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Ozzie's Diner
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 6:00 - 21:30
Sat-Sun 7:00 - 20:00
- Good for Children:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking Garages:
- On-Site
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Lunch, Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
Joanne M. said: "Really really good! I was very nervous about going to this diner because I read the reviews that there are no tables inside the restaurant and it was strictly a counter. Yah I'm weird but I prefer to sit at a table. I walked in and…" read more »
29 reviews for Ozzie's Diner
Review Highlights
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"...improvements to an already great Commerce dining fixture." In 5 reviews -
"The quesadilla machaca looked delish." In 3 reviews -
"Yes, I love my burgers with mushrooms." In 3 reviews
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29 reviews in English
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Review from Gia P.
Montebello, CA
16/4/2012
This is a 2 in 1 location Ozzie's & The Hideaway Lounge
Ozzie's Diner is your typical american diner with an added twist of other cuisine. I love their breakfast and lunch specials. We are always greeted wit ha smile and the food comes out fast.
The Hideaway is a more of a restaurant dimly lit type of feel. You can order 'grown up food' on that side. I LOVE the Chicken Jerusalem and the prices are moderate. There is also a full bar with cheap drinks and flat screens set up so you can watch the game and eat, etc.
Best thing about Ozzies is if you're feeling comfy and casual go into the diner, if you feel comfy casual but dont want to be in a diner setting go to the hideaway lounge.
Even better is the owner comes around to make sure everyone is satisfied. His name is Jimmy and really takes a moment to meet his patrons and learn about them. This is a plus in this day and age.
Enjoy -
Review from Anamaria B.
Bellflower, CA
19/1/2012
From the outside, this place is the typical spot you just drive by and wonder why they're open. I always wondered.
Sunday, the boyfriend and I went for an early breakfast. It was decorated with the expected "50's Diner" decor and the furniture is a dated teal pleather.
Then the waitress came, and contrary to other reviews, her service was speedy. Our food also came out in less than 10 minutes! Nothing sluggish about that.
I ordered the Mexican omelet, and it was quite tasty stuffed with chorrizo, peppers, and cheese. My beans had a cheese on them which isn't my favorite, but I dealt with it. I also got hash browns for a side, but that was a mistake. Maybe not for me since I don't really like hash browns anyway. The boyfriend got the Beefeater Sandwich. He didn't say much, but it ate it in record time. I had a chance to steal a bite it was tasty, too.
All in all...this is a diner. Expect a diner. Not a five star, celebrity studded cafe. -
Review from Gabriel A.
Los Angeles, CA
26/4/2012
The owner really needs to stop reprimanding and threatening to fire his employees in front of customers. It's unprofessional behavior for a business owner and it needs to stop. I use to love going in there and grabbing a bite to eat while I read the news paper; now, not so much. I was in there every weekend and after a few incidents, I stopped going because it made me sick. People have feelings and they should be treated with respect!
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Review from Ron P.
Norwalk, CA
26/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
Good breakfast. Good prices. Nice peeps.
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Review from Val G.
Hacienda Heights, CA
25/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
Our family has a practice that we do when we are on the road and we can't agree on what we want to eat. Its called "6th restaurant on the right". Yup, GETTIN ALL SCIENTIFIC ON YA but hold on. Since my kids love to argue, we break it up: one picks the number the other will pick the right or left side.
Well today, Ozzies was 6th on the right. Thank god, we were kind of scared because through Bell Gardens and into Commerce, there was not a lot of good looking choices. # 5 was Denny's but thank goodness we stopped at #6.
It's an old 50's diner which is typically good but can sometimes be expensive for average food. Not at Ozzies, the menu was 4 pages of all fairly priced items and two pages of specials. The hardest part was choosing. I was kind of leaning toward the Monte Christo on the Blue Plate Specials cuz i kind of wanted to soup but when I read that the Ozzie Sandwich [A BLAT with cream cheese in it], I had to try it. I always get fries but today i had to try the potato salad and it was a great choice.
My wife had the regular BLT with fruit and my daughter had the Cesar steak sandwich. Looked really good and more than anyone could eat at one sitting. My son had the burger [57 Chevy I think] and everyone was really happy for about $40.
The service was good and the atmosphere is cool but I didn't go into the bar area. I will have to try it when I don't have the kids. -
Review from Joshua B.
Cary, NC
Updated - 6/1/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Still great, and don't miss the hide a way specials, as always a LA landmark
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Review from Mike M.
La Habra, CA
23/12/2011
The only thing this place has going for it is location and it also gets points for nostalgia. Food leaves a lot to be desired, as does the service. The decor matches the typical 50's diner which is cool.
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Review from Jason S.
Los Angeles, CA
21/9/2010
I noticed in looking at the reviews that not one is from Commerce where this fine establishment is located. Since I'm a local boy I'm going to represent. It's tough to find a better breakfast than Ozzie's...the eggs are great, the bacon cooked to perfection and the French toast is awesome. Here's a surprise for you: The menudo is excellent. I rank it as tied for second with Sergio's Tacos (also in Commerce) taking a back seat only to the menudo at El Picante in Bell Gardens.
The burgers are awesome and my daughter loves the sandwiches. It's priced okay and beats the hell out of Denny's. For those reviewers that had a bad experience I'm really surprised as I've been eating here for over 15 years and have only had good experiences.
Last two things:
You CANNOT beat the service.
It's a great place for a meal and the coffee is pretty good too! -
Review from thomas t.
Long Beach, CA
9/1/2011
Went there a week ago for a comedy special, in the bar/lounge section. I've been to better bars thank you.
I haven't been to the restaurant part, but it has a 50's style atmosphere. The rating applies to the bar/lounge.
It would be okay to hold small public events here though, probably price effective, but its not my taste. -
Review from Eli M.
Downey, CA
After so many years driving by here, we finally decided to stop by.
I ordered from the specials, I ended up ordering a simple bacon & scrambled eggs with a side of sour dough bread.
I think for us it was more the experience with the staff that has been there for SO MANY years. Just to top it off the place was just sold, so many employees feel weird after 20-30 years!
My daughter ordered a simple cheese burger..This is no Tam's or Tom's specials but tasty.
Their bar is available for rent also, it's old school.
They also have a HUGE parking lot. -
Review from Bey O.
Hollywood, CA
23/7/2010 3 Check-ins Here
Burger joint in the front; bar in the back. You wouldn't know it by it's rough exterior but this truck stop favorite has good tasting classic American grub for cheap and a watering hole in the back to boot. Cheap drinks, free food on happy hour, and friendly service makes this diner a fun place to visit for all ages. The diner looks like it was hip about 50 years ago and the bar in the back has a comfortable home-like dive bar feeling.
Overall a great place to stop by if your hungry and thirsty and want it less then $20 for everything. -
Review from Jonathan T.
Los Angeles, CA
4/3/2009
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. -
Review from Tiffany C.
Long Beach, CA
A lot of my co-workers go to this place for lunch, and have told me great things about it, so of course I needed to check it out myself. Craving a sandwich, I ordered a 57 Bel Air, a cheeseburger with bacon and mushrooms. Yes, I love my burgers with mushrooms. Makes a good cheeseburger, GREAT. What made the meal even better was that i came with seasoned fries and a pickle to much on. Yum.
My co-worker got the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, which looked good as well. Then we topped it off with an order of buffalo wings to share. Pretty decent if I do say so myself.
The atmosphere of this place is pretty chill. I guess there's two sides to this place, the diner and a bar & lounge. We went to the diner side. Has a bit of a retro feel to it, but the problem with that is that it looked that old too. Yes, that's right. Instead of keeping this place up as if it looked like I was entering this place when it was just made, it looks like I'm stepping into this place 20-30 years later, and the chairs are worn, nothing is shiny and new looking. It's almost depressing.
Three stars. Good/Decent food, not so ok atmosphere. Oh well. -
Review from Tess U.
Downey, CA
24/10/2009
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. -
Review from Oanh N.
Glendale, CA
2/10/2010
I was working with a group of 3 guys and one in particular had a fond memory from Ozzie's Diner from a few years back so we decided to give it a try given the fact that we were working from Commerce for the day. The guy couldn't remember the name of the restaurant, but he described it to me as a "truck stop". My first reaction is, "Crap, this can't be good". I told myself to give it a try with an open mind and I might be pleasantly surprised.
Let's put it this way - my initial reaction was an accurate one. I should have known better than to order a meatloaf open face sandwich from a diner/truck stop - but I kept reverting back to the wonderful open face sandwich from Patty's diner in Burbank that is so delicious. I was hoping for the best, but got the worst. My sandwich came out with mashed potatoes and gravy - the gravy was "cow brown" and it tasted like dirt. The meat tasted like it had been refrigerated for a week next to pig hooves or something terrible smelling. The only good thing on the plate was the sliced white bread. My stomach is still upset from the lunch today.
My team members seemed to have a better experience, although they opted for safer options (club sandwich and chicken ranch sandwich). My other co-worker ordered the turkey open face sandwich and I kid you not, the gravy on the plate was florescent green. I'm not sure how the restaurant achieved that color when preparing the gravy, but it was literally the color of a florescent highlighter.
The only positive thing about the restaurant was the service. Our waitress was pleasant. Not super great...but pleasant.
Food - Vomit
Ambiance - Ummm....it's a TRUCK STOP. What kind of ambiance do you expect?
Service - Pleasant -
Review from Miss S.
Los Angeles, CA
20/9/2008
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). -
Review from Crystal I.
Whittier, CA
Service wasn't good today, they made my quesadilla wrong, then even when it was "right " who puts dark meat and chicken skin in a quesadilla? Not good ....
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Review from Carl S.
Santa Fe Springs, CA
23/7/2008 8 photos
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. -
Review from Hector J.
Long Beach, CA
10/7/2009
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. -
Review from Andrew W.
31/12/2010 1 Check-in Here
an old favorite of mine.
if the bar in "Cheers" was a coffee shop,..This would be the coffee shop! -
Review from Frank Z.
Los Angeles, CA
28/4/2010
Great food, nice atmosphere, good diner.
I've had the Chicken Caesar Salad and Ozzie's Club Sandwich so far and honestly both were the best I've ever had.
The place does look a bit run-down, but the great food and friendly waitresses more than make up for it. -
Review from Lizette S.
Pico Rivera, CA
17/10/2010
This was my first time to Ozzie's. I have always overlooked it and decided to try it out one day. It was ok I expected something better. I ordered the Gardenburger and my boyfriend had the 59 chevy i think. The food was good. However, the waitress was really crappy and ruined it. She took forever to get to our table and then when we were done eating she took forever to come back and we tried calling her to order desert but either she didn't hear us or was too busy sitting down doing nothing. So we ended up leaving.
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Review from Anthony U.
Montebello, CA
9/6/2010
I know other people tell me they don't like the food, service, or the fact the cups have lip stick on them, but I myself have never had a problem here. I even brought my ex girlfriend here and if anybody was gonna go off for something like that it would have been her. The waitresses have always been cool with me and never had a complaint with any of my food and I have had breakfast, lunch, and dinner here and never a crappy dish or crap on my cups just a cool old nostalgis diner truck stop style joint. I hate the part of town it's in but you can't win them all huh?
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Review from Aubrey B.
La Habra, CA
16/9/2010 1 Check-in Here
Biscuits and gravy are good and mushroom omlette is tasty.
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Review from erica a.
Modesto, CA
2/9/2008
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!
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Review from alejandra A.
Bell, CA
26/7/2011
i've being going to this place for 15 years, the food was always perfect but ever since they got a new owner the food has being crappy,
they change the night cook and the food is horrible and in the morning the have a new cook which cooks really bad, the old cooks where the best..
the owners are not professional, you can't eat in peace they keep looking at you like if you're gonna run off with out paying, they dont make you feel welcome at all, burgers were delicious before and i guess they change the meat, they are disgusting ..
I REALLY DON'T RECOMMEND IT ANYMORE.. -
Review from Frank S.
Los Angeles, CA
25/8/2010
Great period diner (betcha didn't know back in the day there was another diner across the street called Harriet's (as in the television family) - information you can only get from frequenting Ozzie's) with a sincere new owner who is making improvements to an already great Commerce dining fixture. Don't be in a hurry when visiting, but the wait while food is made to order is more than worth your time. Among my favorites are the Santa Fe Salad, the Reuben sandwich (don't know what planet someone who was negative about was eating on, it's delicious) and breakfast, anything on the menu is great. The staff is attentive and genuine, particularly Wendy and chef Ricky, who both know their stuff. I love Ozzie's!
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Review from Jo C.
Los Angeles, CA
12/7/2010
I've only been here once..on our way to an Alberto's. I liked the whole Truckstop diner feel they have going.
We ordered chile fries to share..they were ok. Nothin real special.
Machaca Quesadilla...this was really good. The flavor of the machaca was yummy & made into a quesadilla was very enjoyable. Good quality meat.
Ruben sandwich...also very yummy. One of the best rubens I've had! We will be going back again to see what other tasty stuff we can get... -
Review from Crystal a.
Whittier, CA
18/5/2011
i like ozzies, the food is very good, i get the soup of the day which is homemade! nice and chunky and the ozzies potatos are theee bizness, they have peppers and onios. and the sandwiches are very yummy. i like that they make the mash potatoes from scratch too!! its a regular spot for me! alot of beers they have in the bar area too!
