Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Need Some Comfort? The LAist Guide To The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches In LA and OC

Editor's note: This story first published in February 2020, but much has happened since then, including the closure of some restaurants that were on the original list. This story has been updated and republished.
Sandwiches don't get more basic than cheese and bread, yet a grilled cheese sandwich is much more than the sum of its parts. There's the choice of cheese, of bread, of butter. How much of each item do you use? Do you grill or toast it? For how long? What about condiments? And soups? And sides?
For some of us, grilled cheese is more than a nostalgic childhood staple or a quickie meal — it offers solace. It smoothes out the indignities of a bad workday and soothes the sting of unwelcome news. It's the ultimate comfort food, simple enough to be made by a child and universal enough you can find the ingredients almost anywhere.
It's also a modern Los Angeles classic, made with all kinds of intentions and iterations.
Here are a few of our favorite places to indulge in and around L.A. and the O.C. If we missed your favorite place for a grilled cheese, please let us know and we may include it on our list. (After we go and test it out, of course!)

Clementine
Long before grilled cheese sammies became a gourmet staple, chef Annie Miler has spent every April celebrating Grilled Cheese Month. Year-round, Clementine has a build-your-own grilled cheese option that allows you to get creative with the types of breads, cheese, proteins and more, starting at $10.25. (Add roasted cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes for $2.75. Add "the works" — lettuce, red onions, pickled jalapenos and mayo — for $1.50.)
Location: 1751 Ensley Ave., Century City
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Apple Pan
The $7.75 grilled cheese at the Apple Pan serves as a reminder not to underestimate the power of basic ingredients. Choose between Swiss or Tillamook cheddar and white, wheat or rye bread. If you don't specify, you'll get melted-to-perfection cheddar on white bread with a side of black olives and crinkle-cut, cinnamon-tinged pickle coins. It's fast, no-frills diner food. Save room for one of the housemade pies (we vote for banana cream).
Location: 10801 W. Pico Blvd., West L.A.
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight.

Esters Wine Shop & Bar
Provolone, Reggiano and Reading cheese are blended with béchamel that oozes out from slices of salted pain de mie baked at Milo + Olive, Esters Wine Shop & Bar's sister spot. The sandwich is paired with cornichons and a spicy red pepper jam. And on first bite, you'll understand why the sandwich costs $18.
Location: 1314 Seventh St., Santa Monica
Hours: Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday noon to 9 p.m.

The Melt
The Melt's $7.99 best-seller places muenster, fontina and sharp cheddar between slices of French bread. But you could argue that the $10.49 Mac Daddy grilled cheese — creamy mac 'n' cheese with flawlessly cooked noodles (not too soft, not too al dente), sharp and medium cheddar, smoked bacon and crisp onions — is what makes the Melt stand out. (Vegetarians can order it without bacon.) It's a comfort food collision in the best way. The Melt has multiple locations across California, including in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Irvine and San Diego.
Locations: 735 S. Figueroa St., downtown L.A., 7111 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood and 665 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine.
Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. in DTLA. Daily, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. in West Hollywood. And Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight in Irvine.
The Hat
The Hat is best known for its pastrami sandwiches but it also makes a killer grilled cheese. The bread is so crunchy you'll think it was fried in butter. The cheese is as gooey and as American as it gets. Together, they create a simple, nostalgic sammie that costs only $4.99. Staffers are happy to customize it with add-ons and your choice of bread. In a world that can be overwhelming, the Hat makes a classic sandwich, done right. There are multiple locations across the Southland, including Alhambra, Brea, Glendora, Lake Forest, Monterey Park and Pasadena.
Locations: 1 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, 1210 E. Imperial Hwy. in Brea, 611 W. Route 66 in Glendora, 23641 Rockfield Blvd. in Lake Forest, 2300 S. Atlantic Blvd. in Monterey Park, 491 N. Lake Ave. in Pasadena and 5505 N. Rosemead Blvd., Temple City.
Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. in Alhambra, Brea and Monterey Park, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. in Lake Forest and Temple City, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Pasadena, and Sunday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. in Glendora.

Swingers Diner
The Stuffed Grilled Cheese, $15.95, at Swingers houses jack and cheddar cheese, guacamole, sliced tomatoes and grilled onions. Imagine an In-N-Out grilled cheese but bigger, more aggro and with a California diner twist. The creaminess of the mashed avocado is perfect with the sharpness of the cheese while the tomatoes add acidity and the grilled onions bring sweetness. Swingers stays open late and this is an ideal way to fill your stomach after a night out.
Location: 8020 Beverly Blvd., Beverly Grove
Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 3 a.m.

The Carving Board
The $8 grilled cheese at the Carving Board is made with mozzarella and cheddar on grilled pain de mie. Simple yet finger-licking good. There's also a $13 buffalo grilled cheese with grilled chicken, buffalo sauce and mozzarella on that same toasty pain de mie.
Locations: 18607 Ventura Blvd., Ste. #100 in Tarzana, 216 E. Olive Ave. in Burbank, 7300 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, 11676 Gateway Blvd. in West L.A. and 687 South Hobart Blvd. Suite D in Koreatown
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Tarzana, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Burbank, Daily, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., in Hollywood, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in West L.A. Daily, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Koreatown

Waffle Love
When a waffle meets a grilled cheese, what do you get? A sandwich that delights in texture as much as it does in taste. Stuffed with muenster, provolone and a tart garlic butter, Waffle Love's $8.93 croissant-waffle sandwich brings sweetness to a savory meal. Paired with tomato bisque, $13.85 for the combo, it's a model brunch food for those times when you can't decide whether you want breakfast or lunch.
Locations: 9411 Reseda Blvd., Northridge and 3768 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at both locations. Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Northridge and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Long Beach

Cassell's Hamburgers
If you enjoy a diner-style grilled cheese, look no further. Cassell's beautifully buttered $9.50 sandwich is filled with cheddar, Swiss and mozzarella that oozes out from between the bread and turns crisp. Imagine a grilled cheese studded with flecks of Cheez-Its and served with a side of "tomato jam" (i.e. fancy ketchup that may spoil your love for Heinz). Definitely get an order of their Kennebec fries or the sweet potato waffle fries.
Location: Inside the Hotel Normandie, 3600 W. 6th St., Koreatown
Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?