Absolutely disgusted with my roast beef sandwich today. I have been eating at this location since I was a kid in the 90s. But today's order was absolutely gross. The roast beef tasted undercooked and actually just like the cheap roast beef you get in a bag at Ralph's across the street. For 12 bucks I'm expecting a way better experience. This is not the beef of my childhood. read more

I've had The Hat on my list for awhile. They're known for their delicious Pastrami and I didn't want to leave without giving this a shot. I ordered a double pastrami burger and wet fries and loved every second of it; I'd been waiting to grab the hat for awhile so I wanted to make sure that I got a big meals-worth. Overall, the meal was great and very filling. Pastrami was super tasteful and the burger was my favorite part of the meal. In total, the meal was about $25 (more than I expected, but still worth it). read more

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Ordered a pastrami sandwich Order was delicious! Came with delicious pickles and goes right with the yellow chiles and ranch , not too salty either, thanks read more

Over the years the Hat has been on my to do list thanks to Yeeps Jun L & Ginny Y. Although not the same location that they reviewed, this past weekend, I got a chance to check it out with Yeep Tora M. The Hat in Monterey Park is located at a corner near SR-60. Good sized parking lot. There's room for one party to order, otherwise a queue outside. A good handful of spots inside while you're waiting for your order, about half of the tables open for dining in, and several outdoor tables. The Hat's claim is their pastrami, so when in Rome...I ordered the pastrami sandwich, double dipped (one or two dips in au jus like Phillipe's). Another specialty is their onion rings. I've been cautioned about the serving, so I got a small. Rounding out the order was a small Orange Bang When I received my order, I was quite surprised that two items came in 2 bags. Opening them up, I soon found out why! The "small" onion order consisted of 15-20 rings! The included serving tray would not have fit a quarter of the order! The onion rings themselves were on the high side of breading, but freshly made they tasted so good! And they held up pretty well to reheating the next day too. The star of the show was the french dipped pastrami sandwich. Overstuffed with pastrami meat, the only addition was a couple of pickles. The taste of pastrami and dipped bread shone through, and I had to ensure I ate slowly to savor the taste! There were lots of leftovers to take back to the hotel! Very enjoyable, mahalo Jun & Ginny for putting the Hat on my to do list! And Tora for joining me! The Hat recently celebrated their 70th anniversary, please keep coming to this LA institution so that they can celebrate 100+ years in business! Strongly recommend and will repeat! read more

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My husband and I will usually share a pastrami sandwich and the gravy fries, but instead I get a regular fry with 2 sides of gravy. We don't eat that much and I detest wasting food. Plus if we don't finish them we can put the fries in the air fryer the next day. read more

Had a pastrami sandwich and an order of chili cheese fries. Both were tasty and in an abundance! read more

The Hat - Chili cheese is delicious! Large helping to help satisfy my hunger. - Sandwiches Near Me - Monterey Park, California

First time trying the Hat I'm going def have to put it into my good eats local spot category. I'm from nyc so we know what a pastrami sandwich taste like in our dreams. This was a tasty spot with thin slices of pastrami. Served on a roll. I would try it again seems like a consistent type of establishment. read more

The Hat - Pastrami sandwich - Sandwiches Near Me - Monterey Park, California

PASTRAMI... CHILI... CHEESE... FRIES! Enough said. Now... I know the Hat has other things on the menu, but don't waste your time. They do two things really well... pastrami and chili cheese fries. Now you can get them separately ORRRRR you can get them together and THAT, my friends, is where the magic happens. Fries are crispy and delicious. Chili is hearty and flavorful. The pastrami is fatty but really tasty. Wouldn't change a thing! Stay Cheerful ;) read more

Food was good, place was packed, staff was quick, order to table time was perfect. It was very very busy and seems like a local favorite... the Wet Fries were very good, the Pastrami Dip was good too. The Potato Salad was good, but it didn't have that homemade twist or taste I was hoping for, in relevance to price. I'll definitely try a burger or different sandwich next time I go here. It's on the smaller side as far as seating. The space between the register and the door is small. read more

The Hat - Pastrami Dip, Wet Fries, and Potato Salad. - Sandwiches Near Me - Monterey Park, California

BEWARE when you order online because you apparently need to wait another 15 mins or so when you arrive at the designated time to get in line at the cashier line for them to just confirm a pick up order. When your order is ready , just sitting there and cant just pick it up because this business is INCOMPETENT of multitasking and just letting online orders pick up straight at the pick up counter. This defeats the whole purpose of convenience and online ordering for pick up. Worse strategy on this business. Do better especially on your over priced mediocre food.. and the employees are rude about when you dont know their stupid process. Trash Customer service. read more

The hat was the spot.. No doubt!! I've had great memories coming here with friends. Through the years I always come back for my fries with pickles & onions with my pastrami on side. I'm giving 3 stars not because they're not good. It's just the pastrami and fries serving which is my usual was so skimpy. It's not only this location, the Brea is the same. Of course they are super expensive. We're just paying for the brand here. The pastrami is not what it use to be. The fries I might be back for but the pastrami. Nope. My local hamburger stand is way more hooked up. The tables to dine in were dirty and so was the floor. 4/100 read more

The Hat - Sandwiches Near Me - Monterey Park, California

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I was in the mood for a pastrami dip, and Johnny's Pastrami's prices have gotten outrageous lately ($20 for a pastrami dip). So I remembered that years ago I had been to The Hat when I was working in the area and had enjoyed their pastrami dips. I found that the location in Monterrey Park was not that much farther in miles than the other place mentioned in this review. Getting there was easy as it is located near the freeway exit. For it being a Sunday afternoon, it was not too busy and service was very quick. The best part of course is that their pastrami dips were a lot more reasonably priced than Johnny's. I bought 5 to take to the family. The location was nice and clean and there were plenty of empty booths for customers if they decided to eat in. The pastrami dips tasted better than I remembered. they contained plenty of tender meat with mustard and pickled on the rolls. My family also agreed that they were better than Johnny's, my nephews were even fighting over their sandwiches! Highly recommend The Hat as an alternative to Johnny's. read more

The Hat is a San Gabriel Valley Institution that has branched out to select, and very lucky, communities throughout So Cal. The pastrami is famous and for good reason. The meat itself is well seasoned and super tender. The roll is soft and holds together well under the weight and juicyness of the sandwich. I say weight because the pastrami is piled on generously, well, for $10+ I guess it's not so generous but worth the occasional splurge. The Monterey Park location is living up to the legacy. They do it right here! I've had just about everything on the menu, and it's like a Led Zeppelin album... Hit after hit after hit. Today, the pastrami sandwich and the crispy onion rings satiated my urgent hunger. I'd bring my mom here for lunch and I'd be her instant favorite, it's that good. read more

The Hat - Pastrami sandwich. - Sandwiches Near Me - Monterey Park, California

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Boo. Tre Hat failed tonight. Very disappointed. I grew up and live in the SGV. Been going to the Hat 40 years. I know they are busy, but certainly know what to expect. Ordered a Pastrami and onion rings. Went tonight at 715pm. Was third in line to order and went to the other side to wait for my number. I was 07. The first number I heard was 93. So about 14 people ahead. Ok. No prob. The numbers called slowly went up. After about 15-20 minutes they got to single digits. 1-2-3-5-4-6-8-9-10. Ok something is wrong. If you've been to the Hat, you know the layout is identical. They are usually a well oiled machine. One person makes the pastrami sandwich, wraps it and someone else bags it, puts the written ticket on the bag and it waits for its fried sides and or drinks. Well watching the six fryer baskets going, I knew I was in trouble. When I went up to ask about my number after 10 was called, I see the kid getting a box and putting in some frozen onion rings into the fryer. My sandwich was sitting there for at least 10-15 minutes, getting cold and I'll be waiting another 4-5 minutes for my onion rings? Uh, no. Not tonight. I told them to cancel and give me a fresh sandwich,not one sitting around. You know, it's the Hat, always busy. Always have to wait your turn. Well they knew an order of onion rings were up in line and the fry guy (I guess), blew it. Very disapponting read more

Crisp and tender fries, chili, melted cheese, and shaved pastrami. A match made in heaven! As my brother in law said "it has all my favorite food items in a single dish!" And this decadent, calorie bomb does not disappoint. For $16 or so, this thing will feed 3 people! I, however, was alone and probably ate only about a third of it. So I took it to go and will attack it later on tonight! The Hat also serves pastrami sandwiches, etc. However, this is the Holy Grail for this joint! In fact, I drove out of my way to come here! read more

Had the pastrami sandwich and onion rings, which were very good. On our way to Dodgers Stadium for a tour and grabbed food on the way. The pastrami was not fatty and on a good roll. read more

I have been coming to the Hat for many years since I couldn't remember trying my first pastrami dip at the Hat that's many years ago. I have try many version of pastrami from different restaurants they were good and disappointed but sometimes it's hard find a good pastrami sandwich,you need to a Jewish Deli get a very good pastrami sandwich like Langer's or Canter's Deli or you have travel to New York or up north to Montreal,Canada they called it Smoke meat but really delicious We step in Hat is looks the same it haven't change in this location for years but it always bring crowds in to the Hat. We were looking at the menu and decided to order my wife order the chili cheese fries and a pastrami burger and for myself I got the pastrami dip one the originals since the hat started. I pick our order the chili cheese fries smell really good including the chili it have a good aroma hot from the pot were it came from. I took a bite of my pastrami dip it was so good the flavors pop out of my mouth when I take a bite of the pastrami. The meat was so tender and juicy I just wanna pastrami dip. Great flavors in the pastrami and the bread. My wife open her pastrami burger and took a bite her reaction was positive she told me it good the pastrami add it more flavor in the burger and the pastrami was tender and juice and it wasn't salty like other pastrami she try. I took a bite. read more

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Had my wife pick me up a pastrami and fries when she came she gave me my food and when I seen my pastrami it was small compare to the size before they even cut back on the portions of pastrami it didn't taste the same as before in other words didn't enjoy it I we been a loyal customer for a very long time but I guess it wasn't worth the trip I guess I'm going to have to get my pastrami at another burger joint disappointed read more

The Hat - Sandwiches Near Me - Monterey Park, California

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They have the best French fries. Thick and hot every time. Pastrami and Chile cheese fried are delicious. There is always a line but service is fast. read more

Really good sandwiches and the service is ok. They forgot to out the dipping sauce so :(

Ummm chili dog! Side of fries to dip on the chili on the chili dog. Or chili cheese fries. That's a meal in itself. Don't forget the yellow chilies. Not to crazy about the drinks, but ok. It can get crowded, but plenty of room to sit. Happy people when their eating good food. read more

RESTAURANT MAY NOT BE FRIENDLY FOR SMALL CHILDREN. The food is great here but the clientele is less than satisfactory. I was waiting for my food with 2 toddlers both 5 years and under. There was another gentleman (and I use this term very loosely) who went to the counter to pick up his food while we were waiting. My son was also standing at the counter. The gentleman picked up his food, looked down and saw my son standing in front of him and proceeded to push his way through him. YES, A GROWN MAN PUSHED A 5 YEAR OLD KID OUT OF HIS WAY instead of going around him or even saying excuse me. Yea it was intentional, I saw it and was about to ask my son to move out of the way but before I could say anything this guy LOOKED DOWN, saw him, and ran him right over. I was livid. I walked over to the guy to ask him about it. "Excuse me sir, I think you may have bumped my son while getting your food". This lowlife basically answered "well he was in my way" I was extremely upset and got into an argument with the guys sister and asked management to get involved. They (management) tried to apologize on behalf of this CHILD BULLY, but said absolutely nothing to him. I will definitely think twice about returning to dine in at the MONTEREY PARK HAT if my children are with me. I felt management could have done a better job sticking up for families with small children. Anyone with a sense of decency, including the manager, should have spoken up in order to put this degenerate in his place. He pushed a TODDLER for crying out loud. Message to management-SHOW SOME DECENCY, SHOW SOME COURAGE. Due to the absence of action by management I could only take matters into my own hands. My only regret is that I didn't take a photo of this coward to "out" him publicly. read more

A little greasy but that's what it's all about ain't it? lol still really good pastrami fries

We went to call to pick up order. We had pastrami and horchata. When we arrive to pick up, there was a line outside. My husband decided to go in and found out our order is ready. It was ready in 10 minutes. The food is really good. It's the same quality as before. Overall, the best place to get pastrami and sandwiches read more

Dog dad and I are pretty regular visitors at The Hat. This SoCal staple is perfection for your late night craving, and some. But as with most locations (I haven't found one where this isn't a fun hurdle), parking is sparse and with the amount of customers, it can definitely be a waiting game at times. You can always try for street parking, but may the odds ever be in your favor. The staff are usually really great, and the food is solid. This is the only place I can get a grilled cheese that doesn't send my stomach into the realm of misery (lactose-intolerant here). Dog dad usually gets the pastrami dip and chili cheese fries with pastrami. There was only one time the fries were severely lacking pastrami, but it was close to 1 AM, so the kitchen might have been running low. The inside houses cute little booths, which are usually reasonably clean. We seldom dine-in, but it is definitely nice for a no fuss meal with friends. read more

This is my first time ever trying The Hat, I was expecting this delicious savory pastrami sandwich. It was mediocre at best. I also got chili cheese fries which I shared with someone, which were BOTH lacking flavor. No salt on fries, and although the pastrami had an ok flavor it was pretty dry. Overall for the price it could've been better. I will try this place again sometime soon. read more

The Hat - Little meat too, unfortunately. - Sandwiches Near Me - Monterey Park, California

Always Great Everything in the menu Efficient , Clean Always stop here when on the area Close to my Heart and Tummy Don't forget the Chilies & Napkins Enjoy read more

This Hat location is a paradoxical experience as most of your food choices are decadent and overall tasty, yet it comes at a very high 'health price' of also being one of the worst things that you can likely do for your body! My biggest gripe here is the actual amount of grease that filled each and every paper bag by the time it reached my son's house - and he's only a few blocks away. The onion rings and french fries were nearly inedible since the grease overtook them; they even took on a new life with this disgusting soupiness. The french dip pastrami sandwich is the most delicious and popular thing on the menu, which in of itself is why my review garners 3 and not a 1 star review. In my opinion, the Hat's Pasadena location prepares their food with much more care, and although still not health food by any means, their food doesn't end up being covered with at least a pound of pure fat like their sister restaurant here! read more

The Hat - Fast working staff! - Sandwiches Near Me - Monterey Park, California

This pains me to give The Hat a low rating but it must be. I have been going to The Hat since high school. Probably started off at the Alhambra location then started the MP location. The pastrami taste good and as good as ever but I have to say the sandwich has gone downhill. The amount of pastrami they put in used to be a lot more but as the price goes up, the amount of pastrami in the sandwich has gotten less. The amount of meat has gone down to about 70% of what it used to be, and the price has constantly gone up. Another negative is that the bread they use is definitely not the same. The roll is now tasteless and the texture of the outer layer is different in a negative way. The sandwich has a totally different taste now that the amount of meat is less and the bread is different. The bread is totally wrong. The roast beef isn't good. The bread is the wrong bread and the beef taste very generic. It's no Philippe's. I don't expect it to but I expect it to be better. No different than if I bought sliced beef at the Ralph's deli and purchased a roll at Ralph's and made it myself except mine would be better. The french fries are as good as ever as is the chili. At least they didn't reduce the size as they did the pastrami. The help is good. The cashier guy who has been working there forever is still a nice guy. I am not saying don't go there but I am not going there anymore. Make up your own mind. read more

Went to get the famous pasteami chilly cheese fries and it literally taste like they used tape water on the pastrami ! Wont be going back read more

Nice big burgers. Onion rings were good even the next day. Huge portions. Definitely a must try if you're in the area.

I order pastrami fries and there's was a hair in it definitely not coming back when I address the issue they didn't want to change my food

Decent spot but nothing overly impressive. Tried the pastrami dip. Also got a roast beef dip. Best part of the meal was the wet fries with gravy. Would suggest getting the fries well done since mine were a little spongey in texture when I ate. The pastrami was better than the roast beef dip. Spent like $35 bucks for 3 items. Definitely more than I'd of liked to spend for a so so meal but eh thankful for the late hours of operation read more

Whopping $23.75 for a couple common favorites: chili cheese fries and pastrami, and a free cup of water. Even if you split it 3 ways That's still $8 a person. But I see people order these two items for a party of one, and just sit and eat it all. Yes, they are obese, but this is how you get there. read more

Good good pastrami sandwich & chill cheeSe pastrami fires !!!! Have been wanting to try out and finally did and was worth the drive . Big portions of food ! The diner vibe was clean nice artwork and pictures of the history of the company . read more

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Love their wet pastrami sandwiches. Sorry I ate the sandwich before the picture but it is now my daughter's favorite place for pastrami cheese fries. read more

The fries were not cook right the pastrami burger sucks don't go here the food quality sucks less portions also

Mood - does it matter when it's Pastrami? Upon entering there was alot of hustle and bustle of patrons ordering, waiting, and enjoying. We were greeted with great customer service and questions answered with ease. You walk up to the front counter, pay, find seating, and wait for your number to be called. We opted for the Pastrami Dip of course, and a horchata. Now this chain never disappoints me. The sandwiches at each location have remained the same. So much Pastrami heaven. Some people complain it is thinly diced and not thick sliced. I think of it as New York VS Cali. Each are completely wonderful in their own way, just different. For me I love it. Interior is several table & chairs plus booths. It was fairly clean. Staff was very busy and constantly refilling the condiment station. Would def recommend- pricing is reasonable especially for the portions. Location is Atlantic Blvd / Riggin- Monterrey Park - parking was fair read more

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Great as ever...and the price is right.. I drive all the Way from south beach area and it worth it read more

The food is amazing. You can never go wrong with anything you choose. The people that work there are amazing. So friendly and helpful. They are also hard-working and dedicated you really get a sense of old Timey classic burgers, which makes everything taste better. read more