Famous L.A. Restaurants and Bars As Filming Locations

Above, Los Angeles City Hall. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Los Angeles City Hall has appeared in a number of movies and television shows over the years. It doubled as the Daily Planet Building in the 1950s in the Adventures of Superman. Other buildings and landmarks in Los Angeles have also appeared in movies and television shows.

According to L.A. Weekly's website, restaurants and bars in Los Angeles were also used in many movies and television shows. They have posted an article with 70 photographs on different filming locations featuring restaurants and bars in Los Angeles.

Right off the bat, I see that Miss Donuts in Reseda, Frank's Coffee Shop in Burbank, the Dresden Restaurant in Los Feliz and the Prince (when it was the Windsor) Restaurant in mid-Wilshire were all used as filming locations and I have been to each of them at one time or another. Most recently, a 1950s style coffee shop in Hawthorne, Chips, was used in Hollywoodland.

According to L.A. Weekly:

In a city with thousands of restaurants and bars, it can be a daunting task for film or television production to find the perfect location for an eating or drinking scene. Does the film take place in modern day or 1950s Los Angeles? Does the script call for an Italian restaurant or a coffee shop, a dive bar or a lounge? Can the screenplay be adjusted in order to better suit the story and fit the budget?  

While for most business comes first, appearing as a location in a film or TV show no doubt has its merits and, in more cases than not, brings additional customers through the door. Here are some of L.A.'s most memorable movie restaurants and bars. 

To see the gallery of locations, go here.

Thanks to Mike Triggs for the article information.