This Old-School Los Angeles Chinese Restaurant Earned Elvis' Loyalty

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, many of Elvis' favorite foods were Southern comfort classics like meatloaf, cornbread, and (of course) peanut butter and banana sandwiches. But the singer's palate ranged as widely as his career — army soldier, star of more than 30 movies, and unofficial King of Rock and Roll — and his favorite restaurants spanned the U.S. When Presley was craving Chinese food, he was hitting Los Angeles mainstay the Formosa Cafe.

The Formosa Cafe began serving the Los Angeles community in 1939, four years after Elvis was born. Its convenient location directly across the street from the iconic Samuel Goldwyn Studio (aka "The Lot") on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Formosa Avenue in West Hollywood made the restaurant a regular dining location for the studio's A-List stars — which, according to the Formosa Cafe's official website, included Elvis Presley himself. 

In an Instagram post, Formosa Cafe states that Elvis was a regular patron who even had his own booth. You could often find the singer dining at booth six, and (per the lore) he once tipped a waitress with a Cadillac. While we cannot confirm or deny the story's factuality, it paints a voguish scene nonetheless. Shortly before her death, Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley actually celebrated Elvis' would-be 88th birthday at the Formosa, along with Austin Butler and director Baz Luhrmann, who both had a hand in the singer's 2022 biopic, and even sat in booth six. 

Formosa Cafe celebrates Old Hollywood charm, a living monument of the Silver Screen's golden days. The interior is decked out in deep leather booths, red and black accents, low lighting, and walls adorned with autographed black-and-white celebrity headshots and exclusive memorabilia. Formosa Cafe waitress Mary Kay Moore told The New York Times, "I've stepped on all the most famous long legs in the world. I've stepped on people like Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, and Buddy Ebsen, because they would lean back and stretch their legs out. We've had lots of lovely, long-legged gentlemen in here and I managed to step on all of them." Other famous patrons include Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, James Dean, Ava Gardner, John Wayne,  Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Howard Hughes, and more.

Formosa's sprawling cocktail menu features drinks named after the Cafe's Golden Age regulars, including the "John Wayne's Hat" (bourbon, cinnamon syrup, herbal falernum) and the "Mae West" (vodka, peach, grapefruit, prosecco). To eat, Formosa Cafe serves up traditional Chinese fare, everything from bao to spring rolls, shrimp and pork shu mai, fried rice, chow mein, kung pao chicken, and more. Piqued your appetite for nostalgia? We've rounded up 18 more of the best old-school dining spots in L.A.