As the son of a U.S. military...

As the son of a U.S. military school principal stationed in Germany in the 1970s, Craig Martin enjoyed listening to the Armed Forces Radio show “Golden Oldies.” He developed a love of 1950s music that became his inspiration to open the Cafe 50’s in Venice 10 years ago.

He subsequently opened the Cafe 50’s in Hermosa Beach, a restaurant so dripping with 1950s memorabilia that you half expect the Fonz himself to strut in and kick the rare Seeburg jukebox to life.

Red vinyl booths feature wall boxes--small, tabletop jukeboxes--listing the popular hits of that era. Coca-Cola signs and movie posters line the walls.

The ‘50s motif carries onto the menu. At breakfast, the Jerry Lee Lewis omelet ($4.25) is full of spinach and Swiss cheese. The ’57 T-Bird ($4.75) is an omelet featuring avocado, tomato, green onion, spinach and sour cream. As with all breakfast dishes, it is accompanied with home fries.

Sandwich listings include the Sputnik melt ($4.75), featuring turkey, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye, and the popular Philly cheese steak ($5.25), slices of roast beef with sauteed onions, bell peppers and melted Cheddar cheese on a French roll.

At dinner, one of the leading contenders is the Marlon Brando ($5.95), a plate of Italian sausages with mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes in a red wine sauce.

Part of the fun coming here is to indulge in one of the rich, creamy malted milkshakes. A favorite is the black and white ($2.75), which is vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. New Yorkers, if nostalgic for the Big Apple, should order an egg cream, a mixture of milk and chocolate syrup into which seltzer water is spritzed, causing the concoction to foam and appear like beaten egg whites.

Cafe 50’s is at 140 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach. (310) 374-1955. Open 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.