Post #354756 by woofmutt on Mon, Jan 14, 2008 12:47 AM

I'm surprised to see that this is the only thread on Clifton's. As others have said it really is a must visit for any Tiki Centralite while in L.A. I was there a couple of years ago and couldn't believe I'd never heard of it before (either here or from some "Cool Places" article). But I also talked to several hipster SoCalifusans who had never heard of it or had never been.

The pictures on Clifton's site are vintage but the place hasn't changed much, so they give a good idea of what it's like. There are also a a couple good pictures at You-Are-Here (a neat site with pictures of SoCal architecture and food taken by a visiting German.) There are also some pictures and a good article at Roadside Online.

Even without the swell interior Clifton's would be worth a visit as it's a classic cafeteria style restaurant. You take a tray, go through a line of food items, make selections, and your bill is rang up based on what's on your tray. The food selection is pretty large and isn't bad, certainly no worse than Denny's. (I was there for breakfast right after a week on a Princess cruise ship and I am not exaggerating: Clifton's food was far superior to anything I had on Princess). The food offerings reflected the preferences of the core clientele which seemed to be a lot of older people. There were also Mexican food items such as freshly grilled jalapenos.

The upstairs at Clifton's is set up for large groups and banquets. The decor there is worth a look as it's that California Gold rush/1960s Victorian style (somewhat ornate moldings and velvet flocked wallpaper) that was popular for restaurants into the early 1970s and every western movie saloon from that period.

Near the front of the main floor there were also some pictures from Clifton's Pacific Seas. Many of these I don't think I'd seen before and they gave a good idea of what an incredible place that was.