I’ll be in LA around Thanksgiving and want to take a friend out for a belated birthday dinner. She & her husband are big diner fans. Is there anything in the south bay or westside that stands out as obviously a cut above the rest, either in terms of actual food quality or interestingness in some other dimension? (Uncle John’s Cafe might qualify, but it’s in DTLA.)
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Dinner makes it tough as most of the diners in that area are not open past the afternoon. The wonderful Pann’s (Googie architectural treasure), for example, closes at 3. If the Kettle in Manhattan Beach qualifies as a diner (as opposed to a coffee shop), though, it is open 24 hours. The Kettle Restaurant - Manhattan Beach, CA, 90266
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Cafe 50’s and Swingers open late.
It’s Norms but still the Norms La Cienega is historic and in a way a destination diner for the location/history/architecture.
Agree with the post above! Most will be done around 3ish. The Kettle is above average diner food don’t miss their muffins and ask for it warmed up.
It’s a little farther than what you wanted but Clark Street Diner (from the movie Swingers!) has above average diner food and a little more east in Los Feliz you have House of Pies and Fred 62.
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Oh, dang, I did not really consider than many non-chain diners won’t be open for dinner. I’ll take recommendations for places open during lunch, too, in case I manage to swing that.
The Kettle is a mainstay of theirs (or used to be), so it’s a good fallback 
Would you say Pann’s has a leg-up on food or just architecture?
Pann’s is pretty tasty! Highly recommend. Just be careful if you go on a Sunday. They get a heavy after church crowd
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The food at Pann’s is very good diner food; my favorites there are the fried chicken and the patty melt. The buttermilk biscuits are also delicious.
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There’s a Mel’s Diner on Lincoln in Santa Monica by the 10 onramp. It’s not old, but it’s a diner and it’s open for dinner. https://melsdrive-in.com
Also consider Cafe 50’s on Santa Monica Blvd in West LA. https://www.cafe50s.com
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Our favorite diner is Clark Street Diner. It’s open until 9pm every night. The food is just quality diner food, we like it because we just dig the vibe. Also – for some reason we almost always see a semi-famous face when go there.
CSD rose from the ashes of 101 Coffee Shop and I always appreciated the fact that when the Clark Street folks took over the 101 space (after Covid shuttered the 101), they hired a whole bunch of the 101 staff. They didn’t have to do that, but they did and the result was Clark Street quality diner food and the 101’s vibe.
Unfortunately, CSD is in Hollywood, not the Westside or the South Bay.
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Too bad Wendy’s Place in El Segundo is only open for breakfast and lunch because that would have checked “cool diner in South Bay” vibe. (People consider El Segundo the South Bay, I think.)
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That’s the broadest definition of Westside I’ve seen!
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I rarely post here because I’ve been gone from SoCal since 2007 and am not currently in the know about the area. But I used to like Dinah’s Family Restaurant in Westchester and was going to recommend it. But I see that it has moved to Culver City and has been renamed “Dinah’s Kitchen”. It fits the location you’re looking for and generally fits the type of restaurant you’re looking for. However, I haven’t been there in probably 20 years and have never been there since the name changed so I can’t vouch for how it is now. I hope some other member here has been there and can give a review.
Here are some links for you to peruse:
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The new Dinah’s location will have the style of food your looking for, but the vibe of the place is going to be way different than the original. Where they moved to used to be… Sage a “plant based bistro” and still largely looks like the old restaurant inside. So just be warned if the environment factors into the diner equation and not just the food.
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To be fair, I think he meant a little more east of Hollywood.
While Clark Street is nowhere near the target area, I do think it’s a great diner and totally hits food + vibe + architecture. I saw Caroline Rhea eating there once. 
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Rae’s Diner (on Pico, in Santa Monica) may fit the bill…
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Have you been recently? I went once some like 10 yrs ago and have no memory of the food (so I assume it must’ve been “good enough”?)…
Except no dinner.
I thought about Rae’s and Teddy’s but neither has dinner.
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We’ve been to Dinah’s a million times because it’s our neighborhood.
The food is the same at the new location but the charm is gone. I really hope they survive and thrive and I still go there to support them because I like the staff, but it’s not the same.
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Just saw a post saying Norms on La Cienega is closing. Been there forever. I recall many a late night or early morning breakfast there when I was a much younger pup.
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For a lameo raising canes! Booooooool
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