Mathieu's restaurants were in L.A.'s traditional Frenchtown neighborhood, which was razed to build Los Angeles City Hall.

The New Poodle was a white tablecloth restaurant, and after two years, they closed it and opened another inexpensive place at 617 North Alameda.

In 1951, the Martins moved Philippe's to its present location at 1001 N. Alameda Street due to the construction of the Hollywood Freeway.

Philippe's is a traditional delicatessen-type sit-down restaurant, having old-fashioned traditions such as rows of tables shared by several parties, wood shavings scattered on the floor,[3] dark brown wooden walls and floor, and newspapers from historical U.S. events that happened from the time the restaurant opened to the 1980s.

The restaurant is famous for attracting hungry patrons from all walks of life, from poverty-stricken, to working class, to the city's elites.

At peak times, customers often find themselves standing in lines that can be ten deep as they wait for waitresses to prepare their meals at one of the serving stations at the restaurant's counter.

The egalitarian effect of the restaurant has been noted, as people from various economic strata bump elbows at the long communal tables and ask each other to pass the jars of Philippe's homemade mustard.

[7] In addition to their main attraction of French dip sandwiches, other old-fashioned foods are served, including freshly made soups, beef stew, chili, baked apples, and pickled pigs' feet.

[3] Philippe's serves cans of soft drinks, freshly brewed iced tea, lemonade, coffee, select wines, and beer.