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I had only recently heard about Clark Street Bread while doing research for my upcoming post “The Best Croissants in LA, Orange County and San Diego”. Clark Street Bread was founded by Zach Hall in the summer of 2014 out of his West Hollywood apartment. He started it after working at a wood-fired bakery in his wife’s family’s hometown in the Swedish countryside. In 2015, he opened his first bakery at Grand Central Market. Today, there are five locations across LA and Zach has earned a reputation as one of LA’s most renowned bakers.
In 2021, Zach Hall ventured into LA’s diner scene by opening Clark Street Diner at the old 101 Coffee Shop on Franklin Avenue. 101 Coffee Shop had been featured in iconic movies such as Swingers, In the Land of Women and TV shows such as Entourage and Gilmore Girls. In 2020, after 20 years of service, 101 Coffee Shop permanently closed.
In an interview with the LA Times, Zach shared his lifelong love of diners and how he knew the 101 Coffee Shop was something special as soon as he walked into the vacant space.
When you step in, it’s like you’ve been teleported to an old-school ’60s diner. Props to Zach for keeping the spirit of the 101 Coffee Shop alive and not revamping the space. The jukebox and the classic retro charm are a part of the experience: quilted brown vinyl booths, vintage light fixtures, stone walls and tiles that will make mid-century architecture lovers rejoice.
I had tried a croissant from Clark Street, but I had never had brunch there, so I went in not knowing what to expect. Since this place is pretty new, I knew it was going to be crowded, which is why I woke up early and got there at 10 am. Finding street parking was relatively easy. As I approached the diner, I saw people waiting outside and asked if they had already been helped.
They pointed inside and told me that I had to check in first with the host, a man in a blue shirt holding a clipboard who was pacing around the restaurant. Once I opened the door, I was struck by how busy it was, a sight that immediately transported me back to pre-pandemic times. I had to check in with the host first: “It’s going to be about a 45-minute wait,” he said. He wrote down my name and asked me to show my vaccination card, which I had in my Apple Wallet.
There is a small waiting area with a a quilted brown vinyl couch that’s perfect for people-watching. It was so interesting seeing the eclectic mix of styles and people: a large party wearing corduroy pants, combat boots, and the coolest oversized jackets; a guy who looked like he’d just stepped out of Grease; another party dressed in goth-style clothing… I could go on and on about the cool outfits I saw while I was waiting.
After 10 am, the wait time began to increase from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, and eventually to two hours! When people inquired about the wait times, many of them were disappointed and left. If you go and are faced with a long wait time, at least thank the guy. Don’t just scoff and turn your back on the host. Towards the end of the day, Clark Street Diner reposted a story from @blockanimal saying that the kitchen had to close early due to a packed house that day!
At the entrance, there’s a glass display with their pastries. If you don’t want to endure the wait, you can just take one home.
I got there at 10:02 and was seated at 10:35. When the guy guided me to the counter, he apologized for the wait time. Sally was the server who took my order and told me the pastries at the entrance were made at the bakery and brought to the diner every morning. Although I have not eaten at Clark Street Bread, they have a huge open kitchen where you can see the bakers making the pastries from scratch.
The menu features your classic diner staples, as well as 25 side dishes. For desserts, they offer milkshakes, banana splits, ice cream sundaes and root beer floats. The ice cream they use is from Fosselman’s, which, if you haven’t tried, is one of the oldest ice cream spots in LA.
If you’re a health nut, salads are also on the menu, although I did not see a single one coming out of the kitchen while I was there. I did, however, see a few when I went to the bakery in Echo Park.
I had a hard time deciding between the pancakes and the French toast, but after seeing the pancakes on Clark Street Diner’s IG stories, those were calling my name. I ordered the buttermilk pancakes with blueberries. If you want something on the sweeter side, add chocolate chips. To drink, I ordered a mocha latte, which I first saw in this picture.
Before I went to Clark Street Diner, my questions were: Does this place live up to the hype? It’s diner food, after all, so… how does this place stand out from other diners in the city? What’s so special about their food?
About 20 minutes after being seated, my pancakes finally arrived. Before I dove in, I had to appreciate how beautiful the pancakes looked. AMAZING is a huge understatement. When I go to a brunch place, I don’t usually get pancakes because they are often on the chewy side or too sweet. Clark Street Diner’s pancakes were incredibly tender and the griddle marks only enhanced their fluffy texture. They were also piping hot, straight from the griddle to my plate — which was even better! The fresh blueberries and the the pat of butter were the perfect finishing touches.
I cut a small piece of pancake without the butter, syrup or blueberry and it didn’t taste sugary. It was so good that I could have easily eaten it on its own without any added condiments. They were otherworldly — just unbelievably good. Every bite was bursting with flavor from the blueberries.
My mocha was just okay. I wish they had done the latte art like they did in the picture below. The milk overpowered the subtle flavors of chocolate and coffee; they were very subtle. I understand it was an extremely busy day, so I didn’t bother to complain.
The girl sitting next to me ordered the avocado toast and was nice enough to let me take a picture. The guy who was sitting next to her ordered pancakes with a a sunny-side-up egg and a sausage patty.
I’ve been to many diners, but none of the food has ever caught my eye the way Clark Street Diner’s did. I don’t know what they do to make food look so delicious here, but that sunny side up egg was bright, shiny, and mouthwatering, even from five feet away. The bread they had on the side was not a a slice of store-bought sandwich bread, but rather a generous slice of their homemade bread. Clark Street Diner has the ability to make basic diner food look like a five-star meal straight out of a food magazine.
The party sitting on my left, a middle-aged married couple, ordered the French toast and a sandwich. I asked the woman if the French toast was good and she just gave me an ecstatic eye roll while she was chewing. She also pointed to her husband’s sandwich and said it was delicious. The husband nodded in agreement and they said they ordered the pancakes to go for their son. They clearly liked the food because they left a $20 tip! I also saw Zach Hall, the owner, overseeing everything.
One of the reasons why the food looks so delicious is because of the quality of the ingredients. While I sat in my chair waiting, I could see the types of milk they had behind the counter. Most of them were organic and barista milk brands I had not seen before. For the coffee, a guy was carefully placing coffee beans on a scale. They clearly pay close attention to the quality of their ingredients. I had not had coffee before I went there and despite the mocha, I was still in need of caffeine, so I ordered a small cup of coffee to go before I paid my bill.
So…is Clark Street Diner worth the hype? Absolutely! Everyone who left was happy and satisfied. Josh Sussman, an actor and acquaintance of mine, went there on Friday and he said he was lucky enough to be seated right away. When I asked him what he thought of Clark Street Diner, he said it had become his new favorite spot!
Below are a few photos from @ClarkStreetDiner’s IG stories. Yes, the food tastes as good as it looks!
The weekends are their busiest days, so either go before 10 am or go closer to closing time (call ahead to make sure they’re still accepting walk-ins). Just don’t expect to be seated right away, especially if you’re starving.
Address:
6145 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Hours: 7AM – 3PM Monday through Sunday
