The Pan - Torrance — Restaurant in Torrance

The Pan in Torrance: Where Calories Don’t Count (But Should)

Let me take you on a journey through The Pan in Torrance—a place where they aren’t shy about serving you comfort food that could comfortably feed an entire family, but somehow, you’re convinced to tackle it solo.

The first plate to arrive was a stack of pancakes so thick they could have been repurposed as cozy pillows. But who needs sleep when you have this syrupy masterpiece staring you in the face? Topped with what can only be described as a cloud of whipped cream, these pancakes dared me to find an edge that wasn’t drenched in sweetness. Mission failed (gloriously).

Then came the loaded hash browns. Or should I say, “loaded-and-then-some” hash browns. This plate was an architectural marvel of carbs, cheese, and bacon, all held together by some mystical sauce. I wasn’t sure whether to eat it or file a construction permit for it. Spoiler alert: I ate it. I may or may not have had an existential crisis halfway through, but I powered through like the champ (or glutton) I am.

And then, dear reader, the pièce de résistance—the pizza. It wasn’t just any pizza; it was a pepperoni deep-dish behemoth that looked more like a pizza hut for elves. I almost expected it to come with a warning label: “May cause food coma.” But who am I to shy away from a challenge? After one slice, I questioned all my life decisions, but it was too late—I was in too deep (literally).

If you come to The Pan, remember this: Leave your calorie counter at the door, bring an appetite, and maybe a second stomach. Or just do what I did—throw caution to the wind, embrace the food coma, and enjoy the ride. Five out of five “OMG, I’m full”...

This review is ONLY for the location at 3160 PCH IN TORRANCE: I always go to the 2 The Pan locations in Gardena. In fact my husband and I have been going since the very first location opened in Western and W 166th. This location in Torrance has been around a few months, I think. Anyway, I wanted to take my sister and my mother-in-law to lunch. I chose this location because it was closeby my mother-in-law's house and I like The Pan.

It was really hot outside, so I took my water bottle with me. We walked in and the first thing I was told i couldn't bring my water bottle inside, because the rule is no outside food or drink.

Then, they made us wait outside until the table was ready. My mother-in-law is 88. Kind of irresponsible to send an elderly person out into the heat when there was plenty of room to wait inside. Ah, but there was another rule, no waiting inside and no exceptions.

We finally got seated and three menus. My sister wanted to try the pizza. When she tried to order it she was told they don't make pizzas at their location, despite the fact they were on the menu.

I got the Pita Chiliqualies. I thought this would be a good choice, but it was pretty bland. My sister got a veggie omelet, also bland. Mother-in-law got the cubano egg roll pancakes. She said it was good, but very sweet.

I definitely will not be back at this location, but i look forward to my next trip to one of the...

There are 3 The Pan restaurants now with the one on PCH being the newest. We have tried all 3.

The one on PCH is the one we went to most recently for breakfast. It was good but not great. Yes, they do have a fairly wide assortment of choices so you should be able to find something you want. But for us, we feel the food is pretty much similar to what you can find at many other places. No better, no worse.

Quite frankly, we don't get why people would even wait in long lines, at times, to eat here. We've eaten at The Pan's maybe 5 times trying to figure out what it is that other's are seeing and that we might be missing, but so far we don't get it.

The location on PCH is the largest of the 3. We did notice that the acoustics were a bit on the noisy side, and at times it was a little difficult hearing a conversation between the 4 of us. When we were there, it was full, so maybe there was more noise than at a less busy time.

Service was very good and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. Maybe some day we will finally be able to figure out what others seem to think, makes The...