Lunch on the cheap in Lawndale (1 of 2) Sitting on the corner of Hawthorne Blvd. and Manhattan Beach Blvd., Spires is quite a bit more Hawthorne than it is Manhattan Beach. I couldn't resist bringing that up. It's actually in Lawndale, a smaller municipality that sits there in between others with more name recognition. I swung around that intersection on a protected left turn and saw Spires almost a handful of times and my phone was "talking" to me about it. I looked up Spires and saw that they had a lot of specials. They have dinner specials. They have specials that vary by day of the week. A person is likely to find something to eat if they're not a food snob and, above all, is hungry! I went in and chose a baked chicken breast platter with rice, vegetables, a salad, and a roll. I had a soft drink, which they refilled. Since these are specials and this is a very down to earth place, the pricing makes for a good value. Even though it wasn't full, with people coming and going, I was seated quickly and also checked in on several times. Both the exterior and interior are sort of date stamped, but mostly tidy. I'm guessing the 5 star ratings, and there are quite a few of them, are because it's a good value and the staff is friendly. I think that 4 stars is the rating I'm going with - and it's a strong 4 stars - because Spires delivers on being a reliable eatery and a good value. I always chuckle when I see the name or am in Lawndale. My parents could never pronounce it quite right, and needed to put in vowels that weren't there or stress vowels that weren't meant to be pronounced. To them, it was always "Lohn - deh - leh." For that matter, adjacent Hawthorne was pronounced as "Au - tor - neh." That being said, if anyone has carte blanche to impersonate the many accents encountered in the limitless and worldly crossroads that make up SoCal, it's me ... and it's all in good fun. (That's what we all did growing up in SoCal, so if you have a problem with that, stuff it.) After having a late lunch here, I believe I skipped dinner. If you go for one of these fleshed out specials, you may be doing the same thing. read more

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Glad this location finally got a makeover from its old interior design that was too old and outdated. Hehe. I've been their customer during the before and the after of their diner makeover lol. Have to share today that.. Manager (and very helpful Chef) Carlos is always the best here throughout the AT LEAST 12 years that I've been happily dining here and ordering my take outs. More so dining in so I can always see how they work, courteously, diligently, and productively. :) The whole staff especially the guys are always super welcoming and super smiling. Lol. I like that. Lol. The 5 stars is always for the best nice and diligent Manager Carlos and his team staff here. The food is good too lol. Their customer service is pleasantly fast and attentive. To the Owner and management, Kind Regards Reminder: Kindly don't forget to update your phone number to the current active working one of.. (424) 675-4224 And kindly remove your old one that people keep calling in to get your old (310) number on Yelp here that is no longer working and just misleading everyone for the longest time. Because people like me need to call in to order our food for pick up. :) And we can't get through. CHANGE YOUR PHONE NUMBER PRONTO ON YOUR YELP. ¡Muchas Gracias! Thanks a lot! read more

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SPIRES HAS NO INTERESTED IN GIVING FOOD THAT TASTE GOOD, THERE MEAT IS BURNT ANDHAS NO FLAVOR. Baked potatoes are Burnt and look like they have been sitting around for a couple of weeks. We took the food back and it was just as bad The second time around. The cooks don't gives darn .it's shame but they just need to close Permanently. And let someone who is interested in giving customers decent food. It's a shame they just don't give a damn. Shame on you !!!!! read more

We had a late breakfast after getting my haircut. The Chicken fried steak you order it with beef iron chicken. I had ordered beef. The steak was tender and not overcooked. I wish it had more gravy. The food was good, Nirms has a better chicken fried steak. Karla was our sever and she was attentive. She came back to refill our coffees and asked us if we need ed anything. The restaurant customers appear to be all locals. Mostly seniors . Nothing wrong with that. read more

Spires Restaurant - Cobb Salad - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Lawndale, California

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Norms was out of its corned beef and cabbage special for St. Patrick's Day, thus we were happy that Spires still had some left when we called. This is my 1st time but will also be my last time here. The soup was fine but the salad only had a few lettuces and croutons. The corned beef was so dried and chewy to the point of being inedible. All of the vegetables inc cabbages, carrots and potatoes were way overcooked and falling apart. Everything tasted so bland and it was very sad. Service was fine at first but the white lady waitress probably in her 30s or 40s somehow became extremely rude later on without any requests or comments from us. Now I do understand why Spires is usually mostly emptied compared to the thriving overcrowded Saigon Dish right behind it in the same plaza. read more

Breakfast this morning was better than I expected, but still could have been better. There are a few locations all around Los Angeles and I would not classify them as a diner, more as a fast service American restaurant. The best part of the meal was the pricing because it is very fair. There is plenty of seating inside, both booth and counter and parking is very easy and free because it's attached to a shopping center. Service was pretty quick for me although it did take quite a while for me to be able to place my food order. I was immediately seated right when I entered and they brought my drinks immediately after being seated. I did have to wait about 10 minutes to place the order, but when the food came it was better than I was expecting. I ordered the Eggs Benedict and even though the hollandaise was a bit watery in my opinion the ham on the bottom was very good and the eggs were cooked perfectly. I got side of avocado and it was not the freshest avocado but I still ate it. Overall a pretty nice experience although does not really give me the restaurant kind of feel. I would recommend it if you are in the area. read more

Spires Restaurant - the counter - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Lawndale, California

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Good experience here during weekday lunch time with friendly staff, excellent service and a clean dining room. The taste of the food along with portion size and price was exceptional. The restroom could use some TLC. read more

First time here for breakfast today , very hospitable staff and great value for breakfast specials coffee included , I was so impressed with that deal . I highly recommend this diner with its old world charm . read more

Food and the service is the best we have never had a bad meal and the service is the best

I think it's been a million years since we have dined here, so it was nice to take my mom out for a breakfast date. Lots of booths available , all private as they share high non see through glass partitions. Menu is large with a lot menu options from breakfast into dinner. Breakfast is served all day. We both went for the eggs and bacon combo with toast and English muffin. Nice presentation, eggs and potatoes weren't as warm as I'd like them to be though. But, what was really odd was the bacon. It had a smell and taste that was old or cheap. I don't know what or where this bacon came from, but it was not high quality- no fatty or nice crispy like texture that you normally see. My mom who is not a picky eater did not touch any of it! Her fave - the apple cinnamon herbal tea and the toast with strawberry jelly! Friendly service, but food is just ok. Not sure if I would come back.... read more

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Worse services ever will never go back their pancakes were under cook and when I brought it up to the waitress she just disregard our complaint and when the bill came they wanted to charge us for pancakes we never ate. I asked to speak to the manager and instead of apologizing for the mistake or offering an insensitive he walked away and pulled the pancakes from the trash and was having a conversation with the waitress as if we were lying well that's how me me feel. I'm a kidney transplant recipient and I have to very careful eating out when I do which its not offent so undercooked any meal or part of my meal is not good for me and my kidney I'm just very disappointed that sympathy no longer exists a simple apology would have been ok some acknowledgement something not just walk away and not address the issue I wouldn't recommend this place read more

Amazing service from beginning to end of experience everyone was smiling an friendly all was happy on this Happy hot Summer Sunday food fresh chicken dinner was delicious and perfectly made hat off to chef read more

I was surprised! I walked in and the waitress at the register said hello and welcome which I thought was very nice. I sat myself at the counter and was immediately asked if I'd like something to drink. I then slowly looked over the menu to figure out what was going to make me happy to eat today. I chose the lumberjack breakfast with French toast, eggs SOFTLY scrambled with cheese. When the waitress delivered my order it was perfect, I'm sorry I didn't take a picture it was just that nice. Restaurant was neat and clean, restroom was clean as well and all of the staff was very friendly. I'd definitely go back! read more

We were visiting from out of the area, and decided to eat here, great idea. My friend and i had a mushroom/bacon/cheese 1/3 lb. burger without the bun. My other friend had soup and half a sandwich. The soup was a huge bowl and a big half a sandwich and the other half of the plate had salad...a lot of food. We were not disappointed, great, reasonable food, clean room, and good customer service. I would definitely go there again next time. read more

The pancakes were so tasty but the strawberries were old so my review is lower. I had to send the strawberries back & it only took $1 off which didn't make any sense because on the breakfast menu it says the waffle combo is $7.99 but it said $12 on the receipt for the waffles. My grandma liked her omelette with chicken but I do not like that I had to pay extra for spinach and mushrooms in the omelette, I wouldn't have minded if the ingredients were 50cent or $1 but they charged us $2.25 for each topping. So her omelette came up to $22. We paid $50 for these small plates. The only thing I say that was very tasty was the hot chocolate, I always ask for no whip cream. I usually add sugar to my cocoa but their cocoa is so sweet it don't need anything added. I think if they would've gave me the pancakes for free and apologized about the strawberries instead of just taking them off my pancakes would've left me with a better review but my pancakes still tasted like the old strawberries. read more

Spires Restaurant - Strawberry Pancakes Protein Omelette Hot Chocolate Coffee - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Lawndale, California

All I can say is this place is my go to on a Sunday morning. Straight to the bar and service is great

I do to this humble old school diner a few times a week. Their coffee is really good , I can drink it black. The service is usually spot on. You can eat very healthy, plain filet of sole or wild salmon, with a choice of sides...soup, salad, steamed veggies, cottage cheese, fruit plus the usual fried potatoes & zucchini, rice or mashed / baked potato. You can also indulge in burgers, chicken fried steak, yummy cakes & pies. Pricing is very fair, especially their daily specials and senior menu. They've also got a menu for the kidletts. Easy parking, great for breakfast to late night read more

Good food for a reasonable price. Attentive service. It's a Denny's type of experience, but a good one, and if that's what you are expecting you'll be pleased. read more

We always stop here when visiting family in this area. I love the customer service and the "old school" feel of the restaurant. The menu is pretty broad and although I haven't had many different items from it, whenever I go with someone- the love whatever they order. I've only ever had breakfast here and the portions are large enough to share! We love a shareable plate! 10/10 read more

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We were happily impressed with the good service, and tasty food, and great price. We ordered off the $7.99 menu and the food was filling.

Great Cheese burger and fries for $7.99. Big and Tasty. Senior discounts. Excellent service for refilling water and tea. Plenty of parking.

I have been eating here for 30 years! It has changed a bit, of course that's expected after all these years. I have always received great service and food is always good. I feel comfortable enough to even eat here and read a book. I never feel rushed and enjoy talking to the servers and bussers who have been there for years. read more

Great family spot. Real hommie,nice staff. Favorite breakfast spot. Steak comb is my favorite

This is a long time community breakfast place. This restaurant clean and well run, staff is friendly and attentive. The decor is definitely from the 80's in terms of aesthetic and in good shape. If you are looking for old school comfort food this place is for you. They have set up an outside eating area in their parking lot that is covered by a pavilion. They have a menu of classic diner fare. Ingredients used are fresh and there are no negatives. Came for breakfast, so I can't speak for the rest of the menu but would come again to try out other items. Glad they are thriving despite the pandemic and lock down ! Give them a try! read more

Spires Restaurant - Spires dining area - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Lawndale, California

the worst food and service i have ever received!!! i voiced my concerns and complaints to the manager and he did nothing about it. he wasn't even nice about it. do not go here. our food was cold. they didn't come to take our order for the longest. i have never been so upset!!! nasty food and nasty service read more

We had the best Thanksgiving dinner for two. Mimi the waitress made it happened. She took a personal interest. The food was very hot and it was ready on time. A great local restaurant. read more

When our food came to the table the waitress did not bring a second set of silverware with the the 2nd salad...strange. We requested a 2nd set of silverware & I shared utencils with my companion while I waited. After a few minutes, it was clear that the waitress had forgotten about the utencils, so we reminded her & eventually got utencils for everyone at the table. I ordered the chicken Cesar salad which was good, but was missing the croutons that they list on the menu. I didn't say anything before finishing my meal because I was uncertain at the time if the menu really listed that or not & my companion's house salad had croutons on it. I don't want to go back to this location, but my companion loves Spires, so I might end up going. If I do, hopefully my impression will improve. read more

I'm going to just say that my boyfriend and I went through that small parking lot they are located at about three to four times before parking in the middle section of the main street. The place was pretty busy, but definitely had seating for our party of four. They have two claw machines that my boyfriend and I won a prize from while waiting for our two friends to arrive. We were seated in the back semi circle booth in the corner. Our server was quick to get our drinks out and we eventually got our order in once we decided. It took a little longer than normal for our food to come out based on our friend's opinion since she and her hubby come here quite often when they can. But the servers were very polite and made sure to check out table for coffee refills while we waited. When the food finally came, I dug right in since it looked really good and appetizing. I had ordered the spinach and bacon eggs Benedict with a side of hash browns. It was a lot of food for a decent price and tasted great. The yoke was runny and the tasted mixed well together with the Benedict. The hash browns were crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. Then the salsa that I threw on there mixed well with it too. Definitely a new go to place for me for breakfast when I'm in the area. read more

Spires Restaurant - Bacon and spinach eggs Benedict with hash browns. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Lawndale, California

I will say this place is one of those places you show up to and you just want some decent food not looking for something expensive just here for a quick bite. My server was very polite and checked up on me a couple times. That's always a plus when they have great costumer service. Food: I got the lumberjack and replaced the regular pancakes with chocolate chip pancakes. Chocolate chip pancakes were extremely chocolatey I personally have a pretty big sweet tooth so I thought they were good they weren't dry which is great and they were pretty big as well so overall pancakes solid. The lumberjack unfortunately for me my bacon and ham was a bit cold some parts of the ham were warmer than others so that's why I gave it is rating. But the egg and hash brown was solid standard. I think of the bacon and ham would've been warm then that would've been a better meal and the overall rating would've been higher. read more

Spires Restaurant - Lumberjack Breakfast Chocolate Chip Pancakes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Lawndale, California

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My wife and I had an early dinner on Sunday Nov12 at this Spires in Lawndale. The food and service was above average (we both had the senior meatloaf). However, our dessert was not so good. We both ordered chocolate ice cream. Mine was good. However on her last bite, my wife felt something hard in her mouth and upon spitting it out, it turned out to be a large toenail! See photo. The staff apologized for the incident, but did not offer to comp the meal. We didn't mind paying since the toenail wasn't discovered till after we finished our meal. read more

Spires Restaurant - Toe nail discovered in dessert. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Lawndale, California

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I came in for lunch today with my Mom who is 88 years old and not very mobile. Angela was our server and I want to commend her for being so accommodating and patient with my Mom. Angela is a perfect example of professionalism and Spires should be glad to have her. I'd also like to commend the other employees as well. We're definitely coming back!! read more

Spires is a chain restaurant which I have personally only seen in SoCal. Of all of the locations I have visited, this one is by far my favorite. I have been coming to this location since I was a kid, and it hasn't changed much at all. Much of the staff have been here since as long as I can remember, which is really cool, and they are all super friendly. Nice place to be a regular at! The crowd at this location varies, but there tends to be a lot of senior citizens that dine here, maybe it's the good early bird specials they have. They also have a separate small senior section to the menu. The menu is what you would expect at a typical diner, no bells and whistles or crazy menu items, but everything is pretty solid from breakfast to dinner. I have tried many things on the menu here over the years, but if I am here on a Thursday, I always go for the "soup, salad, and garlic bread" for $7.99, comes with a drink. The soup changes daily, but their cream of broccoli cheese soup on Thursday's is super yummy. Salads are a simple iceberg lettuce with cucumbers and croutons, the blue cheese and ranch dressing are really good, makes a difference! Burgers are actually pretty good, bun is toasted, patty is not too thick, but overall a decent cheeseburger. The fries are Normal size, in between thin cut and steak fries. The appetizer platter is pretty decent with all of the fried delicacies you'd expect. Patty melt, BLT, shrimp fettuccine Alfredo, chicken strips: everything is good, nothing that you'd take a road trip for, but if you want a good decent meal with a chill diner atmosphere, this is your spot to go. DESSERTS: unexpectedly, the desserts here are pretty amazing. Simple, but amazing. There is a pie display case as you walk in, I've had the chocolate and banana pie, both with a great texture, really yummy. Hot fudge sundae: yes do it!! It tastes like they use Haagen daaz vanilla ice cream, the hot fudge is thick and oh so good, the whip cream is light and vanilla sweet. Just so good, one of the best hot fudge sundaes I've had (and I've had a lot). Milk shake: I think they just use a good quality ice cream here because the milk shake is pretty delicious. Only comes in the basic flavors. Pudding also very good and chocolatey. Overall great location, great service( leaps beyond what you'd get at your typical Denny's or IHOP), family atmosphere in a diner setting, and decent pricing. read more

Spires Restaurant - Hot fudge sundae, so good - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Lawndale, California

Spires What is happening with you're Baked potatos? They are not EVER cooked through and burnt skins? We have been a customer for years, and it was never like this! if you're going to charge 4.00, a cup of coffee makes it taste like coffee! It's served cold and watered down, weak. I get it ppl have to cut down, but not on quality! ... please fix the old, burnt, uncooked baked potatoes ! And check your crackers not one time in 60 days have we got ANY that were Fresh! We can help you stay in business if you stay fresh and cook food correctly. read more

I hate to do this because pre-COVID we enjoyed going to dinner at Spires. Today we placed an online order and what we got was a mess. Only 1 meal out of the 5 we ordered was correct. The 1 correct order was a Cesar Salad. The country breakfast we ordered looked more like some kind of omelet and was completely missing the biscuits & gravy and the meats. The plain cheeseburger we ordered with only cheddar cheese, meat and bun came with everything on it. The grilled chicken breast dinner we ordered with rice pilaf and zucchini was mixing the rice pilaf. The steak and eggs breakfast with homestyle potatoes no onions no peppers came with onions and peppers and was missing the toast. Spires used to make the best lentil soup in Saturdays. The chicken and rice soup was just okay. Very disappointed with today's dinner however we are a forgiving people and will try again someday. Maybe when we start eating at restaurants in-person. read more

Friendly service and good food. Reminds me of restaurants that were once in my neighborhood. Ice cream is delicious and meals priced right.

Definitely an dinosaur coffee shop geared to the Geritol jet set. Breakfast are ok, a bit high priced. I wouldn't go for dinner.

I love coming here for breakfast! The food is amazing! Cheap, great food! The staff are all very nice and polite! They make the experience so much better. This is my go to for breakfast. read more

This is my favorite Spires to come to! The homey feeling sets this Spires above all the others! Everyone is warm and care about your time with them! Andy Winnie Jasmine and Juanita are just four of the amazing servers that always make me and my grandparents awesome! (And my grandparents are needy) thank you guys! read more

Spires Restaurant - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Lawndale, California

Came here with my wife and daughter and was greeted right away with a friendly smile. Friendly environment and great food. Forgot the pics though. I recommend :D read more

Spires the pinnacle of eating. Been coming to this location since 1985. They closed for awhile then rebuilt to the more modern style vs the old carousel. Winnie Been Here for ever. Good food reasonable prices. Everyday iconic place. I grew up on the Beefeater sandwich at the Cerritos location. But alas no more eminant domain now In and Out burger. Most meals come with soup or salad. Cannot beat the senior specials includes dessert read more