Daniel Rivas

I've always seen and noticed Cole's French Dip restaurant as I would take the bus that would run alongside 6th Street but had never made the time to stop by. So, after seeing a post flying around social media saying that Cole's, after 117 years of service in the neighborhood would be closing for good during their first weekend of August (August 2nd is their final day), I made sure to clear up my schedule to ensure that I finally check this place out before they set off into the sunset. I have no regrets! 🙂‍↔️ The wait was considerably long but that was to be expected, from regulars who have been coming for years to new locals who wanted to check out a piece of Los Angeles History, there was a long line forming outside of the establishment before the kitchen opened up, (I arrived at 255~pm), so if you have the time and patience please check them out, as they don't have many days left before shuttering their doors permanently. They have a choice between a full dip or 1/2 dip sandwich with a meat choice of Braised Lamb, Braised Pork, Pastrami or Prime Beef and a side of Au Jus to dip your sandwich, the 1/2 dip comes with a side choice of Mac & cheese, coleslaw, French fries, tater tots and others that I cannot remember off memory, I got their 1/2 dip sandwich, Prime Beef with swiss cheese and side of Spicy garlic fries 🍟. Everything was cooked to perfection, I especially loved their fries👌, the plates and food came to our table hot ♨️ and ready to be devoured 🤤. I also got a slice of their house cherry pie. 🍰🍒🥧 A delicious treat to finish off their historical run. 🫡 Thank you for this memorable afternoon, Cole's! You exceeded my expectations by far! 👏👏 You will be missed.

+6

Mohammad AlSaeed

Waited 45 minutes in line, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Cole’s is a 117-year-old gem that delivers on flavor, nostalgia, and character. With just a few weeks left before it closes forever, we were lucky to experience it. Tried both the Pastrami and USDA Prime Beef — both were fantastic, but the pastrami stole the show with its bold, smoky flavor. The fries were crispy perfection, and the apple pie? Warm, comforting, and the perfect finish. A legendary spot with soul. So glad we made it before the final curtain 👏

+3

Michael Headley

This iconic DTLA restaurant is closing in August of 2025. They claim to be the original French Dip sandwich. Great French Dip, fantastic classic cocktails, and a cool, classic LA vibe. Get here before it closes, but be prepared to wait in line!

+4

C G

I went here to check it out before it closes down. They've been threatening to close it for at least 6 months. Lol I went at around 430pm, there were only 8 people there. Food was good, a lil expensive for the portion you get. I had the classic beef dip, it was good- not great, opted for tomato soup, tasted tinney. It's more of a bar than a restaurant- a Nice bar. Inside is an old school vibe - classic old LA pictures on the walls. Bartender was very nice. Place was clean. Area is a lil sketchy, parking not easy. Mainly pay lots. 'Gritty LA' ;)

+2

dawn sebastian

We had beef dip, garlic fries, and a pickled egg. Their bread is absolutely delicious ( wish they would share where it's from ) . The beef dip lacked flavor , needed improvement. The garlic fries were delicious and best I have ever had. Pickled egg was good , but costly.

+7

Martin Courtney (Openplzdds)

Battle of who originated the French dip doesn't matter. Cole's has very fast delivery to your table and great French Dips. The grilled cheese with tomato soup "hit the spot!" According to my daughter.

+4

Don Derieg

Cole's is a slice of history from downtown Los Angeles. While the food ( I had the pastrami dip) was decent, I've had better. However I went there because it's a historic place ready to close down. The speak easy vibe is unmistakably 1930+ Los Angeles. Amazing staff and a good Guinness beer made the 1+ hours wait worth it. Met other patrons that had been here before. Great . Everyone is there to make a good memory and bask in past good ones.

01/17/26 I've heard that Cole’s French Dip restaurant is one of the best in Los Angeles. I saw on the news that it’s closing permanently this year due to high rent. The good news is that the owners have confirmed they will keep the doors open while seeking a buyer for the historic 117-year-old establishment. The locals said the sandwiches are better than Philippe’s and come with famous au jus to take the meal to an entirely different level. I was convinced, so I came to the restaurant on Saturday with high expectations to try the prime rib sandwich. I tried the sandwich at the bar to compare its taste to Philippe’s. I took five bites of the sandwich. The meat lacked flavor, and I hadn't even added the dipping sauce. That was test one. For my second test, I added au jus to my sandwich to boost the flavor and took five more bites to see if it made a difference. The sauce did enhanced the flavor of my sandwich, but not enough to deserve five stars. In a comparison of the two restaurants, I think Philippe’s is better than Cole’s French Dip because their sandwiches are better. The sandwiches are tasty and have more flavor. On the other hand, the au jus at Cole’s is much better than Philippe’s, offering a superior taste. I'm giving the restaurant a three-star rating because the sandwich was average.

Arrived at 6:30pm on a cool February Friday evening, the day before Valentines. Far smaller of a physical location in person than anything you see in internet pictures. The place itself is quaint, something nostalgic from the 1930s, with a loud atmosphere, but the neighborhood area it is located in is not so great (homeless drug users smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol openly on nearby sidewalks). Everyone seems to turn their head slightly to see whoever comes through the front door as the bar is that close to the entrance. Philippe's is different (better area, better parking, better customer service as far as food/drinks go), but it is an unfair to compare the two. Cole's you can see singles trying to hook up and people just having a drink making chatter and at Philippes you see families and workers of all kinds from LAPD, to tourists, to locals who come in to eat together. Two different vibes all together. Anyone who compares either against each other has never really been to either because besides a French Dip sandwich each makes, there are no similarities. It seems the Cole's management understaffs as there was only two overworked pleasant bartenders from whom you had to catch to place any food orders. Understand, you are not waited on and you must be proactive to get anything unless seated at the bar itself. There are nice booths to sit in, but again, do not expect anyone to come and check/wait on you. Single page laminated menus have to be asked for. I see why this place is going down. Understaffed and most nearby secured/structure parking is $20 with some spots on street parking found. However, more often than not, the open street spots are in front of homeless encampments with people who will 'engage' you if you do not make your way around them swiftly. Crowd ranges from college students to older couples (grandma/grandpa) with most in the 30s-40s. I counted a solid 20-25 people present not counting staff. A few small sports bar TVs on the walls and two pool tables in the back for clients to play if they so choose. For this place to survive, it needs more way more staffing. I find the rumors to be true that the lynchpin to Cole's continued existence is getting the place staffed right (bad management). Feel the whole closing down thing became a media discussion because someone probably knew someone in the media who frequented there and asked to be highlighted. It worked, obviously, as they still have not closed down. The purpose was presumably to create, what I think, amounted to a fake media blitz as the Cole's juice is not worth the squeeze, so to speak. Went once, won't be back again. Can say I did it. Nothing missed if you don't fall victim to the hype like me. Cole's fate is in its own hands. Best of luck to them.

L C

With the hexagon tile flooring, to the wood bars/booths, and speakeasy in the back, Cole's French Dip restaurant is truly old school LA. I was sad to hear it was closing, so I decided to visit, have one last french dip, and pickup a tee. I ordered the full dip, fries, took a seat and was served about 10 min later. Service was great, but I can say the same for the food. It was lukewarm at best, and we all know lukewarm fries just doesn't cut it. As for the sandwich, the bread wasn't crispy and the beef was under seasoned. To top it off I think the ketchup has gone bad. I'm not certain if this was an off day or if Cole's is simply throwing in the towel at this point. Not the way I wanted to remember Cole's. Maybe I should have stuck with the cocktails.

+2

Nate D. Suppanade

It's sad this place is closing soon since they've been here for over 100 years. However every time I've been here I've been unimpressed. $20 for a mediocre sandwich is no wonder this place is not popular. The Varnish was probably the best highlight of Cole's. Drinks are ok, bartenders are great. Inside gets hot during the day and the ordering system is a little confusing for first timers if it's packed. The pickles and pickles eggs are great here though, got a little bit a spice to pick it up.

+1

F.A. modster7

So the place is closing that's why I went there frenchdips are my favorite so we thought we would go down to this place and check it out! The area is really bad Like major homelessness everywhere you look. But that's just the area there was a lot of people going there. Because it's one of those historical sandwich shops but when we got there we had to order from this one person that looks like he just started there didn't get our order the first time so we had to reorder the funny part was so got both orders and only pay for one! But the joke was on us because the sandwiches were very small the bread was like a sourdough French which I don't like with a French dip! And they charge way too much for such a crappy dip paid like 20 bucks for a half a French dip and $3 more for a full which is still not very big though I didn't like was a bread because it was sourdough French roll clearly you have to get your drinks out of a can at this place luckily there closing up because I would never go there again!! And besides the person that took our order the servers were good people no issues there!

+1

Nitro 101

Food was not really great. For $35.00 I got a 1/2 Combo which contained a half sandwich and a choice of side. The bun was hard and the meat lacked flavor. The slaw was okay but was unable to finish the Margarita since it was my first time drinking an alcoholic beverage. The place lacked lighting so it was very dark. It’s pretty amazing that with such mediocre food, this place managed to survive the pandemic and stay open for over 100 years. For the best roast beef sandwich in town I would strongly recommend Philippe’s.

S0UR PUFF

An undignified ending to an incredible piece of history. I was told to sit anywhere and sat there for about 15 minutes without any service before I decided to leave. The service was abhorrent and all of the tables were dirty, a noticeable amount were also unbussed. The place is in terrible shape, do not go here if you want to keep a good memory of Cole’s.

Michael Johnson

Hate to say it but this was not worth the wait. Came on a Saturday at 5 pm to experience Cole's before they close because somehow I never been among all these years. We waited 1.5 hours in line. Then another 30 mins inside in another line to order. Then another 30 mins for our food to come out. So 2.5 hours total. The food itself was super mediocre. The bread was a French baguette and very hard. Whereas I'm used to Phillipes having soft bread for their French Dip. Both the beef and pastrami was whatever. The cole slaw was dry and flavorless. The biggest crime here was they gave us ketchup and mustard bottles. I love mustard on my pastrami, so I poured it all inside my sandwich. Then suddenly I got hit with the worst taste in the world. They put horseradish in their mustard, which made the sandwich completely inedible at that point. The only item that really was great was the apple pie. I will say the inside is really cool, and the bartenders and staff are very friendly and open to conversation about what Cole's was and what's next. The restaurant is owned by a restaurant group now and they decided to close it down. It used to be a restaurant with a speakeasy in the back. They changed it to be a bar with food scene. And it never panned out from there, not quite knowing what its identity is. Sounds like they're gonna turn it into something else but will be same owners. I hate to say it, but I won't be missing Cole's. I'll stick to Phillipe's for French Dips, Langer's for Pastrami, and I still miss The Pantry.

+3