The best restaurants are in small strip malls. Yes or no?

Brookswood

Brookswood

Senior Member
A few years back I was listening to a cooking show that featured a well known chef in my area. He was talking about how he started his now famous business. As a young chef fresh out of CIA training he had little money. But, his parents fronted him about $10,000 to start a restaurant. And he opened his first restaurant in a totally blah strip mall.

His message was that great young chefs cannot afford the high rent in the fashionable part of town. Whether they are CIA trained like him or just learned great home cooking, they need to find low cost places to operate. Thus, the small strip mall in a zone between a descent neighborhood and an industrial area has some great places to eat. Near me there is a small Italian place in a strip mall that is my favorite in terms of price and taste. Same goes for a small pizza place in the same strip mall. It’s much better than the big chains that fill the new Super Duper Fancyland mall.

So, do you find this to be true?
 

I think the best restaurants are the ones that are family run. Where mom and pop cook and the kids grow up learning the business. I know several like that, some in their own building, some in strip malls.

I also like diners which have good plain simple American food well prepared.

But I like some of the restaurants at the big fancy hotel here too. Not so much the fanciest one, the food is good but I don't often want the folderol or to spend that much time to eat but the tavern is good.

So, I guess I'm saying it's not the location for me as much as the cooks.
 
Many restaurants have popped up in strip malls i assumed lower rent and foot traffic ....
to be honest tried many and total hit and miss just like any other restaurant...... i do think it might be me though as i have gone many places others rave about and think it was OK but nothing to rave about.
 
The best ones in my area are down by the river. But, I like fish.

In my area the old strip malls have either Vietnamese food or Mexican. Some are very good, some not so much. The Mexican restaurant was very disappointing.
 
I am not saying all restaurants in strip malls are great. Just that one can find some excellent restaurants that are affordable in out of the way strip malls.
 
Brookswood said:
A few years back I was listening to a cooking show that featured a well known chef in my area. He was talking about how he started his now famous business. As a young chef fresh out of CIA training he had little money. But, his parents fronted him about $10,000 to start a restaurant. And he opened his first restaurant in a totally blah strip mall.

His message was that great young chefs cannot afford the high rent in the fashionable part of town. Whether they are CIA trained like him or just learned great home cooking, they need to find low cost places to operate. Thus, the small strip mall in a zone between a descent neighborhood and an industrial area has some great places to eat. Near me there is a small Italian place in a strip mall that is my favorite in terms of price and taste. Same goes for a small pizza place in the same strip mall. It’s much better than the big chains that fill the new Super Duper Fancyland mall.

So, do you find this to be true?
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True, it's been like that for past two decades.

Also, I'll point out an enjoyable experience during a work contract move with hubby, kids and our (then) doggie girls. TA truck stop diners. What great food and service. I don't know why they loved (the managers said) us from our very first one but they helped us with our road trip.

Also, they'd call the next TA shop to look out for us. When we got there, everything was ready and served promptly with a smile. Absolutely recommend if you're ever on a trip across the USA.

TravelCenters of America - Wikipedia

Full-Service Travel Centers

Country Pride had the best Breakfast and Dinner platters.

Finally, there was a Golden Restaurant in a shopping mall in Ontario. The Wednesday night specials were on low prices but with a full platter including entrée, main meal, basket of breads, soft drink and desserts plus tea or coffee.

Sadly, they apparently closed down after the restoration work on the shopping mall.
 
I still remember some great places in Santa Cruz. A tiny hole in the wall, probably family run, Mexican food place down by the ocean. Huge burritos. Cheap prices. A croissant place in a converted house by the freeway. And a veggie burger place that went into an old fosters freeze type place called McDharmas. It turned into Dharmas in a new location when I went back to SC years later. It was a terrible pretentious place then.
 
I hadn't thought much about it but I'm sure there's many gems in strip malls.
Our favorite Mexican place is in a strip mall.
 

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