Stopped by while visiting our adult son in SoCal. My son ordered a Mondo Burrito, which as the BIGGEST burrito I've ever seen. He could only eat 75% of it, which is very rare, as he never has left overs. I had the Blueberry French toast which was perfectly cooked and had the freshest blueberries ever. To top it off, they even offer Boysenberry syrup, which is very reminiscent of my childhood. Tina was our waitress. She was one of the friendliest, kindest and most attentive waitresses I've ever encountered. The world would be a much better place if all waitresses/waiters were like her. The ambiance is very cute, like an OG diner. I cannot wait to return, the next time I'm in Long Beach. read more

The omelettes here are delicious and they have a huge variety of different breakfast foods. I will say some of their combos had an insane amount of food like you could seriously feed two people with just one meal. We came on a Sunday morning and it was definitely crowded. Service is a little slow, but it doesn't seem so bad if you're with a group of people. This place definitely has local vibes written all over it. You could tell many customers come here often. Definitely come hungry! read more

The Potholder Cafe - Custom omelette - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

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I've been coming here for years but it's been so long since my last visit! Since the patio is dog friendly, my pup and I had to stop by for a late breakfast. Parking: Free in the small lot in the back. If the lot is full, you can usually find nearby street parking. Service: Excellent! Our server, Jairo, was prompt and very friendly. Dogs: Allowed on the patio. No restrictions on them having to be under the table or otherwise hidden. We had the corner table at the front which my girl loved because she solicited pets from people through the little fence and had plenty of room to stretch out. Food: I ordered the Grand Prix omelet with super spuds and biscuit and gravy. Everything was hot and most of it was delicious. My only complaint was that I felt like the gravy has changed since my last visit. I used to love it but this time it was thinner, not as flavorful, and had an almost see-through quality to it. Not sure how to describe it, but I wouldn't order it again. The biscuit was good, though. My girl got scrambled eggs and bacon and they cut up the bacon, much appreciated! Everything I've had here over the years is good, including their pancakes, fruity pebble french toast, and curly fries! We will be back for another patio visit soon. :) read more

Always great food and service here! Staff is kind and always a pleasure to talk to! If you get Tiffany expect to be laughing! She loves to crack jokes read more

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Fantastic breakfast/brunch spot that has a little bit of everything for everyone. Came here after a long bike ride and the tuna melt with curly fries hit the spot. It was a generous portion of perfectly cooked curly fries served with maybe the best tuna melt I have ever had. If you are looking for a place for brunch and unsure of what you might want to eat this is perfect. Plenty of seating both indoor and outdoor and quick, friendly service. I will be back for sure! read more

We waited over an hour for food that never came. We had to leave because they didn't have it ready after an hour.

The food was great. I love a good Cornbeef hash. They seemed short staffed at the time I was there but service was still on par for the course. It was breakfast time so the ambiance was the sun shining through to get us going. Indoor or outdoor seating available. Nothing to complain about. I'm going back for more. read more

The Potholder Cafe - Cornbeef hash, eggs and rice. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

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One of four Potholder Breakfast Cafes around the greater Long Beach area, Potholder Cafe in DTLB serves up a varied menu for breakfast and lunch, closing by 1 pm. It's within easy walking distance from my place, so decided to make it a spot for a big breakfast as soon as they opened at 8am. Intentionally ordered too much to try two of my favorite things at a California diner: chili and a loco moco. Ended up bringing the former back home, and finishing the latter. Service was good, food was OK. I was the first customer to enter, and was greeted nicely by the early shift server and allowed to choose a booth. Was immediately given a laminated menu, and ice water was brought immediately after I asked. By that time, I had my choice and the food came in a reasonable amount of time. Homemade Chili Bowl w/Cheese & Onion ($8.95). - a normal size bowl. Not chile con carne, but had a healthy amount of beans. Strangely the base tasted strongly like Mexican refried (pinto) beans, not chili or tomato as I expected...this is not a chili my wife would dip her fries in. There was a good amount of cheese and onion, along with some pieces of beef (steak). Maritime Loco Moco ($16.95) - not sure why this is called 'maritime', it was simple but decent. It's a diner, so used easily source able ingredients, like minute rice, brown gravy from a jar, and a quarter pound hamburger patty. The two runny eggs were prepared perfectly and really did elevate the dish for me. The menu description was accurate. As mentioned, service was good throughout. There is a small parking lot to the side that gets filled quickly. There is a small outdoor patio in front for al fresco. Due to the proximity to the Long Beach cruise port, Potholders is a popular breakfast stop for cruisers, expecting classic American breakfast fare. And as usual, value depends on what you choose. In my case, prices were high for what I ordered and got. A better deal would have been more breakfast centric items like their custom omelets or hash. read more

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Ambiance is nice, typical cafe/diner. Inside and out were clean. Server was attentive. We shared a breakfast option. Plenty of food for two adults. read more

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Returning to this location within walking distance (13 minutes) of our Hyatt Centric hotel. First time we were here, it was a quiet weekday. Today, January 1, 2026, it is BUSY! Not too many solid breakfast spots open today, so we were happy Potholder welcomed recovering NYE revelers. Management positioned a hostess stand out front, but no sign-in sheet. We arrived behind another couple and it wasn't long before another couple arrived behind us. After a couple of minutes, I "boldly" opened the door to make sure we weren't missing something. A server looked up almost immediately, plates of food in her arms, smiled and let me know someone would be out shortly. We were sat about 5 minutes later. While there was plenty of hustle amongst the staff, the vibe was still pretty chill for a business that would be closing 90 minutes later. In fact, they were still seating people 15 minutes prior to close. We happened to be there until 1:15, lingering a bit, and noticing none of the tables were meant to feel rushed. They kept the weekday special - today was Three for Thursday - despite the holiday in a fairly touristy city. That was appreciated. The Thursday specials offer A) 3 eggs paired with 3 bacon or sausage, toast and potatoes OR B) 3 eggs, French toast and 3 bacon or sausages OR C) 3 eggs, 3 pancakes and 3 bacon or sausages. Each option was $12.95. Pretty darn good deal! Hubs ordered option "A" w/french fries, I went with option "C" cuz the word here is the delicious pancakes. Now, y'all, you KNOW I love pancakes, and I know Potholder offers a "Mac Daddy Frankie", an 18" single pancake, but I scoff, that is NOT a lot of pancake! My stack of 3, 8" pancakes were cake-y, fluffy, but dense, in a great way, were STEAMING HOT and had, as another Yelper noted, a hint of cinnamon in that house scratch recipe. There HAD to be more batter in my stack of 3, compared to a single 18" pancake. Don't worry, I polished that stack, but goood! I ordered my eggs "over hard", so I could easily remove the yolks and just have the whites, but 2 eggs must've broke because only 1 egg was visibly intact and the yolk was mixed in with the whites of my other eggs. Bummer. Bacon was done perfectly crisp, not even close to burnt, so good job on that. Hubs eggs were over medium and a little runny, but he declared them a solid 'fine'. He was also happy with his bacon and fries, but the white toast was delayed, so his food cooled a bit whilst waiting for that. We had to catch our server's eye for a coffee refill, but Tyana was friendly and working hard. I wasn't offered a refill of water, which would've been nice. In all, we enjoyed a solid meal at a very fair price and the location was an easy walk from our hotel. We will keep it in our Long Beach list as an easy breakfast spot. Cheers! "CC" read more

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This may look odd but its soo good! They are not kidding about the works. Ive been sick for sometime and this was definitely comforting. The oatmeal was covered in all sorts of goodies such as caramelized pecans, granola, banana and a little too much butter.. but that was ok. They also provide a side of milk and raisins too. We ordered for pick up but we definitely enjoy dining in. Service is always on point. The potholder never disappoints. read more

The Potholder Cafe - Oatmeal the works - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

You want a classic, home-y, comfy diner feel for breakfast? This is your next stop. I would hear about this lil cafe and would always be piqued to try it. I finally had an early Sunday morning to beat the rest of the Sunday crowds. I was in a party of 3 and was sat indoors. Which was perfected because it was pretty gloomy and humid and I'd rather eat my breakfast out the dumpster than be in humidity. Needless to say they have both indoor and outdoor seating. I ended up ordering the Frankie's special which was the perfect balance of protein, carbs and fats. Their sausage was REAL sausage meaning it wasn't the small little sausage links that remind you of your ex. I'm unsure if it was pork chicken or turkey but it was pretty savory and flavorful and gave a nice balance for the eggs and French toast. The egg wash/dip for the French toast was the best bath for the bread. I didn't even need to use syrup, the powdered sugar was plenty sweetness for me. I ended up sharing the Mia's stuffed French toast with strawberry cream cheese with my additionals. I really enjoyed the corn flake crispy crust on it was nice to have the texture of a crunch with the softness of the bread. Service was average or subpar to average. Our waitress wasn't the friendliest and had the whole "I don't want to be here it's 9am Sunday" attitude was there it was off putting but it didn't ruin our breakfast. Overall I'd come back when I want to have the home feeling diner. Parking is street parking otherwise there's a parking structure conveniently across the cafe. read more

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Ambiance 4 stars Food 5 stars Service 5 stars Blueberry pancakes 5 star Great place indoors and outdoors Pet friendly read more

My cottage scramble was well done & my pancake was hard. Sent it back and came back hard again, kinda rubbery texture. I think I'll have the French toast next time. read more

Tina (just remember like Tina Turner) is an amazing waitress. She was so attentive, kind, and funny. Really pleasant personality. I wish every serve was like her. The food here is classic diner style and the menu selection is massive. 10/10 recommend read more

The Potholder Cafe - Tim's Dug Out - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

Came here for breakfast the other day, and must say the few times I've been here, it's always been good. Nice portions. Good service. This past visit not so much. Food was great, been better before. But I ordered an iced tea, and the server returned to let me know they forgot to brew it. So I got a club soda instead. But never got a refill. Sat at the counter. It was slow. But the servers were too busy chatting or doing roll ups. read more

The Potholder Cafe - Servers too busy chatting and making roll ups. Sad. Never got a beverage refill. Place is going downhills - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

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We live in the neighborhood near the Potholder in Belmont Heights and go here when we can. Pancakes and waffles are always good, eggs, sausage and bacon also good. Service has always been excellent. It can get busy so expect to wait if you come on a weekend. read more

Pay attention to the little things and the big things won't go wrong. This was the lesson I was taught over and over while learning the restaurant business. So, they have a podium which says, please wait to be seated. And then no one is there to seat you. So, just to see how long it would take I started a stop watch. 4:35 later, one of the servers tells me someone will be with me shortly. What are your standards for greeting your customers? Is 4 minutes and 35 seconds appropriate when there is literally not a single customer in sight? Then, I wanted to sit at the counter. Which is fine, except literally half the counter was turned into a silverware rolling station. And... I want given silverware until I asked for it after the food arrived. Little things. Now, I ordered the Waffle Wednesday special. 2 eggs, choice of 2 meat, a waffle and 2 eggs any style. I thought I asked for hash browns to go with it. It was missed. Little things. The eggs and sausage were brought out right away, since the potatoes were missed, I waited for those as well as the waffle. The orange juice came with no straw. Little things. The staff is friendly. They were simply unfocused. Teach me to show up 15 minutes before closing. The total bill with tip ended up being just over $30! Yikes! The food was very good, but, $30 for breakfast?!? read more

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I wanted to like this place , since seeing a cute review on Social Media, but I was disappointed. We went on a Wednesday morning around 11 am. Not busy at all maybe 5 tables inside and outside dining. Male & Female servers. Took awhile to get our order placed, once we ordered the food came quickly, nice and hot and that was it. She never came to refill our coffee or check up on us. Finally we asked for a glass of water and she brought it to us after about 5 mins. The food was average breakfast diner food. I got a chicken fried steak the gravy seemed watered down and needed salt 5/10. Hubby ordered Grand Prix he gave a 6/10. I probably wouldn't return. Parking can be challenging on the street metered parking. Restaurant was clean and well decorated. read more

The Potholder Cafe - Grand Prix - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

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Old school diner with mediocre food but good friendly service. We sat outdoors, which was nice. I had a quesadilla which was just okay. It's a LB institution and so worth visiting. read more

STEPH UPDATE: I now come more for breakfast than lunch these days since I don't work in the area anymore. Parking can be a challenge, but still a great option for breakfast if we feel like driving across town. read more

The Potholder Cafe - Maui Omelette - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

The food, while it tasted good, gave me the runs for days, and it's still ongoing. I've been passing unprocessed leaves with the stems still attached. The cooks have been off. If you want to avoid multiple trips to the restroom in less than an hour, for the sake of your anus PLEASE AVOID THE POTHOLDER CAFE. read more

I came in here. Today with a party of six. They told me it would take five minutes to sit down. I waited 30 minutes which I was OK, but then when it came to sit down and order the food, we ordered it right away, and waited for one hour and 30 minutes and we still didn't get the food. The guy told us the next food is us, but he ended up giving the food to another table that was a party of 10 that came before us. Which we feel very betrayed because we were here first and the party of 10 came way before us we immediately left after that happened. Service is very slow. read more

DO NOT GO HERE!!!! ‼ so freaking butt, i am not exaggerating when i say the service is so slow like a snail, IVE BEEN HERE FOR TWO HOURS!!! i have not gotten my food. so under staff like crazy i blame the manager. ( don't get me wrong the staff are really nice & understanding !) IF I CAN GIVE THEM ZERO STARS I WOULD! 11:00-1pm update 1:15 Me and my family left, another table sat down at 11:35 and they were such a bigger table than us and got they're food before us. read more

Great breakfast stop near the port and the airport. Staff was friendly, food was wholesome, and the vibes were a hit! read more

The Potholder Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

We were staying in downtown Long Beach and were looking for a place to eat breakfast. We were on a limited timeline so we were hoping to find a restaurant close to the hotel that had vegetarian/vegan options and pretty quick service and The Potholder Cafe definitely delivered. It was not super busy when we went on a Monday around 10:30am, and we were seated quickly. It has a diner vibe with a beach theme. Lots of tables and booths to choose from. They had a great sized menu with lots of diverse options. We were very happy to have a lot of vegetarian and vegan options to choose from. We were able to order quickly and I was very surprised how fast the food came out. I opted to go with the veggie benny which was good but I was a little surprised that there was a slice of american cheese between the english muffin and the veggies/egg. Not sure if that's a regional thing or just specific to this restaurant, but everything was very tasty and the staff was attentive. I would definitely recommend eating here and I would come back if I was in the area. read more

The Potholder Cafe - Veggie benny - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

Coming here I expected more based on the reviews but was very disappointed. If you're Mexican and come here do not get the chilaquiles, super dry and more cheese than sauce, honestly don't know why they're called chilaquiles they were nasty. All the Mexican-like dishes they had did not taste like it. Server wasn't very attentive and it wasn't really that busy at the time I went. Entire experience was subpar. read more

Long Beach is one of my absolute favorite cities to visit, so finally decided to try this place out for the first time after hearing how good it was. Food was delicious, service wasn't too bad and the inside is pretty cute and cozy. Aside from the noise level being a bit much, it was a pleasant experience overall. I'll be going back for sure. 5/5 read more

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We were quickly seated outside per our request. We got the Thursday special and a cinnamon rolls. We shared everything. It was good breakfast food. The service was fantastic. Prices were good. read more

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Food here is absolutely delicious , the fresh fruit the freshly squeezed juices are just the best. The unlimited amount of items you can find to eat and not be left hungry I love coming here on a Saturday morning with the family and enjoy the beach theme and music. Must try the D-Fib Portions size on everything is absolutely amazing. Service here is absolutely perfect and you won't be disappointed! read more

I loved this restaurant, I picked it because of the name, with a name like Potholder it seemed like a great place. The ambiance was cute, cozy and comfortable. The service was great as the waitresses were very attentive and nice. Food was fantabulous, the menu had so many options that other restaurants don't have, I mean for a breakfast menu. Check this restaurant out, you won't be disappointed. Oh yea, I forgot to add- after being on a cruise for the past week the coffee & French vanilla creamer were outta this world. Enjoy!!! read more

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Service: friendly and very attentive. We never had to wait for long before someone came over to check on us. Very walkable location and gets busy during lunch time. We arrived before 11am and there were plenty of seats. Wow Factor: They have an 18" pancake!! Ordered: the Grand Prix. It came with their hashbrowns and toast. It was delicious but their hasbrowns were not my favorite as they were crispy or thin enough. I was hoping for the Denny's style. Otherwise, very delicious and would come back again! read more

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Food was great. The service was the bummer. Had to work hard to catch our servers eye for a coffee refill. I did appreciate the way he then made sure our table of nine was all taken care of with refills. The shocking thing that happened was another server just gabbed the empty chair right next to the empty high chair. My wife was helping her niece. I have never had a chair (clearly part of our table) just get taken without the person asking if we were using the chair. Good thing I caught his attention and told him my wife was sitting there and he brought the chair right back. read more

I used to order food to go from the Potholder, various locations. Now, they don't have online ordering, and their website doesn't even provide phone numbers for most locations. I guess they don't want takeout business. read more

Great place. Not that busy when I visited on 4/12. The service was quick and accommodating. The chicken and waffles? Yo! So good with bacon cooked right in the waffle! 10/10 definitely recommend. read more

Me and the Mrs. came here for a nice breakfast while visiting California I saw on their yelp. They had a giant pancake and I decided I had to try it. The restaurant was easy to find we parked on the street but later found out that there was a parking lot adjacent to the restaurant. The weight staff was very friendly. We decided to sit inside, even though it was sunny out and sitting outside would've been nice we just wanted to be inside away from the landscapers that were working just down the block. I ordered the Mac daddy Frankie, which is a giant 18 inch pancake eggs and your choice of bacon or sausage links, I opted for the sausage links. The food came to the table relatively quickly, and when it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. The pancake was gigantic golden with four dollop of butter on top. My first thought was the pancake was not going to taste good, but upon my first bite I was absolutely stunned. It was tasty moist and fluffy. I tried my very best to eat as much as the pancake as I could, but I was only able to finish half of it so I cut the rest into wedges and took it to go and I picked at it throughout the day. The food here was delicious and both presentation and smell. I can see the waiters walking around with other people's orders and everything looked amazing. If I do come back here, I would try something else on the menu as the pancake was just too big. It definitely would be a good choice for a group of people to order that pancake and just split it up amongst themselves, but it was something cool to try and it was definitely very tasty. read more

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love this place sooo much. the food here is really good and the service is just as great. I eat here pretty often and never disappointed.

Potholder is iconic for a reason! I did a quick pick-up order and was helped by Gloria, she is such a bright and welcoming energy. The atmosphere makes you feel like you're truly in a classic diner. The bean & cheese burrito was incredible and perfectly wrapped in the best tortilla ever. Solid price-to-portion ratio. Love it!! read more

The Potholder Cafe - Bean and cheese breakfast burrito - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Long Beach, California

Always love it here. Neighborhood joint that's gives you the mom and pop vibe. Love the outdoor area for people watching. The food portions are insane and quality is alway great. The staff is kind and friendly. Great service and anyone I'm on the neighborhood I try and eat here. It reminds me of the 90s In all the good ways! Classic and stable which I think we can all appreciate nowadays. Support this locally eatery I will always! read more

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Terrible management and service. I was here on July 19th after seeing they had decent reviews on Find Me Gluten Free. When I got there nothing was labeled GF, my server thought dairy= gluten, and then between the substitution charges and GF up charge they wanted me to pay $7.50 to swap the STUFFED FRENCH TOAST WITH YOUR CHOICE OF STUFFING for ONE PLAIN gluten free pancake on the breakfast plate that would otherwise have been fine for me to eat. The manager on duty was unwilling to see how absurd that was, adapt or accommodate in any way. I was left to guess what was safe for me, eventually went with basic eggs because I have a DISEASE THAT DOES NOT ALLOW ME TO EAT STUFFED FRENCH TOAST. Thanks for not educating yourselves on a growing percentage of the population and treating this like a diet fad, further perpetuating bad behavior like this. Never going back, food was just basic, service was slow and awkward. read more