I was looking for a late night place to eat with our teens in Santa Monica. I've just found out a cousin from New York will be in Marina Del Rey at the same time. She suggested we meet at Jerry's Famous Deli in Marina Del Rey - it's supposed to be open 24 hrs. According to Google maps, it's only a 10 minute drive from the Ambrose Hotel in Santa Monica. These are directions I've been given at Google. I know absolutely zero about the area, and want to know if this is a safe drive and safe area late at night, and if the directions are correct.

Head southeast from 20th St - go 1.1 mi
2. Turn left at Pico Blvd - go 0.2 mi
3. Turn right at 23rd St - go 1.0 mi
4. Bear left at Dewey St - go 0.0 mi
5. Turn right at Walgrove Ave - go 1.4 mi
6. Turn left at W Washington Blvd - go 0.1 mi
7. Turn right at Redwood Ave - go 0.6 mi
8. Turn right at Mindanao Way - go 0.2 mi

I'll top this post (was hoping I could help since I grew up in the area but your question's too specific for what I remember).

I don’t know anything about the deli and where it is located. As for going to Marina Del Rey from your hotel, I’d go south on 20th and turn right onto Santa Monica Blvd. and at the intersection with Lincoln, turn left on Lincoln instead of all the little segments you are getting from Mapquest.

Sorry, pushed the post button too fast. My information is a few years old but I'm sure others will help you out. I remember this as a more direct route as you'd go on main, well-travelled streets even late at night.

Jerry's is just off the Marina Freeway. The directions Google gives you are basically right, but it would be easier to do this:

-- South on 20th from hotel, turn right on Santa Monica Blvd.

-- Follow to Lincoln, take a left (Jack in the Box will be on your left, FYI).

-- Follow Lincoln all the way into MdR, take a left on Maxella.

-- At Glencoe, take a right.

-- At Mindanao, take a right, and Jerry's will be on your right just before you get to the Marina Freeway.

Good luck!

So is Jerry's as good as the folks say it is ? I ate at the good ol Carl's Jr. on Lincoln in MDR, and I was totally unimpressed compared to most others..... but I didn't know where else to go AND I was pressed for time.

It's a Jerry's-- not great, but open late. Stick to the standard deli fare that can't be easily ruined and you're fine. But don't expect anything transcendental.

I do not like Carl's Jr. at all-- subpar fast food, especially if you can get to an In 'n' Out, which is a far better chain.

My goal was to hit Carl's, JITB, In-n-out and fatburger - all chains we don't have where I live, when/where I lived in Socal 35 years ago all we had was JITB.
So I was able to hit FB, it was good, and a Carl's in OC by the 'Block' mall was absolutely awesome, but another Carl's on Lincoln in MDR was very VERY sub-par, and I didn't know where an in-n-out was in or near MDR.........

If you have Hardee's, you have Carl's Jr. They merged.

There are In 'n' Outs near MdR-- one on Washington in Culver City (at Redwood), one on Sepúlveda by LAX (right by the Lincoln-Sepúlveda split). I love Fatburger despite the harm they do my waistline. I confess to having a weakness for Island's burgers and spiced fries as well.

Jerry's is ok--they have decent soup. But an In n Out Burger--that is something else!

No Hardee's here. We had about 7 of them, they all closed within 5 years of them all opening. (Omaha NE)

Of all the national 'fast food' burger chains, we have the basics - McD's, BK, Wendy's, DQ.

A city of about 600,000 and we have a 'Subway' on every corner it seems, we have 3 Starbucks, and a few Chili's and Applebee's here and there.

Hi JM,
My friend used to live in Marina Del Rey, and we ordered pizza from Jerry's all the time. It's popular, and you may even spot a celebrity or two. Your teens will love it. (FYI, it is on the pricey side for sandwiches and pizza!)

You mentioned mapping it from the Ambrose. Have you stayed there before? I stayed there for three nights, the end of June. The hotel is beautiful, but we arrived at noon. Rooms weren't ready till 3, so we went to Venice beach to hang around, get lunch,etc. Since I drove from SF at 5am, by 3, I was more than ready to check into the room and relax. It was still not ready. FINALLY, by 4:00, (after waiting in the lobby), they said they had our room. We lugged our luggage to the room (there is no bell hop) and found the door wide open, with the room torn apart by housekeeping. So, we lugged everything back down to the desk. They apologized and gave us a "red bull" to make us happier. (?????) We waited ANOTHER HOUR, and FINALLY got into our room.

It was not clean. Surface clean. The armoire had price stickers stuck to it (from a previous guest I'm assuming), the wood and paint was chipped and scratched (it would take minutes to repaint and touch these things up), The bathroom was surface cleaned, but you could see water spots and dirt spots on both the counter top and the floor. It's like they just dry dusted it, instead of actually CLEANING it. The tub was small and old, like you'd find in a Holiday Inn. I was quite surprised, as it wasn't as described in the brochure or on line. The beds were incredibly comfortable! And the morning breakfast was quite nice....(get there early, it's picked over by 8)

the people that worked there were very nice, but never sent anyone to actually CLEAN our bathroom. I was very disappointed. Would not stay there again.

However, the location was nice. Just thought I'd send an FYI, since I was just there a little over a month ago.

Have fun!
Oh, if you stay in SM, don't miss the 3rd Street Promenade, the teens will LOVE it! It's about 8 (?) blocks of stores and cafes and restaurants, blocked off by traffic. At night, it's fun because it's lit by white christmas lights on the trees, and lots of musicians preform.

Venice is nearby, which the teens will also love, but avoid the area at night.

If you're staying at the Ambrose (or nearby in SM, there will be lots of options for late night dining)
Have a great time!!!
Andiamo