Old Hollywood Bonus Features: The oldest restaurant in Hollywood

This next location is famous, although you might only recognize it from movies or television shows. You might have read about its interior described in books by authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald or Charles Bukowski. If either author were to look at Los Angeles today, it would be a completely different place. They could still recognize the subject of this post as one of the few places still left. Today I am going to talk about the oldest restaurant in Hollywood, Musso and Frank’s.

But first….

Disappearing Los Angeles

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I was obsessed with a show on the local public station called Things That Aren’t Here Anymore. It was narrated by Ralph Story, a former Los Angeles radio personality. It followed Mr. Story around the greater L.A. area filming in front of seemingly unremarkable locations only to be surprised by what used to be there. From amusement parks to Los Angeles icons, the show took stock of what Angelenos lost.

The Brown Derby, which was an Old Hollywood hangout, is now barely distinguishable above the Koreatown branch of The Boiling Crab. The first episode features the Pacific Electric rail line, a trolley/train system that used to connect the entire city. I remember reading about these railcars in books like John Fante’s Ask the Dust. I wonder if the narrator of the show would be pleased to learn that it was partially excavated to become the Expo Line. On recent viewing, the show is rather cheesy, but it inspired my love affair with Los Angeles history. This show made me wish L.A. had more of a love affair with its own history.

There is part of me that wishes that I could travel back in time with my notebook and write these posts at Schwab’s Pharmacy while people around me get discovered. I wish that I could write this poolside at the Ambassador Hotel while getting some sun before dancing at the Cocoanut Grove. I want to write this at Musso & Frank Grill in its early days and wonder about the mysterious real lives of celebrities sitting in the booths around me, back when they were just “faces.”

The oldest restaurant in Hollywood

Continuing on with the time travel theme, the one place I mention above, Musso & Frank Grill is one of the Old Hollywood haunts that is still here today. Mr. Story would be relieved that it still survives, not falling prey to developers who are covering the Hollywood landscape with luxury apartment buildings. The restaurant sits a block and a half east of busy Hollywood and Highland. The restaurant opened in 1919 and has stuck with the same formula since day one. The servers are all dressed in red suit coats and ties and are trained to give you exemplary service. The steakhouse-focused menu still has some items you haven’t heard of since the 1950s. Lobster Thermidor, lamb chops with mint jelly, and at times I have seen Welsh rarebit on the menu.

The interior is timeless. I imagine it still looks the same as when Charlie Chaplin set up shop in a booth in the early years of this restaurant. Musso and Franks being very close to two of his Hollywood homes. This place has been a common ground for celebrities and struggling artists ever since it opened. Charles Bukowski wrote here, it plays a part in his book Hollywood, his memoir of the making of the movie Barfly, a semi-biographical film for which he wrote the screenplay.

A recent chat with Sonny, a long-time bartender, reveals more history I was sitting three stools down from Steve McQueen’s bar stool–he was a regular until he got kicked out. He pointed out Alfred Hitchcock’s booth and another booth in the corner, shared by fellow countrymen who still use it today. It is a 60s rock group who are still touring–those are the only hints I will give. 

Musso and Franks is an icon that I think needs to be experienced at least once while you call L.A. home. –if you are a tourist or an Angeleno for life. You are dining in Los Angeles history, the service is great, and the food isn’t bad either. Plus, this is the only place in Hollywood where you actually see celebrities.

Musso & Franks has my favorite dirty martini in Los Angeles. I just want to put this here.

Hours, cost, and other information

• Website: Musso and Frank
• When is it open: Tuesday – Sunday, closed on Mondays
• Cost: A meal would run about $80 – $100 per person
• Good for: Steak lovers, history buffs, vintage lovers, people who want to see celebrities, date night
• Getting there: I would spring for a Lyft or Uber. Contact me if you need a code. If you must the Metro Red Line and buses 780, 180, 212, 210, and the Hollywood DASH. Use Metro trip planner here.

Please take the time to support these icons of Los Angeles History, including the oldest restaurant in Hollywood Musso & Frank Grill. I don’t want to see this place on a future episode of Things That Aren’t Here Anymore. 

Musso & Frank Grill in books and movies

You can read more about Musso and Frank’s being a lynchpin in Hollywood history in:

• City of Nets by Otto Friedrich
• Greta Garbo: A Life Apart by Karen Swenson
• And of course Hollywood by Charles Bukowski
• Once Apon a Time in Hollywood a film by Quentin Tarantino

Have some Musso & Frank’s stories? Leave them in a comment.

[Disclaimer: I am an affiliate with Book Shop. Some of the links in this post include an affiliate link which, if you click and buy, I may get a little money from your purchase.]

Coming up next, the hidden doors of Hollywood