15 Historic Restaurants in California You Must Visit

California’s culinary history is as vast and diverse as the state itself. The best cuisine in the state takes inspiration from cultures around the world, such as Mexico or Japan, and gives it its own unmistakable Californian flair. The California roll’s origins begin here, as does the popsicle. Beyond that, the Golden State offers some of the best food in the country, and some of its oldest restaurants predate California becoming an official part of the United States itself.  

Everyone can at least agree that California is a state like no other, and its food is certainly no exception. From the beginning of the Gold Rush to the Golden Age of Hollywood, these select establishments each play a small role in shaping California history throughout the years. Surviving the test of time and still open for operation today, here are 15 of the most historic restaurants serving customers in California. 

The Gold Rush played a massive part in the development of the Golden State, with people from all over the United States settling in California with the hopes of hitting big. Sam’s Grill and Seafood Restaurant, which opened in 1867, witnessed the tail end of the Gold Rush era in the heart of San Francisco. Now the fifth oldest continuously operating restaurant in the U.S. is still around, watching a new generation come to California to try to strike gold. 

Sam’s Grill began as part of an open-air market, selling local oysters farmed by founder Michael Bolan Moraghan. In 1922, the restaurant was purchased by Sam Zenovich, the namesake of Sam’s Grill. It finally found its permanent home on the outskirts of Union Square in 1946 and has been open there ever since. 

The current menu boasts a large variety of fish, from yellowfin ahi tuna steaks to a whole branzino. Of course, oysters still remain a crucial part of Sam’s menu with dishes like fried Pacific oysters, oysters Rockefeller, and fresh Miyagi oysters. Besides seafood, Sam’s also offers “Classic San Francisco Dishes,” such as sautéed veal. 

El Cholo was the first Mexican restaurant to open in Los Angeles when it first started operating in 1923. In the 100 years since then, El Cholo has established itself as one of the best Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles. The original restaurant, still operating today along Western Avenue near the historic Harvard Heights neighborhood, has remained largely unchanged throughout the years with the exception of its ever-growing menu. 

Items across the El Cholo menu signify the year they were added to the restaurant’s repertoire. The Sonora Style Enchilada (1923) is El Cholo’s signature dish and the very first enchilada served by the original owners and spouses, Alejandro and Rosa Borquez. Carmen’s Original Nachos (1959) popularized the carb-heavy appetizer across Los Angeles. Similarly, the Burrito Dorado (1977) helped spark the burrito craze that still exists today across California.

The newest addition to El Cholo’s menu, the Mole Chicken Enchiladas (2023), were created to celebrate the restaurant’s 100th year in business. Though it’s been over a century, El Cholo still remains in the family and is operated by the founders’ direct grandson. 

Tivoli Bar & Grill is the oldest bar in the oldest neighborhood of San Diego. Located in the Gaslamp Quarter downtown, Tivoli began operating as a saloon and kitchen in 1885. The building itself has an even longer history that predates Tivoli, including hosting a blacksmith, a boarding house, and even a secret upstairs brothel.  

After 1885, though, Tivoli has been working on its history of being the oldest bar in America’s Finest City. The large wooden bar seen inside Tivoli today is the original, which was transported by ship all the way from Boston, Massachusetts — a town with more than a few historic restaurants of its own — and propped up in San Diego in 1885. During the Prohibition Era of the 1920s, Tivoli began serving a wider variety of food and non-alcoholic beverages to stay afloat. In the basement, they also served an illicit selection of wines and spirits. 

Tivoli continued serving food after Prohibition ended in 1933, albeit today it’s mostly bar food like chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, and hot dogs. The mini-burgers are the restaurant’s most popular dish, made with provolone cheese and a Hawaiian roll. You can grab half a dozen for only $22 to split with a couple of pints and a few friends. 

The Old Clam House, of course, wasn’t always old. First opening its doors in 1861 as Oakdale Bar & Clam House, this San Francisco establishment was built on the city’s waterfront to feed nearby seaside workers. The landscape of San Francisco and the name of the restaurant have changed over the past 160 years, but The Old Clam House remains in its original location.

Now officially the oldest restaurant in San Francisco still in the same place, The Old Clam House ran uninterrupted until the COVID pandemic forced it to temporarily close in 2020. It was sold shortly after but reopened under new management in 2022. 

It goes without saying that The Old Clam House serves a plethora of seafood dishes — clams included. The menu gets inventive, with dishes like Clams and Friends: spaghetti mixed in with clams, mussels, calamari, and shrimp all in a white wine and tomato sauce. The Fisherman’s Risotto puts clams, prawns, mussels, calamari, and lobster tail all in a paella-like risotto. If you’re more comfortable on land, The Old Clam House also serves chicken piccata and honey garlic pork chop.

Cold Spring Tavern is a beautiful little restaurant just north of Santa Barbara in Cold Spring Canyon. Established in 1868 as a stagecoach road stop, hungry travelers stopped at Cold Spring Relay Station while making the treacherous journey between Los Angeles and San Francisco. 

Cold Spring Tavern continued operating as a restaurant after stagecoaches became nearly obsolete around the turn of the 20th century. In 1941, former actress Adelaide Ovington purchased the property and ran the tavern with her daughter, Audrey, for decades after. In the 1950s, Audrey Ovington made a deal with her friend Steve Henson to begin offering his brand new, locally made dressings at her restaurant, making Cold Spring Tavern the first establishment to ever offer ranch dressing. 

Besides ranch dressing, which is of course still served today at Cold Spring Canyon, the restaurant is known for its “famous” tri-tip sandwiches. These large bolillo roll sandwiches are served either plain or as a French dip sandwich au jus. On a colder day in the Santa Ynez Valley, sit by the still-working stone fireplace with a hot bowl of Cold Spring Tavern chili for a quaint western experience like no other. 

Dear John’s, one of the best steakhouses in Los Angeles, isn’t affiliated with Taylor Swift or John Mayer, but instead another crooner, Frank Sinatra, who once called this restaurant home. Actor Johnny Harlowe, with the support of Sinatra, opened Dear John’s in 1962 as an upscale hangout close to Sony Studios. Sinatra often visited, playing piano for his peers and unsuspecting diners. 

The restaurant fell into a rough patch after Harlowe passed away in the late ’70s. In 2019, though, it was purchased by new management. Since then, the restaurant has continued to serve delicious cuts of steak in an old-Hollywood setting. 

The dimly lit dining room of Dear John’s is perfect for a fancy date night or a paid-for corporate dinner. The simple menu consists of a large selection of meats like a New York Strip, prime sirloin, or chicken Parmesan. The decadent meals and pristine red tablecloths bring you back to a bygone era that you will want to visit time and time again. 

Yamashiro, an upscale sushi restaurant in Los Angeles, is most famous today for its breathtaking views of the city from above the Hollywood Hills. Translating to “Mountain Palace” from Japanese, the massive structure was originally built as a private residence in 1911 by the Bernheimer brothers, who employed expat workers to recreate a traditional palace right in the heart of Hollywood. 

The German brothers were intense admirers of Asian culture and used their new estate to house their collection of artifacts. This includes a 600-year-old pagoda, traced back to feudal Japan, which still sits on the Yamashiro grounds today as one of the oldest structures in California. In the years after one of the brother’s deaths in the 1920s, the palace briefly became an exclusive Hollywood club, a public Japanese garden, apartment buildings, and a military school. In 1948, it was purchased once again and turned into Yamashiro — the “castle on the hill” that it remains today. 

A modern dinner at Yamashiro will provide guests with quality sushi, potential celebrity sightings, and unbeatable views of the City of Angels. Small plates of nigiri and appetizers like edamame truffle dumplings can be perfectly split with a loved one at this Japanese restaurant.

Duarte’s Tavern has been a family-owned operation in Pescadero, California, since 1894. The restaurant was first established by Frank Duarte, a Portuguese immigrant who purchased the property for just $12 worth of gold. 

The Duarte family started their business as a barbershop and saloon where you could fill up your own bottle with some of their homemade whiskey. They started serving food, including the restaurant’s now famous handmade pies, shortly after opening. These dessert pies now come stuffed with your choice of strawberry rhubarb, apricot, apple, or olallieberry.  

Besides the pies, the Duarte’s Tavern menu is ever-changing. Mostly serving classic American fare with some Portuguese flair, you can enjoy a selection of seasonal specials like winter squash cakes, deep fried jumbo prawns, or Duarte’s famous crab sandwich. Staying true to the family’s roots, Duarte’s also serves select Portuguese food like the deluxe linguiça sandwich, a spicy sausage cooked with jalapeños, grilled onions, and cheese. 

Smiley’s Saloon in Bolinas, California, has a proud history of serving spirits (sometimes illicitly) through Prohibition and wars. First opening under the name Schooner Saloon in the mid-1800s, Smiley’s claims to be the oldest bar in California and possibly the entire West Coast. 

Throughout its time, Smiley’s has taken on many different names and side-hustles. While it has always remained a saloon, the building has also housed a barbershop, a bait shop, a live music venue, and a newspaper publisher. In the 1920s, during Prohibition, the owners cut hair in the front while secretly serving alcohol in the back. It adopted the name Smiley’s, formally “Smiley’s Bar and Bait Shop,” in 1955 when the property was purchased by Italian immigrant Ismaele “Smiley” Bianchini. Though the bait shop went away, the name Smiley’s remained ever since. 

Smiley’s began serving food, beginning with pizza, in the 1970s. Since then, the menu has grown as ownership continued to change hands. Today, Smiley’s offers an impressive selection of food — at least for a self-proclaimed dive-bar. The menu consists of some classic bar fare you might expect to find, like chicken wings and nachos, as well as some healthier bites, such as a kale salad and vegan tortilla soup. 

The Sycamore Inn, named after the breathtaking abundance of Sycamore trees surrounding the property, helped establish Rancho Cucamonga, California, into the bustling city that it is today. Originally land used by the Kucamongan Native American tribe, 13,000 acres was granted to Tubercio Tapia in 1839 by the Spanish governor of California. This land was renamed “Rancho Cucamonga” and was built around the land where the Sycamore Inn stands today. 

The current building was constructed in 1920 and included eight hotel rooms for guests to stay overnight. Only about 20 years later, though, the hotel rooms were closed, and the Sycamore Inn became a full-time restaurant. Still situated in the Sycamore grove just off of the beginning of Route 66, the Sycamore Inn has seen its number of famous guests over the years — most infamously, both Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Short in the weeks leading up to their premature deaths. 

The Sycamore Inn today operates as a lively steakhouse that serves a delicious prime ribeye. The steak burger with blue cheese and bacon is a hefty creation that melts in your mouth. The restaurant’s “prime time” menu takes happy hour to a new level, offering slightly cheaper prices for all of their best offerings until 8 p.m. 

The Apple Pan is one of Los Angeles’ oldest continuously operating restaurants, first opening in 1947 by the hands of Ellen and Alan Barker. Then ahead of its time, this 1950s-style diner has no tables and chairs, but a long U-shaped bar on which it has been serving burgers, sandwiches, and pies ever since. 

Located on Pico Boulevard on the west side of Los Angeles, The Apple Pan has a simple menu consisting only of a handful of different delicious sandwiches, including one of the best tuna sandwiches in the country, and seven types of pie. Fresh apple pie is a given, but the restaurant also features alternatives like pecan, strawberry cream, or chocolate cream. Before dessert, try one of the Apple Pan’s most popular sandwiches, the hickory burger, which was crafted by the original owners in 1945 even before opening their restaurant.

While many people see just a diner, one man found his muse in The Apple Pan. This classic LA restaurant is the inspiration behind Johnny Rockets. The founder stated that his popular chain was based off of the aesthetics and simplicity of The Apple Pan. 

The oldest restaurant in Los Angeles County is The Original Saugus Cafe, a roadside diner that first opened in Santa Clarita in 1886 under the name Saugus Eating House. Named after the town of Saugus, Massachusetts, where the surrounding land developer was from, The Saugus Cafe opened in a train station where travelers could grab a bite in between catching their trains. Though the railroad is no longer functional, The Saugus Cafe remains. 

Throughout the years, notable diners have stopped by The Saugus Cafe, including President Theodore Roosevelt, who supposedly enjoyed a New York steak in Santa Clarita in 1903. Since then, it has become a frequent background for films, most notably including a scene from “Drive” featuring Ryan Gosling. 

Though the cafe is no longer a popular pit stop between Los Angeles and San Francisco, not much else has changed inside the cozy diner. A number of booths line the rectangular diner with green, plasticky chairs and bolted-down tables. A long, elevated bar provides plenty of seating where you can enjoy staples like the Saugus Cafe’s house omelet, pancakes, or your own presidential New York steak plate.

Musso & Frank’s is a Hollywood legend in its own right, an aspirational restaurant where Los Angeles newcomers hope to one day snag a reservation, which can be both elusive and expensive. Any restaurant with rich clientele should, of course, have a rich history as well, and that’s exactly what you get with Musso & Frank. 

Frank Toulet and Joseph Musso opened their restaurant in 1919, striving for excellence since the very beginning. As the Hollywood neighborhood developed rapidly over the next few decades, the restaurateurs positioned Musso & Frank as a mecca for celebrities and filmmakers. The restaurant’s storied “Back Room” was reserved for this new class of Hollywood elite, including Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and Humphrey Bogart. 

Musso & Frank is an old-school, fine dining establishment that serves decadent cuts of meat like the 12-ounce New York steak or a bone-in rib eye. The Italian entrées portion of the menu offers rigatoni with lamb ragout or gnocchi gorgonzola, a delicate and cheesy dish well worth $29.

The House of Prime Rib in San Francisco was part of a prime rib craze that struck California and much of the rest of the United States in the mid-20th century. The “cronut” or “froyo” trend of the time, prime rib restaurants popped up in many major cities. Few, though, stood the test of time like The House of Prime Rib. 

Established in 1949 by Lou Balaski, The House of Prime Rib has been serving only the finest cuts of meat for over 75 years. The restaurant was purchased in 1985 by Joe Betz, a historic restaurateur in his own rite, who began House of Prime Rib’s 21-day rule, aging the beef ribs for 21 days to maintain a consistently tender, juicy cut of meat. 

You know what you’re getting when you go to House of Prime Rib: a beautifully ornate dining experience in an old-school dining room filled with large, white tablecloth-laden tables. Prime rib is the only entrée on the menu, but you can choose your cut depending on your appetite. Every dinner also comes with a number of sides that pair perfectly with prime rib. 

Mitla Cafe opened in San Bernardino in 1937 by married duo Lucia Rodriguez and Vicente Montaño. Shortly after, it became an incredibly popular road stop along Route 66, known for its cheap Mexican food — a cuisine that many travelers were discovering for the first time at Mitla Cafe. 

The space became a safe haven for Mexican and Spanish-speaking residents of San Bernardino as the town began to change, and civil rights leaders who helped shape California, like Cesar Chavez, frequented the cafe in its early days. Another visitor was Glen Bell, who found inspiration in Mitla Cafe’s hard-shelled tacos and mimicked the simple recipe when he opened the very first Taco Bell in Downey, California, in 1962. 

Mitla Cafe still serves the original hard-shelled tacos along with a plethora of other classic Mexican favorites and alcohol not typically found on the Taco Bell menu. The taco, tamale, and chile relleno combination plate with a side of rice and beans is enough to satiate any appetite.