Hollywood's 25 Top Power Lunch Restaurants
More than 100 senior industry players were invited to vote as THR editors rank Hollywood’s most important restaurants in which to get the reservation, break bread and be seen.
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Soho House
In an L.A. restaurant landscape filled with old faithfuls, this private club has quickly ascended to the top of the food chain — mostly for its exclusivity. Sure, its location at the nexus of Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and the Hollywood Hills is key, but it’s the “members only” atmosphere that especially draws industry elite. While it’s true no one goes there just for the food, notables like Nicole Kidman can be spotted munching on popular offerings from executive chef Matthew Armistead, like guacamole and taro chips, kale salad and, of course, that warm chocolate-chip cookie. But remember, the admission process is notoriously strict, opaque and pricey (membership begins at $1,800). Read more
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The Polo Lounge
With its unique ability to blend Hollywood’s old and new guard, this Beverly Hills Hotel eatery remains a unique mecca that caters equally to celebrities and executives, from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Mark Wahlberg to Mary J. Blige, Brett Ratner and Stacey Snider. They’re drawn to the restaurant’s most popular dishes — the McCarthy salad, above all — though insiders also request off-the-menu items such as pancakes and waffles. The Lounge is going through a subtle revamp to be unveiled in March, but its appeal to tradition remains unchanged. Read more
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e. baldi
By the time Edoardo Baldi opened e. baldi in 2006, he’d learned traditional Tuscan cooking inside out from his famous father, namesake founder of Santa Monica’s Giorgio Baldi. While people come to see and be seen among regulars Ridley Scott, Jerry Bruckheimer and Jerry Weintraub, there’s no doubt this is one of L.A.’s foodiest restaurants. While there are no off-the-menu items, he caters to requests by regulars: Peter Morton likes to have his sauces modified. Just don’t ask Edoardo for table No. 1 (next to the window) when it’s booked by Denzel Washington, Woody Allen or the like: “That table causes World War III,” Baldi says. Read more
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The Grill on the Alley
When Clint Eastwood pops in with his lawyer Bruce Ramer, he orders the dover sole ($44.75). Sony TV’s Steve Mosko meets every six weeks with Seinfeld producers Howard West and George Shapiro. Since it opened in 1984, the Grill has served as Beverly Hills’ unofficial executive commissary, a daily check-in on who’s commanding one of the L-shaped collection of 14 moguls-only booths perched slightly above the midlevel agents and finance types dining below. Gawking at boldface names is frowned upon, but when a true double-A-lister walks in — Muhammad Ali, Bruce Springsteen — a 5-to-10-second silence falls over the dining room. Staffers call it “The Hush.” Read more
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Ammo
When production gourmet caterer Amy Sweeney opened Ammo in 1997, it was a to-go window on Highland off Santa Monica Boulevard, a no-man’s-land for restaurants. A year later, she was joined by Benny Bohm, now her business partner. In 2000, Sweeney and Bohm added a dining room, and in 2004, they took over the space next door, creating the Ammo that’s been known ever since by regulars including director Bill Condon, Jennifer Coolidge and Bret Easton Ellis. A convenient place for anyone in the Valley to meet anyone in the city, the restaurant acts as an industry cantina. The most popular dish is a brown rice stir-fry with tofu or chicken and pico de gallo. “It’s the mishmash of cultures that makes it so SoCal,” says Bohm. Read more
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Bouchon
Linda Lopez, guest-relations director of the restaurant, knows exactly what Simon Fuller, Susan and Robert Downey Jr., Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth and James L. Brooks want. “Most people don’t even open the menu,” she says. All they do is tell her if they’re vegetarian, pescatarian or vegan, and chef David Hands whips up an impeccable meal. For execs from CAA, MGM, UTA, Gersh and Ryan Seacrest’s company, it’s a canteen, albeit a Parisian-style, marbled-floor one. Says Seacrest, a Bouchon investor: “I have shared many meals there with my family, friends from American Idol, network executives, my team, and we had our holiday party there, too.” Read more
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Barney Greengrass
The famous smoked sturgeon and bagels are flown in twice weekly from the celebrated original Barney Greengrass on New York’s Upper West Side, but the real draw at the L.A. restaurant is the rooftop deck where the power scene includes designers like Christian Louboutin and celebrities like Kate Hudson, Elton John and Billy Crystal. “Come for the whitefish, stay for the view,” says one insider. Adds a former film-fest exec: “People only lunch at BG when trying to make a public display of poaching or reminding people they’re still in the mix. It’s a fishbowl in there. Also, surprisingly good matzoball soup.” Read more
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Chateau Marmont
With a preposterously rich Hollywood legacy — Billy Wilder slept there! John Belushi died there! Lindsay Lohan got banned for skipping a $46,000 bill! — eating in the faux-Norman castle splendor of this snug dining room or serene outdoor terrace can impart a sense of the iconic to lunch. Agents, managers and boldfaces bask in its simulacrum of classic Hollywood, as meticulously rendered as chef Carolynn Spence’s bourguignonne adorning her aged strip steak and fries. The menu tends toward friendly — the crispy bass sandwich, or charred branzino with sweet corn relish — and the overscheduled tend to linger over an espresso under white umbrellas. Regulars include Jennifer Aniston, Alexander Skarsgard and Carey Mulligan. Read more
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Kate Mantilini
The industry diner counts director Steven Soderbergh, producer Mel Brooks and the Wayans brothers among its longtime regulars. Opened 26 years ago by siblings Adam and David Lewis, whose parents founded Hamburger Hamlet in 1950 as a safe haven for blacklisted contract players like themselves, Kate Mantilini’s comfort-food-friendly menu and convenient location make it a heavily trafficked eatery for walk-ins. Even with ample seating, true power-lunchers lunge for one of 12 booths along the wall of windows. While Kate’s new online reservations system accepts requests for the coveted nooks, be forewarned if you plan on talking business. “There’s an echo effect,” says one industry insider. Read more
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Cecconi's
Housed in the former Morton’s, Cecconi’s continues the industry association with a clientele heavy on CAA agents from Century City, salted with celebrities and West Hollywood townies. The restaurant is owned by Soho House, which shares chef Andrea Cavaliere; insiders say a lunch of Cavaliere’s comfort Ital-Californian at Cecconi’s is the next best thing to joining the private club. When the weather is nice, regulars request the patio. In the house: Amanda Seyfried, Simon Cowell, Emily Blunt, January Jones, Halle Berry and Food Network producer David Hoffman, who cites another reason to love Cecconi’s: “It still amazes me — the food is good, and the prices are as cheap as [local diner] Norm’s, half a mile away.” Read more
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Katsu-ya
"Honestly, there is no better place for sushi on the globe than Katsuya,” Ellen DeGeneres has tweeted. Founding chef Katsuya Uechi has spun off Katsu-yas, many created by ubiquitous designer Philippe Starck, from Laguna Beach to Houston. The Brentwood location is more high-wattage, where Patrick Dempsey won’t touch his rice and Joss Whedon has dined solo. At the original Studio City Katsu-ya, you’re more apt to see lots of low-key Warner Bros. execs. Says one insider, “Everyone orders the same three things: tuna on crispy rice, albacore sashimi with crispy onions and manna-from-heaven baked crab rolls.” Read more
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La Scala
The grande dame of lunch spots has been serving Hollywood notables from Paul Newman to the Kardashians for 57 years. The restaurant has seen more than its share of history, from Robert Wagner proposing to Natalie Wood to JFK sneaking into a specially designed private room to get his fix of fettuccine alfredo. But La Scala’s signature dish — and still its most popular — is the chopped salad. One insider advises to “belly up to the bar in the back for more privacy and better service.” Leon says whispering and handshaking peak during the week before the Oscars, but it’s a deal that never happened that she remembers most: a young John Travolta huddling with Orson Welles about a project. Read more
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Culina
Thanks to its relaxed-modern vibe and Four Seasons locale, Culina (Latin for “kitchen”) has become a go-to spot for out-of-town players and Angeleno execs alike. Everyone from NBCUniversal cable chairman Bonnie Hammer to A+E Networks’ Nancy Dubuc frequents the Italian hotspot, which counts a rigatoni with fennel sausage, spaghetti alla chitarra and chopped salad among its most popular dishes. The central three booths are most coveted, though the upper patio buzzes on warm days. “Culina is a bright, sophisticated space with good food in a location that’s easy for nearly everyone,” notes E! president Suzanne Kolb of the restaurant, which opened just in time for the Academy Awards three years ago. “It works well for a meeting, plus you get the bonus of some fun people-watching.” Read more
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South Beverly Grill
Although its corporate-chain identity is a turnoff for some, this 3-year-old entry presents a well-edited menu, from the grilled artichoke appetizer to the French dip. Fans include Django Unchained executive producer Michael Shamberg and Kitchen Nightmares producer Arthur Smith: “It’s one of my favorite places. The service is among the fastest, and the Thai Steak Salad is really good.” (Another insider says it’s “the best place for a 45-minute lunch.”) Industry players can survey the scene from spacious crescent-shaped booths, and those looking to conduct business more informally can go around the corner for the pared-down selection of sandwiches, sushi and sides at the restaurant’s Honor Bar. Read more
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Craft
When owner and celebrity chef Tom Colicchio left CAA for rival WME, CAA’s agents stopped going to his restaurant even though it’s mere footsteps from their headquarters, taking their expense accounts with them. But Craft isn’t suffering as WME agents, whose offices are located in Beverly Hills, are making it a point to pick up the slack. Century City law firms, of course, are frequent denizens of the spacious restaurant, along with executives from nearby 20th Century Fox. Also spotted: Warren Beatty and Emma Stone. Favorite items on the daily-changing menu by current chef Ray England include salmon salad with carrots, oranges and tangerine vinaigrette, beef short ribs and diver scallops that are hand-harvested. Read more
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Mr Chow
Beverly Hills’ version of the storied London brand still does big business nearly 40 years after its debut. Those hoping to be seen request one of the first five tables, including perennial favorite table 1. Chow’s Fish Joanna — with a patented sauce so beloved, it provoked a lawsuit against a copycat restaurant that Mr Chow won last year — can be made special, though it’s not on the menu. Liz & Dick executive producer Larry Thompson calls the spot “simply the coolest and best place to eat in the world.” For those looking for lunch on the Westside, Chow’s world now includes a Malibu branch that opened New Year’s Eve in the Country Mart spot vacated by industry fave Nobu. Read more
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Toscana
The scene can get loud, with boldface names from Bob Iger to Robert Downey Jr. to Arnold Schwarzenegger routinely spotted in one of the 50 seats at the cozy trattoria. A Brentwood mainstay since opening in 1989, the hotspot is family-friendly, with pizza served from its wood-burning oven a favorite among kids and their A-list parents. Kelly Meyer proclaims Toscana her “favorite lunch spot,” and Jack Nicholson deemed it “best in L.A.” in 2007’s The Bucket List (director Rob Reiner is a fan). Its Northern Italian fare hasn’t deviated much in 24 years — even the lobster spaghetti “special” is available most of the time, and regulars can expect to be greeted by name and have their orders on the table without cracking a menu. Read more
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Spago
Wolfgang Puck’s 31-year-old institution closed its doors for three months last year to renovate the always-packed patio, granting it year-round accessibility (thanks to a new retractable roof). Inside, there’s now a casual fireside area designated first-come, first-served. Like the dinner menu, Spago’s lunch offerings are new, with such popular and healthy additions as a falafel sandwich and a watercress and lentil salad topped with tandoori-spiced Scottish salmon. Feeling less chaste? Puck’s Austrian signature, wiener schnitzel, can still be found — with a side of potato and cucumber salads. Loyalists include DreamWorks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg, Rob Reiner and Brett Ratner. Read more
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Pizzeria Mozza
Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali’s Pizzeria Mozza, occupying the former site of Emilio Baglioni’s restaurant, is one of the most sought-after stops on the Hollywood lunch train. Jeffrey Katzenberg recently brought Steven Spielberg; celebrities and top studio executives from nearby Paramount clamor for the fried squash blossoms and tomato and burrata pizza. The most desirable seats are the round tables in front, though a top publicist likes to sit against the back wall so she can survey the warm, bustling scene. Says USA Network co-president Jeff Wachtel, “If I were an agent and all my clients were kids, I’d eat here every day.” Read more
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Hamasaku
Its industry bona fides are obvious, from the sight of owner Michael Ovitz at his favorite table to the menu, which features more than 60 creations named in honor of such loyal patrons as Christina Applegate and Robert Pattinson. “The food is delicious, but the sense of belonging when you walk in is the real draw,” says Bones executive producer Stephen Nathan. Executive chef Wonny Lee and head sushi chef Yoya Takahashi accommodate customization and are prepping a robata (grill) menu for those with limited expense accounts. There’s something new for top power players, too: a still-unnamed $100 roll packed with langoustine, toro, uni, truffle and caviar and dusted with 24-karat gold flakes. Read more
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Photo by: djjewelz/FlickrAkasha
The healthy-comfort-food spot is practically an adjunct dining room for Sony executives. Thanks to its studio-friendly proximity, execs bring their Fox and Sony clientele for the ever-popular turkey burger (for the men) and quinoa with veggies, chicken or tofu (for the women). Chef-owner Akasha Richmond, who previously served as Michael Jackson’s and Barbra Streisand’s personal chef, opened the restaurant’s doors in February 2008 with her husband, Alan Schulman, who glad-hands such regulars as film producers Todd Black and Samuel Dickerman, Roland Emmerich, Darren Star, TV director Jack Bender, David Spade and Courteney Cox. Read more
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BLD
Emphasis should be put on the middle letter of chef Neal Fraser’s BLD because the midcity eatery has been a popular power-lunch spot since opening in 2006. (The B and D stand for “breakfast” and “dinner,” in case the acronym still proves mysterious.) The unpretentious restaurant attracts clientele from the neighboring CBS Television City, along with Connie Britton, Shameless exec producer John Wells and Randy Jackson. Regular Cuba Gooding Jr., whose boxing gym is nearby, praises BLD as “a great place to have meetings and not be interrupted.” The tomato soup has always been coveted, but the spicy Cuban-style pork sandwich has become a dish not to miss. Read more
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Ago
Chef Agostino Sciandri’s Tuscan-style trattoria has long been a favorite of East Coasters with a yen for good Italian food: Michael Mann, Harvey Weinstein, Robert De Niro and Paul Herman, De Niro’s co-star in Silver Linings Playbook (the latter three are original investors). Weinstein is such a fan that he has been known to dine there three times a day, spacing the sittings a couple of hours apart. Regulars don’t bother to look at the menu, says Sciandri. The lunch menu recently was revamped for the first time since Ago opened in 1997 to emphasize lighter midday offerings, but any dinner item, including the sea bass and salmon, can be ordered off-menu. Read more
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Photo by: Noah WebbSon of a Gun
It looks like a jumped-up New England crab shack, but make no mistake: Son of a Gun knows how to lure the Angeleno. Owner-chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo went from running a caterer to starring in their own Food Network show, 2 Dudes Catering, and then opening their first restaurant, Animal. Son of a Gun, bowed in 2011 . Fish and chips and a lobster BLT are popular lunch items, but the signature might be the fried chicken sandwich. Fans producer David Hoberman, who marvels: “Who in L.A. serves unbelievable lobster rolls and fried chicken with homemade coleslaw? And it’s really varied: You can eat healthy; you can eat rich.” Read more.
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Cafe Gratitude
With a list of menu items such as “I Am Fabulous” (raw lasagna with cashew ricotta) and “I Am Awesome” (eggplant parmesan on grilled panini bread), just placing an order here can make a person feel good. Stepbrothers Ryland Engelhart and Cary Mosier opened their organic-vegan-raw specialty restaurant in the Bay Area in 2004 then expanded to L.A. Colin Farrell and Anne Hathaway are among those taking in the communal and sustainable vibe at Larchmont, and “all the Arquettes come in,” says Mosier. Insiders consider it a hotspot for courting indie and new talent, and it’s an especially popular pick when power-lunching with actor clients on rigid diets. Read more
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