Tucked away on the corner of Aviation Boulevard and Ocean Drive, is a place called Ocean Diner. While the parking is limited and can be crowded during the earlier hours of breakfast, the food is hearty and may indeed make one reminisce of mom’s home cooked meals.
Influenced by a love for 40’s décor, the place is decorated by warm golden walls covered in paintings and newspaper clippings that reveal the sense of style and news happening during that time period.
These decorations include World War II newspaper clippings, old school waffle irons, toasters and even some characters on the menu that have their own opinion on what food the customer should try.
Once a place where one could buy a plethora of made-from-scratch desserts, it now boasts an impressive list of breakfast, lunch and dinner entrees served all day long for the convenience of the customer.
On a Friday evening, the restaurant was almost deserted and a friend and I sat in a comfy booth, not sure if we wanted breakfast, lunch or dinner.
So I had decided to try the Vanilla French Toast, and the only thing disappointing about the meal was the sausage. Burnt and way too chewy, it seemed as if the chef had forgotten all about the side order and put all his concentration on the incredibly delicious French toast.
I took a bite not knowing what to expect, but the toast was toasted and soaked in something sugary to perfection and combination of cream cheese worked very well together.
It was one of those high in calorie and fat and sugar meals that no matter how many times the fork is put down, it is raised again and again until the entire French toast sandwich is annihilated.
My friend decided on an actual dinner, and a healthy one at that. The salmon with vegetables was in my opinion okay. The fish could have had some more seasoning to spice it up, and the vegetables were grilled just long enough and cooked with enough oil to be healthy but at the same time, taste good enough to eat.
I went back twice since, and haven’t found a thing to complain about in the future visits. Patsy’s Pasta is made with chicken breast, cooked mushrooms, onions and tomatoes, and could easily feed two to three people. The chicken was moist and tender, pasta hearty and ingredients blended well together. It made for a good lunch and dinner the following day.
If a healthy light breakfast is desired, the Healthy Options part of the menu contains seven guilt-free meals. Rick’s Breakfast is made of egg whites, green onions and mushrooms. With a side brown rice and a choice of toast or tortillas, I recommend the tortillas so that the ingredients can be combined to make a breakfast burrito of sorts.
And let’s not forget the dessert and pastry counter that can be seen when you first walk into the store. Desserts like apples strudel, coffee cake and sprinkled cupcakes line the counters, filling three long shelves.
Gluten- free options are available, and while I wasn’t impressed with the gluten-free blueberry muffin, I’ve read other reviews insisting Ocean Diner has the best gluten-free pastries around. After asking the young woman at the counter what dessert she recommended, I found myself sighing after my first bite of the coffee crumble cake, which she heated up for me.
The combination of sugar and coffee mixed together with what must have been cinnamon was definitely worth the 7 dollar price tag. Eat half and take the rest home for a late night snack.
Overall I highly recommend this restaurant. While the parking is difficult and prices a little expensive, ranging from 8 to 12 dollars, the serving size, friendly waiters and decade-inspired décor make Ocean Diner an enjoyable experience.
For a list of their menu and visual of some of their meals, go to oceandiner.com
Ocean Diner
Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sundays 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sundays 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
959 Aviation Blvd.
Hermosa Beach, CA.
Chef: Emilio Miner
Photo courtesy of oceandiner.com
