The Musso & Frank Grill

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Century of Tradition on Hollywood Boulevard

Before the Hollywood sign existed, The Musso & Frank Grill was already open for business. Founded on September 27, 1919, when entrepreneur Frank Toulet opened Frank's Café at 6669 Hollywood Blvd., the restaurant quickly took shape as a serious dining destination after Toulet partnered with restaurateur Joseph Musso and brought in brilliant French chef Jean Rue — whose original menu, remarkably, remains largely unchanged to this day. In 1927, Italian immigrants John Mosso and Joseph Carissimi purchased the restaurant and eventually moved it next door to 6667 Hollywood Blvd., where it still stands. Now in its fourth generation of family ownership, Musso's is operated by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of John Mosso, with Mark Echeverria — Mosso's great-grandson — serving as general manager.

The Room, the Bar, the Booth

Step inside and the décor tells the story: worn leather booths, mahogany bar, amber chandeliers — the same fixtures that filled the storied Back Room when it opened in 1934. That private space became the unofficial headquarters of Hollywood's literary elite. F. Scott Fitzgerald proofread his novels in a booth here. William Faulkner was so at home behind the bar that he mixed his own mint juleps. Raymond Chandler wrote chapters of The Big Sleep over drinks in the Back Room. Later generations — Vonnegut, Heller, Bukowski — followed in their footsteps. The Los Angeles Times once observed that if you stood in Musso's long enough, you "would have seen every living writer you had ever heard of."

The bar has its own legend. With more than 90 collective years of bartending experience among its staff, Musso's produces the kind of classic martini that led Esquire magazine to name it one of the "Best Bars in America." Bartender Manny, serving since 1989, puts it simply: "You be the judge."

The Kitchen and the People Behind It

The kitchen carries an equally rare distinction. French chef Jean Rue led it for more than 53 years, creating and perfecting the recipes that define Musso's classic American menu. Only two executive chefs followed him in the decades since his retirement — and the current one, J.P. Amateau, brings a résumé that spans the Culinary Institute of America, kitchens in France and Düsseldorf, and stints at the Regent Beverly Wilshire and Spago. His approach: "I approach food and life with zest and a sense of humor — it makes everything taste better."

On the floor, the service matches the kitchen's longevity. Several waiters have been with Musso's for 30, 40, even 50-plus years. Server Sergio, who has been there since 1972, jokes: "People ask me if we age the steaks; I tell them yes, but not as long as we age the servers."

Recognition That Speaks for Itself

Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence — earned in 2025 — confirms what regulars have long known: the wine program at Musso's is as carefully tended as everything else in the building. For a restaurant serving classic American cuisine at this level of consistency, that recognition is a natural fit.

Charlie Chaplin dined here. So did Bogart, Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe, and Keith Richards (who once gave a signed guitar to server Ruben, with the inscription "To my fatso amigo"). The names change; the room does not. That's the point.