The Pasadena Visitors Bureau will provide lots of information about restaurants in Pasadena. We also thought it would be fun to share some of our favorites with you. If you’re looking for a certain type of restaurant, leave a comment here and we will put our heads together to come up with some good ideas.
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October 27, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Linda Clingerman
I’ve done the research on dim sum restaurants. Several of my Chinese American friends whose family tradition is to have Sunday lunch at a dim sum restaurant offer this advice: 1. There are no good dim sum restaurants in Pasadena and 2. Don’t go on a weekend. Wait is long on weekends because of the popularity of these restaurants; can be as much as an hour.
The best dim sum restaurants are in the communities south of Pasadena, which have a larger Asian-American population. Main dissension is over whether to go to a dim sum restaurant that serves from the cart or the menu. Here are the top two in those categories:
From carts: Full House Seafood Restaurant, 1220 S. Golden West Avenue, Arcadia
From a menu (with pictures): The Kitchen, 203 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra
At the kitchen, the emphasis is more on service and the quality of the food than is typical of a “from the cart” restaurant.
From my conversations, there is much controversy about which dim sum restaurants are the best. I’ve enjoyed both of these, but I’m not an expert.
One hint: dress up a bit when you go; you’ll get better service.
Let me know if anyone wants to skip the Thursday buffet lunch at the Hilton and go out for dim sum instead. I can drive 3 or 4 to lunch.
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October 21, 2008 at 1:46 pm
MMRitchie
Please provide the name of a good Dim Sum restaurant in Pasedena. I am coming from North Carolina and it is impossible to find good Dim Sum restaurant. That will be a real treat. Thanks.
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October 20, 2008 at 8:35 am
Janice Sharp
Some of my favorite restaurants in Pasadena are “The Crepe Vine” in Mills
Place (between Colorado and Green, and Delacy and Fair Oaks), “The
Scarlet Tearoom” (lunch, dinner and tea-on Green, just west of Fair
Oaks) and Red, White & Bluezz on the corner of Green and Raymond.
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October 14, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Linda Clingerman
My favorite Mexican restaurant in the Pasadena area is El Cholo. The original El Cholo was established in downtown Los Angeles in the 20’s. The El Cholo in Pasadena is a second location opened in 2000 by a grandson of the founders. The menu is extensive and includes all the usual favorites, as well as harder to find dishes such as green corn tamales and poblano chile rellenos. Highlights are having guacamole made fresh at your table and their extensive selection of margaritas made with premium tequilas. A frozen margarita sampler tray is a great way to try half a dozen (my favorites are tamarind and mango). The restaurant is set in festive hacienda style and, on weekends, usually includes a mariachi band.
El Cholo’s is located at 958 South Fair Oaks, west of the Hilton by about 10 minutes by car. For more information, visit their Web site at
http://www.elcholopasadena.com/index.html.
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October 14, 2008 at 1:19 pm
John Oliver
How about a great Mexican restaurant?
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October 10, 2008 at 8:11 am
gallica
One of my favorite restaurants is Julienne in San Marino, just a few blocks from the Huntington. Julienne is a combination gourmet market and sidewalk cafe with French bistro fare. It’s casual, festive and has great food.
They start serving breakfast early (at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday; 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays) so you might be able to have breakfast here before a workshop. Their French toast is worth getting up early.
For more information, visit their Web site at http://juliennetogo.com
or see me at the conference–Linda Clingerman
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