Walt Disney And Other Old-School Celebs Loved This Classic LA Steakhouse

During the Golden Age of Hollywood, Los Angeles had a few spots that drew Tinseltown's elite for a bite to eat and to see and be seen. There were dinner spots, including Musso & Frank Grill (a landmark the late, great chef Anthony Bourdain loved for its classic vibes decades after its heyday). Then there were low-key spots, such as Wil Wright's ice cream shop, where everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Charlie Chaplin satisfied their sweet tooth. But there is one LA restaurant that is less talked about, where the likes of Walt Disney and John Wayne loved to dine. It's the Tam O'Shanter, a Scottish-themed steakhouse, that's still going strong more than a century after it first opened — making it one of the oldest steakhouses in the U.S.

Restaurateurs Walter Van de Kamp and Lawrence Frank opened the restaurant in 1922 at 2980 Los Feliz Boulevard, originally as Montgomery's County Inn. There, in a storybook-style building, Hollywood actors dined on fried chicken or grabbed takeout picnic baskets while on-location at nearby Griffith Park. Three years later, they renamed it the Tam O'Shanter Inn, decked it out in Scottish regalia, and turned it into a steakhouse. Besides Disney and Wayne, other Hollywood celebs who loved the restaurant included Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. But it was Disney who would forever be linked to this dining spot.

Back in the 1920s and '30s, Walt Disney's studio was a small operation located on Hyperion Avenue, not far from the Tam O'Shanter. The studio was too small for a commissary, so Disney and his animators would regularly eat lunch at the restaurant — specifically at table 31, near one of its three fireplaces. There, they would discuss work, and even carve drawings into the table top (which are still there). It's believed that the Tam O'Shanter's Tudor building even inspired the look of such Disney classics as "Snow White" and "Pinocchio."

Today, the Tam O'Shanter offers a special Disney dining experience where you can dine at his table and enjoy a special menu of some of Disney's favorite dishes, from chili to his standard to-go order (he also used to live nearby): an open-faced burger that includes Scotch rarebit and fries. Not to be outdone, John Wayne also had a favorite spot (table 15). However, it doesn't seem the restaurant offers the same dining experience as it does with the Disney table, and you can't order John Wayne's apparent favorite: chicken salad. Still, you can soak up the same ambience both the Duke and Uncle Walt once enjoyed while you tuck into its famous prime rib.