hallway on the Ozzie's Diner side.
AMBIENCE
In addition to what I've said above, I love these vintage diner spots--they ooze history.
The Diner portion needs to be preserved.
As for the 'Hideaway', the large horseshoe-shaped booths with their headache-inducing floral patterns and ear-splitting K-Earth 101 crap ass music blaring over the tv broadcasts on the flat-screens?-- Not so much.
FOOD
DINER SIDE
It's all standard diner fare, Mexican & American comfort food faves, sandwiches, salads, etc...They do omelettes & egg combo dishes better than chains like Denny's, all with these 'trucker-friendly' names like 'The Peterbilt,' 'Truckers' Omelette,' 'The Highway 101', etc...portions for the breakfast combos are huge and pretty decent (I'd rate the food 3-4 stars overall on this side, as long as you steer clear of the soups.) MORE ABOUT THAT LATER.
VALUE (DINER SIDE)--Prices are reasonable for what you get. The service is friendly, relaxed, and genuine (as others have mentioned, no AMW's (Actress-Model-Whatevers) to attitude up the joint.
'HIDEAWAY LOUNGE SIDE'
The same friendly, relaxed, and genuine servers on the Ozzie's Diner side go through some kinda Jeckyll & Hyde metamorphosis when they pass thru the vortex of the bright hallway on the Diner side to the dim lair that is the Hideaway Lounge.
Suddenly, they're more distant, serious, and cautious/nervous. As a result, the service suffers. It's like they've entered some kinda faux-haute cuisine twilight zone--really bizarre to behold.
And that's the point--the 'Hideaway' pretends to be something it isn't. There are daily specials, written on a chalk board for 'upscale' impact, and they have an 'executive chef' (that's what they call it) during lunchtime only--the only chance you have of getting any of the $10-$20 hit and miss entrees prepared properly. READ: If you MUST, come to the Hideaway for lunch only-NOT Dinner!!!
Here's a tip--if you ask them for it, you can order off the Diner menu, but still sit in the Hideaway for relative peace and quiet from the lively diner side (providing they've turned down that K-Earth 101 blare). However, apparently they're now charging a service fee for this. Fuck.
I came here recently, too late for the lunch specials. The 4-8pm Happy Hour was in effect, and some shady looking boozers were congregating by the bar.
I made the mistake of ordering off the 'Hideaway' menu rather than the Diner one. I got the Southwest Chicken & Shrimp Entrée w/Soup & Rice & Veggies ($13).
The cup of French Onion Soup was so fuggin' salty my throat was burning. They basically threw in a dinner roll and let it decompose and get all mushy. It was loaded with onions and NO cheese. Horrendous.
The breast of rubbery chicken squeaked as I chewed, and the three tiny shrimps were lost in the 'spiced marinara sauce' goop which had no flavor whatsoever. Despite this fact, I repeatedly dipped the grotesquely bland carrots, broccoli, & zucchini in this morass hoping to salvage some semblance of flavor--an exercise in futility. I even contemplated dumping the salt mine from the 'French Onion Soup' on the mess, but wisely held back, for fear of calcifying my throat completely.
I vow to NEVER set foot in the Hideaway again, but alas, cannot demonize the Ozzie's Diner side.
3.5 STARS for the Diner
1 STAR for the Hideaway
Rounding up to 3 STARS in total to be fair.
STAY AWAY FROM THE HIDEAWAY!
DONE.
Ozzie's has been around for a long time (1953) and i have to say the Ham and eggs plate doe's not compare to anything else for the price. Most places give you a thin cut piece of ham, but at Ozzie's you get a Ham STEAK with a bone, which requires the use of steak knife. Great menudo if you had long night and if you want to keep it going order a drink.
Don't be shy....holler when you need more coffee.
Tried it today for lunch, and thought the waitresses were genuinely nice and not fake friendly, like the wannabe actress/model waitresses in the westside. It was a cute, clean place. I had a Gardenburger but it had HUGE slices of onion, it was tasty anyhow. I really want to try breakfast there, then bump up to 4 or 5 star, hopefully!
I noticed they have this weird lounge in the back. It's super dark with candles and the cloth napkins in fan shape. I got the impression this where old guys cheating on their wives go with their secretary. Kinda, creepy ( the back not the front).
Okay, I've eaten here four times now and here's what I'm thinking so far. They're either much better for breakfast than dinner, or their meat loaf is just not something to look forward to. Yes, I order meat loaf at places often. It's a comfort food thing. The breakfasts I and my two friends had were quite positive - we walked away happy. Good home fries and good omelettes. A few weeks later for dinner the meat loaf was just kind of sad. Very little flavor in either the meat or the sauce over it. Oh well, at least it was cheap. Today I had a BLT. It was okay. The bacon was pretty good but the rest of the components were only fair. Poor lettuce, and barely any tomato. The servers are the best - so nice and helpful. They make you feel great. I'll come back for that! Also the vibe of the place was nice at breakfast.
This place has been here forever, and I root for old places - very fifties.
A deliciously inexpensive place to get a good meal and nice warm cup of coffee. Three of us ate and drank coffee for about $21. The service is great, everyone is really warm and welcoming. I wish I lived closer, there were tons of other things on the menu I wanted to try. The quesadilla machaca looked delish!