Formosa Cafe

The Formosa Cafe is a restaurant and bar at 7156 Santa Monica Boulevard at Formosa Avenue, West Hollywood, California, that has a long history of patronage from movie stars and movie industry people because of its location immediately adjacent to Samuel Goldwyn Studio (referred to as "The Lot").

The restaurant was started in 1925 by Jimmy Bernstein (who was described as a 1920s prize fighter). Bernstein operated initially in a Red Car trolley and it was located just east of The Lot Studios (which changed ownership over the years from Pickford-Fairbanks Studios to United Artists, to Samuel Goldwyn to Warner Hollywood Studios) where movies from Some Like it Hot to Scary Movie 2 were filmed.

In 1945 Lem Quon became a partner and then took full ownership in 1976 when Berstein died. In remains in the family Quom's grandson Vince Jung managing it.

Generations of movie stars such as Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable have eaten meals at the Cafe. It is located on Santa Monica Boulevard, State Route 2, in West Hollywood, just over the border from Los Angeles (and a short block away from the eponymous Formosa Ave). Legend has it that Frank Sinatra spent many nights at the Formosa in the 1950s, pining over Ava Gardner.

In the 1990s it was threatened with demolition or removal when its lease expired as plans evolved for what would become the The Lot shopping center. Due to concerted citizen and preservationist efforts the restaurant was preserved in its present location as a landmark. The cuisine served at Formosa is Chinese. Celebrity sightings are still common.

The interior and exterior of the Formosa Cafe can be seen in the movie L.A. Confidential. Other movies shot here include The Majestic starring Jim Carrey and Still Breathing (Brendan Fraser has recurring dreams of meeting his future wife in "Formosa" - he assumes this means the island nation off China, but winds up instead in L.A., where he meets Joanna Going).

It has been described as an "unimpressive, brick-red building with white & black striped awnings, it sits in a particularly faded section of Hollywood, near the corner of Santa Monica & La Brea Boulevards - a corner where hookers have been known to peddle their services even in broad daylight." This is no longer true since the City of West Hollywood has cleaned up this area and the new West Hollywood Gateway shopping complex opened in 2004 on the same block.