Russell’s

I have been going to Russell’s since about 1977, when they were only in Long Beach. Back in the day they did not offer french fries, only the best hash browns in town. The burgers back then were amazing, and still are today in the Pasadena location.
I highly recommend the Blue Cheese Burger. Absolutely incredible, some may have to hold it with 2 hands. For me, the messier the better.
And the hash browns are still great. They are not as good as it was back in the day. But still good overall.
Seating is a premium, not too many booths and tables. I tend to sit at the counter. But be prepared to wait a bit if you are there during lunch or dinner time.
Park in the garage behind, they will validate.
Please visit and try it, I can’t get there as often as I would like.

Wow this place has delicious food and amazing service. Can’t wait to come back for there brunch. Beautiful Art work displayed.

I read the reviews, saw the long line, and was looking forward to trying this place out. Our wait was 40 minutes on Saturday, at about 10AM. No problem for us – it’s in a great location so we did a bit of shopping to kill some time. Our table ordered the following biscuits and gravy, breakfast burrito, french toast, and corn beef hash. We also ordered a bloody mary.
Biscuits and Gravy: lacked gravy and flavor. It was more biscuit than anything. 1 star.
French Toast: It was good — not the best I have had… but I had no real complaints. I’m not sure I would make a trip to this place for this dish alone. 4 stars.
Corn beef hash: This was also good. I don’t have this often, so tough to compare with other restaurants, but I had no complaints. Very tasty. 4 stars
Breakfast burrito: below average, imo. 2 stars.
Blood mary: I thought it was average — not bad, but not great. Always a big disappointment when it doesn’t come with any garnishments (olive, celery, etc.) 3 stars.
Service was freindly, attentive, and enjoyable.

We came here on a Sunday morning around 9:30AM, and despite the rain, we waited in line for about 35 minutes before we were seated. The good thing about Russell’s is that they give you a beeper so you can walk away for a while and still be notified when it’s a table is available for you.
Service:
One server waits on several tables at a time, so service can be a bit slow. Once seated, we were immediately given our menus and drinks by another person while we waited for our server. Usually, the wait time is greatly appreciated, especially since I’m quite an indecisive person. However, because we had waited 35 minutes prior and a giant menu was posted outside, we already had plenty of time to think about what we wanted to eat. The food came out rather quickly considering that everything we ordered came out at once.
Food:
We ordered the Big One (2 Halves of French Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, and English Muffin) and a Belgium Waffle. The Waffles and French Toast both came with a huge ball of butter and a small cup of syrup. The English muffin was also served with butter already slathered on top. As someone who is not a huge fan of having butter on sweet foods, I did not enjoy the fact that the butter was placed directly on top. If you’re like me, I would suggest asking the server to separately serve the butter.
The Waffles also had a slight burnt taste to them, although I think this was done on purpose to get the nice dark brown color and crispy texture. My favorite part of the meal was the French Toast, which had a fluffy texture. The generous sprinkling of powdered sugar and syrup nicely complemented the sweet bread.
Overall:
I would come back here again and would definitely recommend it to a friend. However, next time I would come closer to opening time to avoid the long line.

I’m a fan of these brunch spot. Modest half hour wait for a Thursday. The restaurant was very cute. It had an intimate atmosphere with the booths, chandeliers, and paintings. I ordered the chicken fried steak and I’m sure this is the best one I’ve had. I also had a side of waffles that were really fluffy. The price wasn’t bad for a Pasadena spot. Plenty of choices on the menu. I would definitely cole back !

I don’t know why it was a good idea to brunch in Pasadena… on a Sunday morning. 1 HOUR WAIT on a hungry stomach is def a dumb idea. Oh well. I can’t blame them since the restaurant is relevantly small.
Ordered the chicken fried steak with hash browns, scrambled eggs, and toast. It was pretty good! A little too much gravy, but it was delicious. Hash browns were crunchy and eggs were fluffy. Portions are pretty big, it fills you up. So, that made me happy.
Damn. I want more right now…

There’s always a line on weekends so I dropped in to see what the fuss was all about. The food is standard breakfast/​brunch fare, but it’s good. Service is prompt and the food comes out fast. I ordered the spinach/​mushroom/​cheese omelette and upgraded the side for a chocolate chip pancake — which was a great idea, if I do say so myself.
The hashbrown is good too. I’m normally not a fan, but it’s just the right amount of crispy.

I’ve been meaning to come here for their breakfast since I have not eaten an American type breakfast in forever because I never wake up early enough for breakfast anyways. But a few days ago, I woke up in the morning and had time to come here for breakfast. I ordered to go and while waiting for my food, that place was busy!
I ordered the fried chicken with two eggs with a side of toast. The chicken did not taste like chicken and it also did not look like chicken. I was thinking it might look like a KFC chicken but it was a flat piece of «chicken» meat. The whole meal was alright. I might come again to try the other items on the menu if I can actually wake up early enough.

Waited an hour for a table for 6 at 10am. It may only have one table for a large party.
Not quite sure what the fuss is with this place in the morn since there are many better brunch places out there.
Yes. The croque madame was yummy. Everything else seemed pretty much comparable to other standard places (french toast, country fried steak, pancake, and spinach and mushroom omelette). Butter was definitely tasted in the foods.
The waiter was pretty nice. Kinda off tho how he only brought five settings, and four side plates when there were six of us.
The décor of the place was unique making the ambience fun to be in.

Swang by here today for a late breakfast. The host told us they would have a table in five minutes or so, sure enough he sat us shortly after. I ordered eggs and bacon which, like most of their breakfast items come with toast and hash browns. My company orders the «big one» which is the same but with your choice of pancakes or french toast. My food was great. I tried some of their sausage and I’m not sure if it was seasonal or what but it was packed with rosemary which was a surprise that I definitely was not expecting, nor did I enjoy it.
The place it self is really nice. Rather small, with max seating listed at 56. The have a bar area that seats maybe 12 – 15 and then the rest of the seating is in the dining area. I’d say this place is good for 3 or 4 people but I definitely wouldn’t bring a large group in, unless they take reservations.

Best breakfast I’ve had!
Hash nowhere are a 10+
Service was good and we didn’t have to wait to get a booth.
We’ll keep coming back each time we hike Eaton Canyon!

I can’t even tell you the amount of times I’ve passed Russell’s and never realized what I was missing out on! On my most recent trip to Old Town, a group of us waited to dine here. It was a Sunday morning and we waiting about 45 minutes for our party of four.
I love the fact that they offer sweet and savory dishes for breakfast like the Belgium waffle breakfast. It comes with a Belgium waffle, eggs and your choice of bacon or sausage. Most breakfast establishments make you choose one or the other. Their portions are a little small compared to other breakfast joints, but it’s nice because you don’t leave feeling disgustingly full.
I will definitely be making a return visit to check out their lunch and dinner menu.

One word, AMAZING!
This place is worth the wait! My party of 7 waited for 1 hour as it was crowded, but it was worth it! The food is excellent as well as the service. Our waiter was very friendly and informative with food selections and recommendations. I ordered the Corn Beef hash which was delicious, as a recommendation though, I would not order hash-​browns as a side with this dish as there is already hash browns within the hash. Hash-​brown overload! Either way, it was still good!
Good job Russel’s!

HEARTY. if there were one word I had to use to describe Russell’s, it would be hearty.
we’ve come here several times, usually for a late breakfast since we like sleeping in on our weekends. warm french diner ambiance, but hands down american on your plates.
we get their fluffy pancakes, hash, burgers, chicken fried steak, french toast… everything is always well prepared. the staff is very warm, attentive and know how to move. i mean MOVE! yep, they are busy. there is always a line outside Fair Oaks, even mid-​week. sometimes we breakfast date and sit at the bar to skip the line, and watch the news on their 2 TV’s. whatever we have, we always leave happy and with a feeling of being well fed.
one of our go-​to spots in Old Town for breakfast. parking is validated in the adjacent lot. come hungry!

Hello my awesome Unilocalies,
First time here at this restaurant. Parking here is not too bad, there is a public parking lot right behind it. The restaurant do a 90 minutes free validation so that’s a great advantage. Not many restaurants do that so hooray for that!
Walk in you feel like you step into Europe. I just love how they decorate the whole place, there are many paintings from Europe if I’m not wrong there are some paintings that looks like Van Gogh’s work. you definitely feel like you walk into little Italy. They also have very comfortable booth around the side of the restaurants perfect for business or just a casual date with your significant other.
I order the spaghetti marinara with meatballs ($ 13.95)Yes I just have to since it’s a Italian restaurant you can never go wrong with the most simplest order. I love how the order comes with soup or salad, I personally love soup so i decided to order their vegetable soup. The soup wasn’t my favorite since it was a little blend for my taste, but the spaghetti was very delicious, the marinara was the perfect amount, the meatballs was shaped perfectly and well seasoned. What I love the most is their garlic bread that comes as a side. It was the perfect crunch, if you like garlic bread you can never go wrong with theirs.
The service was off the chart, everyone was super efficient and knows their job well. I love restaurants when you can see their kitchen, that’s when you know that they aren’t afraid to show you how they make your food. Sorry we kept switching our wine, just want to have the perfect taste to go with our meal. Thank you for being so patient, also the wine was $ 8 for a glass and $ 18 for a bottle, definitely more worth it to get the bottle :) if you can’t finish you can always bring it home.
I heard from the waiter that they are most famous for their breakfast and that on the weekends you have to wait at least an hour for a seat. I definitely have to try their breakfast one of this days. If it’s just as good as the waiter said I will bring all my friends here to show them.
Overall, 5 stars for service, 4 stars for food, 5 stars for decorations and environment, 5 stars for atmosphere. Will come back to try their breakfast menu!

Russell’s is a traditional diner with value packed quality meals but none of the grease!
Russell’s has some amazingly, delicious, good, ol’ American brunch selection! The ambiance is warm, cozy, and full of festivity since it’s always crowded. With that said, expect over an hour wait on most weekends if you show up after 10AM. So it may not be for those in a hurry or looking for an alternative to Denny’s or IHOP. This is more about patient, fine dining than a cheap quick bite.
Breakfast Burrito (Three eggs scrambled topped with bacon, sausage and melted Cheddar cheese and wrapped in a large flour tortilla, served with hash browns) — The tortilla was a bit dry and hard, but otherwise, the burritos is packed full of flavor and the Cheddar cheese decorated every juicy bite. Nice!
Meat Lover Omelet (Bacon, sausage & ham topped with melted Cheddar cheese) — there are several options for cheese but I chose to go with the Cheddar and it was excellent! They are very generous with the meat portion and I gobbled down every last bite.
I added 75 cents to my meal and got a pancake instead of a regular side (English muffin or toast). The pancake was fluffy and well made. Yum!
The side of hash brown was some of the best I ever had. Who would’ve thought there is an art to hash brown? It wasn’t so greasy like most diners that makes it hard to finish.
Overall, it’s hard to complain about Russell’s. The waiters are polite and speedy. The meals are very reasonably priced — just slightly above $ 10 for most selections. Though I was a bit upset that we were skipped over in the line. They gave us a beeper that never rang/​vibrated and claimed that they called out our name even though we were sitting outside waiting patiently the whole time.
The restaurant does validate for the parking structure right behind them but only for 60 minutes? or was it 90 minutes? It probably is a mute point since the wait itself is usually that long before you even get to be seated.
Russell’s is as good as it gets for American diner… if you don’t mind the wait!

Delicious breakfast! Yummy
As you enter, you get memorized inside forthe design of paintings and crystal chandelier. The outside does not do this place justice. Service is excellent with big portions and decent price breakfast selections. Fresh squeezed orange juice to start your day.
Sweets! Sweets! Good anytime but it starts my day for sure. Waffles is yummy! Muffin is yummy! Pancake is yummy! Portions are big enough for you to share but do you want to? We only had breakfast here so far but will attempt to try lunch as well. Every dish we had so far is wonderful.
There’s parking structure next to it but I’m not sure if they validate. The nearby structures offers 90 mins free and it is within 5 mins of walking. Service is always great!!!

Russell’s wasn’t bad. I wish I got the Croque Madame though! The ultimate breakfast burrito was a bit too buttery (and I love butter.).
The restaurant seems clean and so is the restroom! They have a good variety for breakfast.
Our waiter was nice and he even took our group picture for us. So pretty much what Russell’s had to offer was good food, clean restaurant and restroom, and friendly staff.

Russell’s needs to be bigger. There just aren’t enough seats!
I arrived quite early on Saturday morning and so had no wait. I was able to enjoy a good three or four cups of coffee (hard to tell because it never got below half way before it was topped off) and breakfast while plugging away on my laptop on their free wifi (the passcode is their phone number) for a good hour. Once I noticed that the tables were filled, I took that as my cue to leave. And saw that there were at least 20 people waiting for seats. Oops.
I had the croque madame, which is a toasted and pressed ham and cheese sandwich that’s topped with a fried egg. How awesome is that? Well, it’s very awesome. Tasty and needing a sharp serrated knife to cut through the crust and stuff this deliciousness into my mouth.
The hash browns were pretty good too!
Good service, great wifi, a really nice restaurant and a filling breakfast. I can see why Russell’s is so popular!

This would be our 2^nd time having brunch here in a span of 5 years. I wasn’t a helper back then but once I helped a restaurant for brunch I quickly remembered that this place was amazing! Right when we pulled up we noticed that there was a lot of people waiting outside to be seated and we were starving so we decided to see how long the wait would be. Either 40 mins for a table or sit at the bar area now. We chose the 2^nd option. Service was great. As soon as we sat down they handed us menus and asked us for drinks. My fiancé is extremely indecisive (Libra) so of course the question spill out to the waitress about what is better smh lol.
So while starving and waiting on her to choose her meal we finally order:
THE BIG ONE — two pancakes, hash browns, two eggs, bacon and sausage and a bagel with cream cheese.
Everything was delicious and one of the things that’s great about this breakfast is, everywhere I go for breakfast I can’t get hash browns and pancakes together. My fiancé always has to get a meal with pancakes and I get a meal with hash browns and we share. That wasn’t the case here lol.
AVOCADO BACON SWISS CHICKEN CLUB — Grilled Chicken breast, wheat bun, melted Swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo.
My fiancé took one bite and looked at me with these huge eyes. She was like, «babe you have to taste this!» and I must admit, the flavor was amazing. We both thought I ’twas going to be a dry sandwich and we were totally wrong. Everything was on point, moist, warm and the favors meshed perfectly together. I might have to get that next time.
Once again, A+ everything and you can’t go wrong with Russell’s for breakfast, brunch and lunch. Dinner is next!
OOOOO
5 out of 5 Afros