good food and a link to the past: the nickel diner now open
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The Nickel Diner, Main Street’s new comfort food hangout, has met its planned opening date and is now serving customers for both breakfast and lunch.
According to the latest information available, the restaurant will be open from 7:30am to 3:30pm Tuesday through Sunday to start, with dinner hours coming this fall. UPDATE: Blogdowntown reports it is cash-only for a few days while the system is being set up. UPDATE 2: Hours and times confirmed.
We recommend holding off on early-morning visits until exact hours are posted, but mid-morning and afternoon should be a safe bet.
Celia with 5th and Spring wrangled herself a sneak preview of the menu and subsequently raved about the Tres Leches cake and her now-favorite dish: Cameron’s Puppy Pile, a combination of pancakes and chicken-apple sausage topped with a fried egg.
For lunch, chili, spaghetti & meatballs, burgers and Sloppy Joes are just some of the items on the menu. True to Downtown form, vegetarian and vegan options are available.
Though the exact age of the restaurant’s painted menu (pictured below) is still being debated, it’s fun to think of all the history in that space, which has been home to a theater, a shooting gallery and a Mexican restaurant over the years.
In a throwback to days gone by, old-fashioned sodas — Boylan’s, Bubble Up and Dad’s Root Beer — line the counter just inside the restaurant’s double doors while pastries, muffins and cakes bake in the rear kitchen.
Cheers to co-owners Monica May, Kristen Trattner and Ricki Kline and congratulations on their opening. Now let’s eat!
-the nickel diner joins downtown august 27th
The Nickel Diner
524 S Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-623-8301
Open Wednesday-Sunday, 7:30am to 3:30pm (Hours confirmed)
5cdiner.com
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25 comments
we only got a sneak preview of the breakfast offerings, so we had to go back today for lunch. amazing. i had the spicy pulled-pork sandwich with onion rings, and i now face the dilemma of whether to explore the rest of the menu or stick with my astoundingly good first choice.
(disclaimer: celia and i are investors in the nickel.)
I’m assuming they don’t have a liquor license- so no happy hour as of yet? Can’t wait till dinner and late hours kick in!
It’s too bad they got rid of the grab ass clowns. I would have liked to see that!
Hey everyone - BlogDowntown misprinted -
****WE ARE OPEN SUNDAYS 7:30 am to 3:30 pm.***
Closed Mondays.
We don’t have a liquor license. But we have house made juices, sodas with cane syrup, great coffee, plus Sharlena’s fantastic donuts - stop by and try the maple glaze with bacon.
See you there!
can’t wait to try it!
Went to breakfast today and had the 5th & Main (2 eggs with spicy pork hash). Amazing!
Two words: Bacon donut.
The nickel is a great addition to the neighborhood. I ate there today loved the chicken salad sandwich. I’m southern and have pretty high standards for chicken salad—the pickled onions put this one over the top.
Wow! I just returned from having lunch at The Nickel. Congratulations Monica and Kristen! The place is fabulous and I can’t wait to return to try some of those yummy pastries. I was too full from lunch this time, but the giant double stuffed oreo cookied has my name on it.
Went there this morning and had the huevos rancheros. It was with pinto beans, I prefer black beans, but the maple glaze with bacon doughnut sample was awesome. Their salsa was also pretty tasty.
One suggestion, is there any way to get rid of the roll down security gate in front of the restaurant? I know it is there for security, but how about a security gate you can see through. At night these roll down security gates look terrible and too fortress-like.
The security gate will be replaced, all in good time.
Went there for lunch Wednesday and loved it! Had the poblano burger (you can see a pic of it on blogdowntown’s article…that’s my plate! What an awesome looking burger…) and a friend had the baked egg & polenta dish. Resounding thumbs up!
Kristen & Monica were so nice, and chatted us up, gave us a sampling of their cookies and bacon doughnut. if you like bacon, and you like doughnuts, you’ll like the bacon doughnut (imagine that! It sounds like it wouldn’t be good in your mouth, but it ain’t bad.) If you have a breakfast dish, you must must must slather on the homemade strawberry jam. Coffee was really good too, very fresh and good flavor.
Since this place is a block away from my apt & work, I sure wish them the best success and hope they’re around for a long long time.
I’ll be going back on Friday for those pecan pastries that I had to woefully leave behind the last time….
Thanks Monica and Kristen. Can’t wait to get over there. :)
Count me as another fan of the “5th and Main”: Spicy pork hash topped with two eggs. Yum!
Delicious! and I love the space. Totally fun.
Burgers but no fries? At least, they’re not mentioned on the menu. You guys have fries?
Matt: Fries were included with the sandwich my fiancee ordered. I didn’t get a burger, but I’m pretty sure they come with fries. Check out this photo of a Nickel Diner burger via viewfromaloft: http://www.flickr.com/photos/someonewalksinla/2804005947/
My Nickel Burger came with shoestring fries and the accompanying sidecar of ketchup for dipping said fries came in a small stainless steel pitcher probably also used for cream to go with coffee. Other options available were cole slaw or fruit, I believe.
All in all, a fine addition to the Main Street dining scene and I’m already looking forward to sampling one of the egg dishes for Sunday breakfast though the fresh donuts on display look to be hard to resist.
Had breakfast there this morning and it was great. Scrambled eggs with goat cheese, spinach and bacon, home fries and sourdough toast. Everyone is super nice and Kristen made a point of stopping by my table to introduce herself. Great place for our little family to eat—we will definitely be regulars.
I accosted them right when they opened for breakfast yesterday. Possibly they will pushing opening time back to 8 a.m., they told me, but I was there at 7:45 and they let me come in and eat. Nice of them. Nice atmosphere, a little bit of the old Main Street come back again. Food was great quality diner style food. Definitely would go back again. I would recommend it to anybody. Moderately priced. Not cheap, but worth the price most definitely.
onion rings are another option. i believe that they’re an extra $1, though.
i am sure the nickel does them well, but shoestring french fries are such an abomination. although it was a health code disaster, the thing i miss most about tony’s burgers (aka burgers ‘n sh t) is their steak fries.
They’ve done an AWESOME job with the interior. Service was friendly albeit a little slow. I wasn’t even hungry and ate every last bite of my spicy pork hash. Can’t wait to go back for more. I am hitting up everyone I know for brunch just so I can eat there again. Be warned!
I went there on Saturday for my first official meal there and had the pulled pork w/ cole slaw. (a lot of cole slaw, yes) but it was soooo good! Shared the tres leche cake that was recommended by Ms. Celia and omg it was incredibly sweet and yummy. The strawberries were a bit of a surprise.. wasn’t expecting that for some reason.
I would expect that it’s defnitely going to become a regular hangout for so many in the neighborhood. ;)
I went there for breakfast and while it was a little pricey, it was very good food. The service was especially great. The food came quick, the check came quick, but I never felt rushed. I’ll definitely be back.
Phone number for Nickel Diner: 213 623 8301
My husband and I went there for breakfast last Saturday. The food was excellent and the staff was very nice. The only drawbacks were that it was really hot and stuffy inside and they did not have any diet sodas on the menu. Otherwise, it was excellent.
The food is delicious and the staff is great. My boyfriend and I went there for a brunch this morning and are happy to report that they might indeed have the best coffee in the historic core.
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