Philippe The Original

Philippe The Original was founded in 1908 by Philippe Mathieu, and it has served customers from its current building on North Alameda Street since 1951. It is one of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles and one of two places in the city that have long claimed to have invented the French dip sandwich, a claim that has kept regulars debating for more than a century.

The French dip is the reason to come. A freshly baked French roll is dipped in the natural gravy from the roast and filled with your choice of roast beef, roast pork, leg of lamb, turkey, pastrami or ham, with Swiss, American, Cheddar, Monterey Jack or blue cheese if you want it. Ask for it single or double dipped, add a dab of the house hot mustard, and pair it with coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad or a pickle.

Ordering is part of the experience. You queue at the long counter, where servers known as carvers build the sandwiches in front of you, then carry your tray to one of the long communal tables. Wood shavings are scattered on the floor in the old-fashioned way, and the walls are covered with memorabilia, so the room feels much as it must have done decades ago.

The restaurant is open daily from 6am to 10pm, which makes it useful for an early breakfast, a quick lunch or a late supper, and prices are modest for the area. It suits solo travellers, families and anyone who wants a slice of old Los Angeles without dressing up or booking. Queues move quickly, even when they look long at lunchtime and before Dodgers home games.

Philippe's is a short walk from Union Station, the city's main rail hub, where the Metro A, B and D Lines and regional trains connect. Olvera Street and El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the historic heart of the original city, are just across the road, and Chinatown is a few minutes away on foot. Philippe's is also a good place to understand how Los Angeles ate before the age of food trucks and tasting menus. The prices, the counter service and the long tables have changed little over the decades, and many families have been coming for generations. Coffee was once famously sold for a few cents a cup, and the restaurant still feels like a place where everyone, from commuters to visitors, shares the same tables.

If you want to eat elsewhere, online ordering is available through the restaurant's website. For general questions, Philippe's lists [email protected] and a phone line.