It had been so long since I went to Scotty’s On The Strand in Hermosa Beach, CA, that I could not remember the last time I ate there.
I don’t really have a reason for not going there, other than the fact that it’s “always there and I can go there anytime” that so many of us say about so many things close to us. I do recall that years ago I would go on occasion to its all-you-can-eat-spaghetti nights on Mondays ($13.95 now) but I remember more about the mounds of pasta than I do the taste of the food.
So one sunny summer Saturday, with Smackfest happening only a few feet away and needing a good, hearty meal to start my day, I decided to go there for breakfast. I ordered the International Omelette, which the menu promised contained ham, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and American cheese ($16.75). I figured that would be sufficient to get me through to dinner.
All of Scotty’s omelettes are made with three eggs and come with home fries or fresh fruit and toast or muffins. I got it with the home fries and whole-wheat unbuttered toast.
Here are my comments and impressions of the Scott’s omelette.
Reviewing The Scott’s On The Stand Breakfast Omelette
For starters, I must commend the staff for being so friendly. This really put me in a positive frame of mind about the place. The waitress also kept brining me iced tea; this is not easy task as I drink it like I down beers at a house party. Scotty’s serves no alcohol so there’s no weekend mimosa specials are there are at so many Hermosa restaurants and bars.
The hostess scored me an outside table. And it was right ON the Strand. Scotty’s is the only place that has tables with nothing between you and the hundreds of people walking, biking, running and doing what Hermosans do on a sunny beach day on The Strand. The location could not have been better for observing who was going into and what was happening at Smackfest, too. Until I got there myself, anyway.
Scotty’s, by the way, is a dog-friendly restaurant. I know this because a metal water bowl was at my feet.
The omelette and sides certainly filled my needs for getting filled up on this day. So was it any good?
Well, it was okay. I’ll never understand why some restaurants – this seems to be exclusive to beach breakfast spots – chop up the meat into tiny, almost microscopic-sized squares. This makes it impossible to tell there’s any meat in the omelette and you really can’t taste it, either. So to rate this omelette on a scale of 1-10, I have to give it a 4.
The potatoes were a bit hard but the bread was good and, much to my pleasant surprise, came out with no butter on the slices. I cannot count the number of times I have asked for unbuttered toast only to have to scrape off the butter or sometimes even send it back because it’s so covered in butter it’s soggy.
In conclusion, sure you can certainly get a better breakfast in Hermosa Beach. Heck, a couple doors down there’s Hennessey’s and after going there recently for breakfast I was really impressed with it. But at Hennessey’s, you have to score one of just a couple tables to be outdoor at The Strand and there’s wall between you and the action. Most of the outdoor tables face Pier Plaza.
What you can’t get at Hennessey’s or anywhere else in the entire South Bay for that matter, is the pleasure of sitting on The Strand. Scott’s is just a block south of the pier so it’s right the middle of all the activity. I wound up staying a lot longer than I had originally planned, nearly two hours, in fact. It was difficult to pry myself out of my chair and if Smackfest was not happening, I might still be sitting there.
The Scotty’s On The Strand website is: Scotty’s on the Strand – Hermosa Beach, CA
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