I wasn't sure what to expect from TOPS, but the service was friendly and the cashier was kind enough to take a picture. I was pleased to find a pet friendly patio with shade from the summer sun.The cheeseburger was good, with the pickles and onions. The lettuce did not add anything, so it was irrelevant. I understand why some burger joints omit lettuce. It's the onions and pickles that add to the flavor. TOPS has made it onto my top 10 list.

Good ole fashion diner with delicious food. If you eat here often, your wallet and your waistline would probably suffer. But man this is some good food here. First off, they have chili cheese TATER TOTS! Savory, cheesy goodness all over crispy tots is like heaven in my book. Secondly, where has this pastrami sandwich been all my life? Definitely rivals the Hat. We ordered the Reuben and the Pastrami burger and man, it was finger lickin delicious! The service is quick, friendly and efficient. The diner reminds me of those old fashioned soda spots where you would take a date to in those 80's shows. Totally family friendly and they have the classic red booths!

They have a wide arrange of menu item. From burgers, burritos, salads, burritos, chili, and fried chicken strips. I've ordered the chicken strips and the portions are huge! This time around I ordered the 1/4 lb cheeseburger and my boyfriend ordered the avacado bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries. The food took about like 5-10 minutes to get but opted to dine in so everything was fresh.

So good!! Best pastrami place around. Food: Can't go wrong with anything here. Generous portions and fair price. Get the chili cheese pastrami fries! so good and so much for a size small! Service: Quick and great service always. Ambiance: Diner styled seating with clean restroom. Lots of seating but it does get busy late weekend nights.

Since 1952, The Original Tops has been serving up quality grub for the residents of Pasadena that they would want to enjoy every day with the promise to be made: "craveable, comforting, approachable, and from scratch." In 2024, I decided to check up on this promise. I stopped by on a Friday morning and decided to try to much talked-about Basic Egg Burrito ($8.29). It was mentioned on several of the growing "Best Breakfast Burritos" in Southern California lists. This is a tall order, especially given my love of breakfast burritos and trying several of them throughout the years. Made with three California fresh eggs, homestyle potatoes, Jack & Cheddar cheese, the Basic is then all wrapped up in a warm flour tortilla, grilled and served made to order. The burrito itself is a pretty good size, accompanied by two green sauces which add some flavor to each bite. The burrito itself came out extremely hot, with the egg and cheese perfectly melted together. The homestyle potatoes were also delicious. Mild in flavor, soft to the bite, with the occasional crispy "hash brown edges" included to add a little crisp. I wish there was a little more crisp to the burrito to give a little more "umph" and flavor with each bite. You could add a bacon, chorizo or pastrami as an upgrade if you choose. However, it was a decent basic burrito and value for under $10. Hop's is a small drive-thru and dine-in restaurant, located on E. Colorado Blvd. just south of the 210 Freeway. The parking lot is fairly small, however, located in a residential area provided plenty of street parking options, as well as grab and go flexibility. You order at the counter, wait for your order to be called in one of the two dozen indoor and covered outdoor seating options, pick up, and enjoy. No frills, no fuss, just a pretty good option for quick-service, homemade greasy spoon grub in Pasadena.

Hubby kept seeing Tops all over social media and wanted desperately to try. He came the first time on his own wanting the breakfast burrito but was sad to learn they stop serving it at 11am. For his first rodeo he got the chili cheese fries with pastrami and pickles. This was such a large portion that he had some leftover, which I tried next day and it was still good! I think he also got the pastrami burger, which he said was okay/not bad - I just think his appetite was set on the brekky burrito tbh... Anyhow, the following weekend he went back Tops and brought some food back for me. Didn't bother waiting in the drive thru, he went around the long drive-thru line, parked, ordered and got his food rather quickly. He got the breakfast burrito this time w/ sausage and it was seasoned well & comes with some salsa verde. Got the regular chili cheese fries - still delicious and a huge portion & the patty melt (one of my faves!). I think for the price, portion, and speed (when going in) - you can't beat Tops! Their breakfast burrito is better than Lucky Boy, IMO.

I first heard of this spot from my coworkers, who all spoke highly of this place. After trying it out, this may be my new go-to spot for a tasty pastrami sandwich. The inside of the store has a classic, old school diner feel about it with its plush booth benches, checkerboard tile styling, the wall with old images of Tops, the standard bowl shaped lights above, and so on. You'll find this place buzzing with locals just enjoying a casual meal together, hanging out with friends, etc. Each person is happily chowing down on a burger, sandwich, and sides. In terms of food: Pastrami Sandwich ($14.19): Like a person trying to hug a full sized Sequoia tree, their soft, toasted French roll tries its best to hold the stacked layers of peppery & salty brined blankets of juicy, tender pastrami. A light spread of yellow mustard and slices of pickles completes the #topspastrami sandwich (I added onions to mine because I like that bit of sweet, sharp taste). "Small" Chili Cheese Fries ($6.09): They say it's small but it definitely is a generous size to share between 2-3 people in my opinion. A pile of fries are slathered with hefty amount of chili and melted cheeses (we topped ours with onions). It's a heavy, rich accompaniment that goes well with any of their sandwiches or burgers. I enjoyed the friendly service and terrific food so much that my last bite felt bittersweet. Full up with the rich meats, bread, and fried goodness, I definitely need to take some time to walk about a bit afterwards. Give this place a try and let me know what you think!

One thing I enjoy doing when planning trips is choosing which restaurants we're going to do. And my biggest enjoyment is when I allow my family to pick a place. In this case, my son wanted to come try this place out. It's definitely a drive If you're coming from DTLA. But If you come during the week and go when there's not that much traffic then it's only a quick 45 minute drive. LOL. But it's definitely worth the drive at least once. My son and I both ordered their TOPS Special burger. It comes with a thin 1/4 lb beef patty with a mountain of pastrami, mustard, American cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. The burger is huge, and very tasty. The beef patty was cooked perfectly and the pastrami was delicious. The burger with fries is definitely very filling and with the price of admission. It's very fairly priced. My son enjoyed his meal as well and was very happy that he selected this place for our trip. We both agreed that although it was delicious we would only want to return if we were in the area for a game at the Rose Bowl. It's rare when we make it out this far, but we had time to kill so it was no biggy. Despite it being delicious, I wouldn't go out of my way to do revisit this place. But if you're in the area, I definitely recommend it.