Rod's Char-broiler — Restaurant in Redondo Beach

Rod's used to be a great place to eat, but after changing ownership some years ago the quality of the food has been in decline. The decline in quality and taste shows no signs of stopping. I am not sure what happened. Was it a change of cooks? Was it a change of suppliers? Was it the change of ownership?

I used to have people from northern California come down an visit, eat at Rod's once, and every time they returned for another visit they always wanted to eat breakfast at Rod's. The food was that good. Sadly that's not the case anymore. The food Rod's is now serving is fit for human consumption, but it's no longer a place I would choose to eat, and I certainly would not recommend it to my friends. Right now it seems the only thing Rod's has going for it is the legacy name.

UPDATE I ate lunch at Rod's today ( 01/30/2023 ) because my friend didn't want to make a u turn on Artesia. I tried to talk him into going to SNAX instead. I failed. I ordered a a swiss mushroom burger. When I got my burger it was not hot, it was not warm. The burger was about room temperature The burger was undercooked, I had asked for medium well. The soda fountain apparently had not been maintained, every beverage was flat. Even the ketchup ( from a bottle not packets ) had an odd taste to it.

I have been served better tasting burgers from army cooks while in the field or combat areas. I have never claimed to be a foodie, or even to have a discriminating palette, but I can tell the difference between bad tasting food, and good tasting food. I cannot understand why people rate this place so high, is it nostalgia? For me, the new Rod's is a culinary case of the Emperor...

To the untrained eye Rods Char-broiler looks like just another diner.To say that it is visually unappealing would be an understatement .But behind its humble exterior is one of the best fine dining experiences in the South Bay.In fact one could argue that this is one of the best dining experiences in the County. I began my Saturday the same way I begin every Saturday hungry and erect.So being the pragmatic man I am, I decided to drive to Rods while pleasuring myself. After narrowly avoiding several car accidents and throwing my unborn children out the window, I arrived at Rods Char-Broiler. I ordered the filet mignon and lobster soufflé off of the "secret menu".Needless to say I was not disappointed, the steak was perfectly seasoned and my soufflé was not the slightest bit flat and perfectly aerated.For dessert I had the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake .I would love to explain to you what i felt in that moment but words do not do it...

Something has changed and not for the better. I waited over 45 minutes to get my food after asking several times without response as to when my order would be completed. Thing is several people who came in after me go their order, ate their food left before I got my order and turns out there were items missing from the order. I decided not to wait for them to make the missing items and got a refund for the total order.

The lady that took my order was as rude as anyone I have ever met. Not just to me but to most of the people that came in. She constantly asked “Is that it?” after every item ordered.

This place has major issues that need to be corrected before I will return.

On a side note- I went across the street to an incredible kabob restaurant (I don’t remember the restaurants name) but the service was fast, the people were friendly and the food was exquisite.

Good luck Rod’s and let everyone know when your restaurant gets back to how it was...