10 Of The Best Eats In Pasadena California

Nestled in the San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena is the birthplace of cooking icon Julia Child and a great place to get your grub on. Away from the traditional Asian restaurants of the San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena offers a unique, eclectic array of good food for every meal or occasion. We list some of the best choices here.

Ración

Travel to Spain while feasting on classic tapas with a modern spin from Ración. Perfect for a date night or a celebration dinner, Ración has become a food critic’s favorite in Pasadena. While the price is a bit on the higher side, each dish is presented beautifully and cooked to perfection. Because tapas are like mini dishes, you will be able to sample a wide variety of their menu, with highlights being the chicken croquettes, beer braised octopus, and crispy prawns.

La Grande Orange Café

Cafe, Restaurant, American, French

The best thing to get after sleeping in or browsing through the Rose Bowl Flea Market is brunch. While the wait might not be ideal, one of the best places to get brunch in Pasadena is La Grande Orange Café. You can’t go wrong with anything on their extensive brunch menu, which includes lemon ricotta hotcakes and prime rib French dip. Egg Salad Sandwich from Euro Pane Bakery | © LWYang/Flickr

Euro Pane Bakery

Bakery, Cafe, Pastries

As a kid, did you look into your lunchbox with disgust when you saw an egg salad sandwich waiting for you? Well, Euro Pane Bakery’s signature egg salad sandwich, layered with crispy bread, flavorful tomato spread, and the perfect egg salad, is certainly not something to frown over. If egg salad is still not your thing, Euro Pane has a multitude of other sandwiches, salads, and quiches to try.

Amara Chocolate & Coffee

Cafe, Restaurant, South American, Venezuelan, Spanish

Looking to satisfy your chocoholic cravings? Amara Chocolate & Coffee, a Venezuelan café, is the best place to do it. They use high-quality imported Venezuelan chocolate as their canvas for a multitude of amazing eats, including truffles and thick hot chocolate. The restaurant also offers beautiful coffee drinks for the caffeine addict and traditional Venezuelan snacks, such as tekeños and empanadas, for the snacker.

Slater’s 50/50

Pasadena is home to the only location of the super popular Slater’s 50/50 in Los Angeles. Offering amazing burgers and fried bacon mac n’ cheese balls, Slaters 50/50 is the place to go for some good old American comfort food. Following the trend, you can design your own burger masterpiece or choose off their menu.

Mediterranean Café

Cafe, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Greek

If you are in a hurry and have a love of Mediterranean food, Mediterranean Café has got you covered. The service is extremely fast and can usually get you in and out of the place in less than ten minutes. The pricing is also another plus; you can definitely get a satisfying meal for under ten dollars. Most of their plates come with your choice of grilled meat and sides of rice, hummus, Greek salad, sauces, and pita bread. Sandwich from the Pasadena Sandwich Company | © Incase/Flickr

Pasadena Sandwich Company

If you want to get a good bang for your buck, the place to go is the family-owned Pasadena Sandwich Company. PSC is only open for five hours a day, making it the perfect place to get lunch. The delicious sandwiches are piled to the top with veggies, sauces, meat, cheese, etc. The giant size of the sandwich allows you to comfortably split with your friend or take leftovers to go for a mid-day work snack.

Spinfish Poke House

The Hawaiian beach classic, poke, has finally made its way into Pasadena at Spinfish Poke House. Poke is a refreshing, flavorful dish that is perfect for the sunny SoCal weather. Spinfish, located in an easy-to-miss alleyway in the shopping epicenter of Old Town Pasadena, operates on a build-your-own concept that is very similar to Chipotle. Strawberry Pie from The Pie Hole | © L.A. Foodie/Flickr

The Pie Hole

‘Happiness one slice at a time’ is The Pie Hole’s mission. Offering sweet and savory pies, The Pie Hole does not often disappoint with their yummy fillings and buttery, flaky crusts. Customer favorites include the decadent and creamy maple custard pie and the chocolaty, pistachio topped earl grey tea pie. Pair your slice of pie with a cup of coffee or one of their specialty lattes. Assorted Tacos From the El Taquito Mexicano Truck | © T. Tseng/Flickr

El Taquito Mexicano Truck

Satisfy your late night craving with arguably the best tacos in the San Gabriel Valley from the El Taquito Mexicano Truck. Parked in the parking lot of an auto body shop, the taco truck is open until 1 AM to 3 AM depending on the day. They offer everything from carne asada tacos to lengua tacos to chicharron tacos.

El Taquito Mexicano Truck, 510 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA , USA, +1 626 355 9411

About the author

Sabina Li

Sabina Li is an LA native who is currently a proud UCLA Bruin. As a history buff, Sabina loves exploring the landmarks and museums of Los Angeles. She is an avid baker of all things chocolate and her KitchenAid mixer is her baby. When she's not getting sucked into Pinterest and social media, she is out and about satisfying her craving for boba and coffee.