Lawry’s the Prime Rib is a Los Angeles institution that has been serving basically one thing, beautiful roasted prime ribs of beef, since it opened in 1938. It made dinner a spectacle when Lawry’s founder Lawrence Frank invented the rolling silver serving carts that keep the meat fresh so that every diner can have their prime rib carved to order and served tableside. The Spinning Salad is kinda corny and isn’t that great, but watching the servers make it is always fun and adds to the “experience.” The restaurant was also a vehicle to promote Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, a key ingredient in the prime rib that is now a fixture in pantries and spice racks around the world.
I normally order the standard Lawry’s cut, medium rare, with creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. Yorkshire pudding is always puffy and golden brown and is great for picking up the excess jus. The food is almost always perfect, and the service is attentive, fast and hasn’t changed in decades. They hold several tables for walk-ins, but you should make reservations well in advance, and they’ve just started using Open Table for online reservations.
The Lawry’s dining experience makes it a great special occasion restaurant. In fact, my wife and I wanted our friends and family to enjoy the Lawry’s experience so much that we had our wedding reception there in 2005. If you’re willing to do a lunch reception, the food is so much better than hotel food, and it’s much cheaper than any other venue in the area. The entire Lawry’s staff was professional, efficient, and flexible, and they worked with our ideas to help make everything perfect. The great staff and service, coupled with family, friends and great food, helped make our reception truly memorable.
if you do decide to have your reception here, join Lawry’s VIP Rewards program. You get a $25 certificate for every 250 points ($250) you accrue, and these certificates are valid at any restaurant in the Lawry’s family. Let’s say you spend $10K on your wedding reception. This means you’ll get 40 $25 certificates. That’s $1000 worth of food! You can give them to friends, family, coworkers, or just keep them for yourself…we’ve had plenty of free meals courtesy of Lawry’s since our reception.
We all know that food tastes better when it’s free, but at a place like Lawry’s, it’s truly out of this world.
INFORMATION
Lawry’s The Prime Rib
100 N. La Cienega Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211 map
310.652.2827
Web site