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The 24 Best Places to Eat and Stay in Pasadena

The best places to eat and stay in Pasadena, according to the experts: The Infatuation, Forbes Travel Guide, and AAA have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. BBAD comes out on top.

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The Langham Huntington, Pasadena and Parkway Grill hold the next two places. AAA shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with Los Angeles Times next.

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  1. BBAD is a daytime counter in Pasadena that stands for Breakfast Burritos All Day, and it commits to the bit with a menu of just four burritos. The tortillas are wrapped tight enough to hold a full breakfast plate, soft eggs, crispy potato that can pass for bacon, and slow-roasted pork with a tart tomatillo salsa on the side. The Infatuation put the chile verde burrito on its list of the best breakfast burritos in America.


  2. Eight private cottages and a Tournament of Roses suite signal what kind of hotel this is before you've even seen the pool. Set on 17 acres in Pasadena, the Langham Huntington is old-money grand, the kind of place with multiple historic ballrooms and two gardens, where tennis courts get lit at night and the spa has its own philosophy. Forbes Four Star. Summer afternoons tend to dissolve at the pool bar.

    The awards


  3. The awards


    Address
    510 S Arroyo Pkwy, Pasadena, CA · Pasadena
    Hours

    Closed now, opens Mon noon

    Sunday 5 PM–8 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  4. Rank 4. Union

    Italian

    Edison bulbs cast a warm amber glow over exposed brick in this Old Pasadena Italian restaurant, where all the pasta is made in house and the portions lean toward sharing whether you planned to or not. The spaghetti and meatballs arrives on a platter the size of a hubcap. The cooking is bold rather than fussy, the sourcing is local, and the Michelin Guide has given it a Bib Gourmand to prove it isn't a secret anymore.

    The awards


    Address
    37 Union St., Pasadena, CA · Pasadena
    Hours

    Closed now, opens Mon 5 PM

    Sunday 4 PM–9 PM

    Reserve
    Resy
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  5. Rank 5. Perle

    French

    The coffered wood ceiling and vintage frames make this downtown Pasadena bistro feel like someone airlifted a Parisian side street into Southern California. The chef has no interest in deconstructing the classics, which means Burgundy snails arrive glossy with herbed butter and duck à l'orange stays duck à l'orange. Order the soufflé for dessert; it takes time and it's supposed to. The Michelin Guide has it listed.


    Address
    43 E. Union St., Pasadena, CA · Pasadena
    Hours

    Closed now, opens Mon 5 PM

    Sunday 5 PM–9 PM

    Reserve
    Resy
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  6. The awards


  7. The awards


  8. Rank 6. Celestino

    Italian

    The awards


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  12. Rank 12. Agnes

    American

    You walk through a working cheesery to get to your table, which sets the tone for everything that follows. Agnes is a rustic American bistro in Pasadena where a live-fire hearth anchors the room and the menu leans on local produce, house-made pasta, and fried chicken with sambal hot honey. Save room for the Thai banana split, which sounds like a dare and eats like a plan.

    The awards


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  17. Rank 17. Old Sasoon Bakery

    Middle Eastern



  18. Rank 19. Bone Kettle

    Vietnamese

    The awards


    Address
    67 N Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA · Pasadena
    Hours

    Closed now, opens Mon 4:30 PM

    Sunday 10 AM–2:30 PM, 4:30 PM–9 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  19. The awards



  20. Rank 21. HomeState

    Mexican


    Address
    1992 Lincoln Ave, Pasadena, CA · Pasadena
    Hours

    Closed now, opens Mon 8 AM

    Sunday 8 AM–9 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  21. Rank 21. King Taco

    Mexican


    Address
    45 N Arroyo Pkwy, Pasadena, CA · Pasadena
    Hours

    Closes soon, midnight, in 33 min

    Sunday 10 AM–Midnight

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

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Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

    How we score →

    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      Four fifths of the score is the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin Key outweighs a listicle. The last fifth is where it is: the ranked places to eat and things to do around it, and how safe the country is. When you sort by what's nearby, distance from you changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. The places are 60% of it: the best of what's within reach, weighed by distance. The setting is the other 40%: how life goes in that country (how people rate their own lives, how long and how well they live, how safe they are) and what it's like right there (the air, and the weather). If the score looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.