Primrose

I will definitely not be coming back here. The place is a dump, kinda like an old dirty dive bar that opens at 6am. Which is fine, if you’re looking for a an old dirty dive bar that opens at 6am and not a great breakfast experience. I go to breakfast 5 days a week and get tired of hofs and pollys up the street, so I’ve come here a few times recently.
The food here is expensive and not good. The chicken fried steak was the worst I’ve ever had and the gravy was disgusting. The bacon was so hard and gross it was inedible. The scrambled eggs were not good. The ham I’ve tried more than once and it is so gross, terrible taste and texture.
The coffee, however, is really good and the pancakes were great. When I came for breakfast by myself I spent $ 17 on my breakfast and when I came with three people I spent over $ 50 for three breakfast plates. That’s way too much money for a place that only has good coffee and pancakes.
SERVICE WAS AWFUL! I’ve been in the restaurant 24 years and have never been allowed to yell at my tables like our server yelled at us. We were all still nice to her and polite, but sat there shocked. She scolded us more than once for no reason, LOUDLY! She was just clearly having a bad day. Was my only day off work until next month so we were looking to have a nice breakfast and she definitely ripped that away from us. I probably wouldn’t mind as much if the food was decent or not so expensive.
Although we live next-​door, we definitely will not be back!

The Primrose is Seal Beach’s little secret to a great place to eat from their friendly food servers to their best bartenders you’ll definitely enjoy the experience and you’ll be coming back again and again…

I was in seal beach for memorial weekend and the food was excellent. Awesome Liver and onions. Highly recommend it. My bf ordered the lamb shank which was recommended by the waitress. He loved it. I’m not in seal beach often but if you are id go again.

This is the worst place to eat. I have seen 20 servers come and go in a year. When I 1^st started going it was ok. The past year has been awful. I only go cause I can’t walk far. But I have now hired a driver. I will never return there. I asked to speak to the owner that was standing there and he brushed me off and would not hear my comments. I had found a roach in my coffee cup. I tell the server there named Bridget and she said oh well deal with it. in her hard to understand language. The place is very dirty and they touch your food and money at the same time. The owner does not deserve the right to server people. He is a rude and especially to women. Never go there again!!!

Tostada salad was amazing! Décor is outdated but I didn’t go there for that. Good priced as well. I’ll definitely come back for another meal!

Unhealthy food. My parents like to eat here but I don’t know why. I just went with them the other day and ordered chicken stir fry. It was mush, yuck! The steak my dad had was microwaved and over cooked. The décor is outdated. But I just can’t believe they serve food that bad.

I have been going to The Primrose since I moved to the area in early 2012. It has both a restaurant and bar. I haven’t been in the bar, but believe it is full service.
This is not the place to come to if you want a view, fancy decorations, etc. It is the place to come to if you want good food, much of it fresh made in the restaurant, and wide selection, at reasonable prices. It is not a ‘dive’ place, but the décor would match that type of place in that it is dated.
The club, turkey sandwich, and the turkey dinner are all made with whole turkey, not the watery deli type that so many places at these prices have. Soups, limited in choice to two, are fresh made daily. Their menu has many choices; they even serve a Monte Cristo sandwich. And, they have «specials» every day.
Service is good; staff are friendly; the restaurant closes about 8pm, but the bar remains open later.
The floors, tables, and bathrooms are clean.
Yes, it caters to the leisure world residents, but there are many other non-​Leisure World regulars as well. It is obviously very old décor that hasn’t been updated for a few decades, There is an outside, covered patio dining area as well.
The name is confusing. It is the Primrose, but also known as Lala’s.

Love this place, always my first choice! Home style cooking, good food and great service. Full bar and great Happy Hour!

Come on folks, this is a diner in the parking lot of Leisure World center. It’s not gourmet, it doesn’t pretend to be. The booths are worn, the formica tables aren’t fancy, but if you are looking for an honest meal, you can certainly find one here.
I usually frequent this place for breakfast on Tuesdays, since there is an outstanding farmers market in the parking lot, and taking on the farmers market on an empty stomach usually makes me buy everything that isn’t nailed down. Much better to grab a bite first.
I have had several things on their breakfast menu, but tend to gravitate towards their breakfast quesadilla, corned beef hash and eggs, and their omelettes. I can say I haven’t been disappointed with anything that I have ordered.

Min $ 10 if using credit/​debit. So one beer is
$ 10. Go elsewhere

It was essentially what you’d expect, particularly given the proximity to Leisure World and it’s 9,000 or so residents. The staff is friendly and seemed to know most of their clientele well enough (we’re an exception, down visiting great-​grandma).
If it were not for the visit, I’m sure we’d not be returning, but if we were in town with our surprisingly mobile g-​grandma, we’d return. Food was okay, priced right (four of us total hit $ 38 with beverages), so can’t complain any. Décor and facilities were dated, but who knows… could be intentional to cater to the «remember when???» customer base.

If you’re looking for BLAND FOOD, come on down to the Primrose (or Layla’s Café according to the sign on the building. There’s a banner across the front that reads Primrose Café. Go figure.) Leisure World senior community is right next store, so they are likely catering to the elderly clientele. Service was so-​so.
I ordered the chicken fried steak. It came with soup or salad. I ordered a salad. I asked if they had a vinaigrette dressing. They did not, so I settled for Italian dressing. I also ordered a shrimp cocktail. I like it spicy and asked the waitress if it was spicy. She said no, and offered Tabasco sauce for it. I instead ordered a side of horseradish to add to it.
The salad came out first. It was so bland, it was like there was no dressing at all, even though I could see the oil covering it.
About ten minutes later, our entrees came out. I was about to tell the waitress to cancel the shrimp cocktail which was ordered as an appetizer since I had figured that they must have forgotten it, however she beat me to it by telling me that she was coming back with it.
Horseradish did hardly anything to this cold mini-​shrimp soup served in a milkshake glass.
The chicken fried steak was decent, even though it was overcooked a bit. There was also a small scoop of lumpy room temperature mashed potatoes, a small serving of steamed soft vegetables (carrots, broccoli and cauliflower which needed salt & pepper) and a hard bread roll that looked like it had a large bandage on it.
All in all, the food was what I expected from a place so close to a gated senior community. Hospital food.
Oh yeah, there’s a bar built into the side of the restaurant. A handful of seniors were there. Be careful navigating the parking lot during happy hour (12pm-​6pm.)