TV Restaurants

What Happened to Loulou's Griddle In The Middle? (Monterey, CA)

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 19 Monterey, California

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Loulou's Griddle In The Middle has closed — confirmed via montereycountynow.com, November 22, 2024.

What the source shows: Monterey County Weekly reported the restaurant's abrupt closure after its city lease was not renewed, and a Yelp listing still shows it permanently closed nearly two years later. How we decide a status →

What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited LouLou's Griddle in the Middle during the 'Righteous Bites' episode, aired 2014-06-06, spotlighting the cafe's oversized pancakes and dishes built around fresh local seafood, including an abalone slider topped with slaw and aioli and Dungeness crab specials. LouLou's was a small counter-service cafe that opened in 1948 on Monterey's Municipal Wharf 2, seating only about a dozen customers at its bar and small tables. According to Monterey County Weekly, LouLou's closed abruptly on November 21, 2024, posting the news to Instagram after its lease with the City of Monterey was set to expire on December 31 and the owners chose not to negotiate a new one. Yelp's listing for the restaurant still showed it permanently closed in a July 2026 update.

The episode Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 19

Episode 12
Aired
Title: Righteous Bites · What was featured: oversized pancakes and an abalone slider with Dungeness crab
How Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 19 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season 19: 30 of 61 still open · 5 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 15 Season 19 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from Municipal Wharf 2

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  • Little Napoli

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  • Phil's Fish Market & Eatery

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Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 4 references

  1. montereycountynow.com https://www.montereycountynow.com/blogs/food_blog/restaurant-briefs-loulous-on-the-wharf-shuts-down-abruptly-britannia-arms-loses-liquor-license/article_aef06d7a-a901-11ef-91e0-178007daa00c.html
  2. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/loulous-griddle-in-the-middle-monterey-2
  3. californiathroughmylens.com https://californiathroughmylens.com/loulous-griddle/
  4. sfgate.com https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/california-restaurant-featured-fieri-closes-19944560.php
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Record ddd-0691 · checked by Cal Marchetti.