Downtown LA: Clifton's Brookdale

I recently had lunch with a friend at Clifton's Brookdale, one of the last remaining cafeteria eateries in Los Angeles. Situated in today's Historic Core on Historic Broadaway, the restaurant opened in 1935 and was designed with a mountain/forest-theme. Clifton founder Clifford Clinton spent his childhood summers in the Santa Cruz mountains and wanted to convey the feeling of that location in his restaurant.

The restaurant had an assorted array of foods to choose from and the restaurant's forest design is something rare to come by. The interior is unexpected given the restaurant's basic exterior. In many respects, it felt like stepping back into another place and time...which is always a great feeling when roaming through historic places.

A recent LA Times article End of the line for cafeterias discusses the history and closing of the cafeteria eateries.

For more information about Clifton's Brookdale, visit its Destination Profile on ExperienceLA.com.

-Charity Tran, ExperienceLA Web Coordinator