Jewel City Diner

I got hungry one late evening; somehow I ended up at the Americana, debating if I should get dinner from the food court. As I was walking by, I remember Jewel City Diner, took a glance at the menu and figured that maybe one day, I should try this place. Taking a few paces towards the mall, I decided, it’s either now or never, turned back around and took my chances with Jewel City Diner.
The first thing that should have alerted me was the fact that there was no one in the diner, just the cook, cashier and one other customer came in after I ordered. I decided on something with bacon and avocado (the name of the actual burger slipped my mind at the moment), and it was cooked well. Just that, by the time it took the other customer to look at the menu and place her order, my burger was gone.
Honestly, I felt like with the price that I paid for my burger and combo, I should have gotten more bang for my buck. Like Robbie B. mentioned on my check-​in, I won’t be coming back here anytime soon.

This place actually used to be cool but service seems to have taken a bit of a dive. My bff came here for a quick bite. We ordered at the counter and took some seats on the patio by one of the heat lamps.
It took a little while for our food to come out, when it was brought to us we didn’t get any napkins, ketchup, ranch nothing. When we asked the waitress she basically said it was all inside on the counter and they didn’t have any small containers for ranch. She didn’t even attempt to bring the ketchup or any napkins over — basically dropped the food off and left. Ummm so wtf is your job again? Food drop offer because you surely are not a waitress RUDE! We had to get up and walk into the place to get ketchup and napkins and god forbid we ask her for a work around on the ranch situation.
The food wasn’t that great either. Bland and not really special. I used to kind of dig this spot, but its definitely fallen off, especially in the service deparment

The ambience has a 50’s vibe. I like sitting at the bar.
The menu has just the right number of selections to choice from.
As far as food is concerned, I like the burgers and shakes best.
Everything is a bit pricey. Maybe it’s because it’s in the Americana.
The service is average.

Super not impressed. Service really slow. I don’t even know why I stopped here, I guess it was close and I thought it would be fast just to order at the counter and then wait for them to bring it to me. Perhaps this is just a milkshake place, and that is where I went wrong. They do validate parking for three hours. so that part worked out.

I’ve past this place so many times, but never had it, until one day my dad asked me to buy him a milkshake of the month from here.
it was a 20 minute wait to get a frikking milkshake, which was definitely not worth the wait or price. I don’t know about the food, but if I’m starving, I probably won’t come here. if it took 20 minutes for a milkshake, I can only imagine how long it would take for a whole meal.

Nothing special. Burger was ok. Fries were a bit salty. The atmosphere is cool. Has a 1950’s feel to it. You can dine outside or inside.
If you are craving a burger, I suggest you walk to other side of the Americana. There you will find an In-​an-​out Burger. Much better and cheaper.

Ah the Americana…
Always pass by here when I watch a movie at the Pacific theater. Ogling at the food when the people sit outside and mesmerize by the flavor of the month milkshakes.
Finally I am trying this place out and here are my thoughts. Depends on what you get prices are a bit steep and it is a single order no add-​ons like fries or salad with your meal.
Chili cheese fries was worth my $ 4.95+ tax. A lot of chili, decent fries even though they were frozen, and pretty cheesy. It wasn’t so big but it was big enough for me. Honestly, I did not even finish my food because it was too much chili and heavy.
Cashiers were friendly. The staff will yell it out if a customer is waiting and no one has helped he/​she yet.
The interior has a semi 50’s diner look but seating area is limited inside and cramped, all seatings are outside so you don’t get that retro experience anymore.

I originally wrote a fairly negative review a few months back (which I can’t find — it was under my old temperamental account and perhaps didn’t publish). The review was based on a disappointing encounter I had there, but I took a chance again today, and am pleased that it was much more positive experience. The staff were completely different, so that may be a factor. The guy who served me even gave some free cookies (straight from the oven) to my daughters, despite it being a small order — just milkshakes.
Pros — Their milkshakes are amongst some of the best I’ve ever had. I haven’t tried their food, though.
Cons — Service is best during non-​peak times. Otherwise, expect to wait 15 minutes for just a milkshake.

Ugh. Never again.
Why?
Let’s get into specifics:
1. Slow service. At lunch time on Friday they need to have more staff.
2. The Double Diner Burger was made from frozen patties.
3. The burger was like cardboard. That’s because the grill cook was pressing down on the meat to accelerate cook time. Which squeezes all the juice out of the meat and renders it flavorless and dry — hence the term ‘cardboard’.
4. The bun was supermarket quality.
5. The vegetables didn’t taste fresh.
6. I got a really bad stomach ache after eating. Since it was my first meal of the day, I’m going to assume it was the burger.
7. Pricey.

One thing that I love about living in Los angeles is how burger-​centric it is and how available a pretty damn good fast food burger can be. Sadly, Jewel City diner did not deliver on this.
I really liked the aesthetic of the place, despite being plonked unceremoniously in the middle of a monstrous shopping complex mimicking an artificial small downtown area. We just wanted something quick as a prelude to the film we were trying to catch at the neighbouring theatre… but this was anything but fast and pretty far removed from tasty.
As others had said, the service was slow. One kid went on break and was just loitering around, not far from the restaurant while the rest of the employees trudged through the queue of orders. It took forever. We got to the film after it had started, despite being more than half an hour early.
I had the lamb burger, which as others have said, is a true disappointment. Upon first approaching the cashier, my question was to what temperature they cooked their meats. I was surprised and disappointed when she said they exclusively cooked all their burgers well done. However, I eat well done meat from time to time so although I was skeptical, I held out hope. It was a sad hockey puck of some poor baby sheep’s corpse on a whole wheat bun that was close to burnt. the brie and cranberries were fine in quality and amount, but the quality and cooking of the meat were so bad I couldn’t overlook them.
My boyfriend had a turkey burger. It did far a little bit better than my lamb in that the patty was cooked through but actually was moist and it was flecked with herbs and that and it resembled something rather tasty. Lettuce and tomato were barely even afterthoughts and were astonishingly the same colour. Fries were poured straight into the fryer from a paper freezer bag. Which is fine except those weren’t fully done and most of them were oily and soggy.
Milkshake was actually acceptable and had real peanut butter and whole frozen bananas in it. It was quite a nice milkshake, and made with fresh ingredients. I wish everything else I’d tried was so good and had so much thought put into it.

Whaat? I can’t believe this place has low reviews! I personally liked it. Granted it was a bit pricey but hey, it’s Americana, what do you expect? This place kind of reminds me of Johnny Rockets. Their selection isn’t THAT amazing but all I need and ever look for is a bacon cheeseburger. It was pretty decent. Good size, not too big or too small. Also had some chili cheese fries. Those were pretty good too. Fries were still crunchy and not soggy. The cheese wasn’t all over the place and melted just right over the chili. Overall good balance of fries and chili. I’d eat here again.

Ordered Chicken Strips with Fries without a drink and it came out to be about $ 7.50. For me, that’s a bit pricey… I wish I had read the reviews about an In and Out near by the Americana because I would have soo gone to there.
Seats were easy to find. My food took wayy to long to come out. My friends that ordered after me got their food before me. Makes no sense.

a previous person who reviewed pretty much said it all.
«I ordered the Aussie Lamb Burger, touted as the winner of „Best Burger in America“»
no. just no, wasn’t that special and didn’t taste like anything amazing. literally a burger patty, some lettuce, and cranberry sauce… i think i would be better off with a original burger and added my own ingredients. fries was eh. a bit pricy for a not so great tasting burger
unlike previous reviews, i got pretty fast service, food came up pretty quickly. was a decent ammount of people. waiters were polite and asked if everything was alright.
just a warning, milkshake doesn’t look like it’s worth the +$ 3 or whatever for the combo… it’s pretty small.
overall, there’s better places to eat around.

What a phony establishment. I ordered the Aussie Lamb Burger, touted as the winner of «Best Burger in America», so their menu says. Please. The burg was dry, flavorless, and over-​priced. Not to mention, it took 40 mins to cook and was missing key ingredients. If you absolutely need something to fill your stomach, while at the Americana, just walk for 15 more seconds and grab a Wetzel Pretzel.
Someone I stood in line with, who was also waiting to complain, pointed out that there was an In N Out right around the corner. Wish I realized that sooner. Cheaper, faster, and a wayy better burger.
The manager did apologize for the crappy service and offered a refund, but the damage was done. I will always shake my head at this place as I walk, on my way to the movies.
There is soooo many good food options here in LA. You should never find yourself eating at such a place as this!

I’ve frequented Americana many times but I’ve never sat down and tried Jewel City Diner (since there’s an In and Out right around the corner). I didn’t want to spend a fortune this night on dinner either.
Jewel City Diner is similar to your other burger diners. The service is pretty good, the food comes out pretty fast and the burgers and fries are pretty good and plentiful. The food isn’t too expensive either. Do try their cheeseburgers (pretty big) and fries.
There’s plenty of seating inside or outside. Do sit outside on a nice sunny Glendale day and people watch.

The place is located next to The Cheescake Factory, H&M, and Forever 21. The restaurant is made just like you would imagine in a diner. The service was good, they were very friendly.
The food was just excellent! I have not eaten a great grilled cheese until now! The bread is texas bread and that enough says «thick bread» with American cheese at least three slices. The grilled cheese was made perfectly and just melted in your mouth. The other order was a root beer, chicken tenders and fries. The chicken tenders were made just right, the chicken ripped off so easily and you can dip it in ranch or ketchup. The chicken was not dry like other places. The fries were seasoned with cajun and cooked perfectly also.
I would definitely prefer to try this place. I know that I would be coming back to try their burgers.

Jewel City Diner. I have passed you a trillion times and never stopped to check you out until now! WTF!
I have no idea why I had never eaten at Jewel City Diner but one day I was at the Americana in the afternoon and wanted a snack. There was no line and the counter inside was pretty much empty so I went in. I shared a veggie burger and fries and MAN that veggie burger is delicious!!! Don’t underestimate the taste of a veggie burger, especially if they do it right. I still crave it sometimes. I must go back and get one ASAP!
Delicious veggie burger!!! Seriously.

Located inside Americana right by H&M and Cheesecake Factory, it’s a convenient little diner if you’re craving a burger in the midst of some shopping.
I got their Jewel City burger to go. For $ 6, I don’t really think it was worth it. It was definitely a good size but the flavor was a bit lacking. The meat was dry and too well done, and the bread was toasted but a little too hard. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh, and the grilled onions were alright but the burger was overall really bland. They put in a sauce similar to the In N Out secret sauce but just simply not as delicious. Overall, it was an okayyy burger but nothing I’d want to try again or especially pay $ 6 for.
However, their service was super awesome! Really friendly and quick, and they even gave me parking validation when I came in without ordering anything.

Jewel City Diner. well what I can say. Honestlyyy your just A-okayyy.I have to say I loved your service, offered me water, brought my food to me, offered me a to-​go box. greattt service.
Buttt your foood wasn’t that greatttt… Ordered the Baja chicken wrap. ehhh it was okay. it was good just could’ve added some corn and something else to spice it up. chicken was okay. my friend ordered the bbq chicken salad. not that impressive. have had better…
Maybe next time I should try your milkshake or your burger but as far as your wraps and salads. I’ll pass. =/

Cheeseburger, $ 6 (during the Street Feast event). See picture…
Emphasis on the «hand torn» lettuce. I liked that it was grilled and tasted fresh but the burger was literally the size of my damn face. It wasn’t anything special, just a burger I could have grilled in my backyard.
Okay, I was really full by this time (we had gorged ourselves at other yummy places) and only was able to manage a couple of bites before I threw it away.
It was kind of a waste if you ask me…