La Palma Chicken Pie Shop

The Details:

928 N Euclid St
Anaheim, CA 92801
Phone: (714) 533-2021
Mon-Sat 9:00am-8:00pm

The Los Angeles Foodie Rating:

3 out of 5

The Summary:

If you are in the Anaheim neighborhood, the La Palma Chicken Pie shop is a tasty, inexpensive alternative to the chain restaurants that crowd that part of the city. If your family is spending the day at Disneyland or Knott’s Berry Farm, instead of TGI Friday’s for dinner, try this place. The service is great, the food is good, and the price is right.

The Place:

The La Palma Chicken Pie Shop is a true time machine. It appears to have been untouched for 50 years, and the post war architecture of the structure where it resides is fascinating. Next door to the pie shop is a barber and a cobbler. What is this, a Mother Goose nursery rhyme?

The front entrance delivers you to the bakery shop. Standard fare here: pies, cakes, breads, etc. I was there for the hot chicken pies, so I headed straight through the back of the bakery and into the restaurant. The decor is anachronistic and wonderful. I felt like I was visiting my grandparents’ house. The most notable adornments are the huge back lit posters of landscapes and the weird plastic globe of fauna. There is a diner-style counter, about ten booths (brown Naugahyde, of course), and about five tables by the windows. The large wrought iron chicken on the wall (see gallery below) looks surprised and might be about to say, “Oh no! I’m about to be in your belly!” Yelp! has some great feedback and photos; I urge you to take a look. The La Palma Chicken Pie Shop (and the surrounding shopping center) strikes me as the type of place that Los Angeles seems fond of tearing down, so please visit it while you still can.

The Food:

Just as the name indicates, this restaurant serves and is known for its chicken pies. It’s chicken meat, baked into a flaky pie crust and smothered in yellow gravy. Pies are under 5 bucks. If you are expecting a chicken pot pie (like the frozen kind you ate in college), you’re going to be disappointed. Our waitress commented that other chicken pie restaurants make the mistake of complicating things by adding vegetables. It is very simple food, and the food is simply delicious. Full dinners include various sides, salads, soups and desserts, but I was only interested in the restaurant’s namesake, and that’s all I got. I should note that nothing on the menu is above ten dollars.

The Service:

After we were seated, I got up and snooped around a bit. I also asked permission to take some photographs. Our waitress asked me with a friendly smirk, “Are you a reporter?” I said, “Well, sort of. I write a food blog.” Without skipping a beat, she started recounting the history of the place, comparing it to other pie shops like Moffet’s in Arcadia and Phillips in Seal Beach. This is the type of gal who has obviously been a waitress for years, and it shows. She was friendly, no-nonsense and talked with me long enough to make me feel welcome but no so long that she grew tiresome. This is perfect service, in my opinion.