SHIMMERING WITH HISTORY AND GLAMOUR: “HOLLYWOOD’S COMMISSARY”
For over a century The Beverly Hills Hotel has been the chosen place for Hollywood’s brightest lights. She greets you like a movie star from the moment you step onto the red carpet and enter the grand lobby. Fondly nicknamed the ‘Pink Palace’, the hotel’s 12-acre gardens and famous pool offer an experience that shimmers with history and glamour. Spacious suites of The Beverly Hills Hotel pay homage to the legacy, while bungalows offer the true Hollywood experience inspired by their famous guests. No restaurant conjures the magic of Hollywood quite like the Polo Lounge. This sought-after spot has long been the favourite of LA stars and deal-makers. For casual dining, discover the Fountain Coffee Room or relax poolside at The Cabana Cafe. For other memorable moments, indulge at the newly restored spa inspired by the flora and fauna of California. For 80 years, the iconic Polo Lounge has been considered “Hollywood’s commissary” and called “the epicentre of power dining in Los Angeles.” Its legendary history and time relevance offer diners a rare experience of looking forward and backward all at once. To dine at the Polo Lounge is to be connected with Hollywood’s earliest days, its Golden Era, and a bright future.
Power portals at the Polo Lounge: Then and now, the place to be. Popular with Hollywood’s glittering insiders since its July 11, 1941 christening, the Polo Lounge’s welcoming setting continues to be the place to see and be seen. It’s where Hollywood’s greatest stars, from Charlie Chaplin to Marlene Dietrich to Elizabeth Taylor hold court from their favourite tables. It’s where Oscar’s legendary favourites from past and present celebrate after the Academy Awards ceremonies. There are, of course, “power zones” at the Polo Lounge – places traditionally regarded as the best spots to be seated and noticed. The bar is one of them. Notice the picture of Will Rogers and Darryl Zanuck playing polo behind the bar! Rogers and Zanuck hung out at the bar when they weren’t playing polo. In fact, the Polo Lounge was named in honour of the polo players who toasted victories at the restaurant after matches in the bean fields.
Table six: Marilyn’s Favorite – A longtime guest of the hotel, Marilyn would often visit the Polo Lounge and would request table six so she could see the patio and face the Brazilian Pepper Tree. She loved fish, pasta, ice cream sundaes and of course Dom Perignon.
Table two: Frank Sinatra – The world’s most beloved “Chairman of the Board,” inarguably one of the greatest entertainers of all time, frequented the hotel. When not engaged in prodigious drinking bouts in the Polo Lounge bar with his Rat Pack buddies, ‘old blue eyes preferred dining at Table 2.
Table eight: Elizabeth Taylor – Known as one of the greatest screen actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age, this world famous film star had a long history with the Pink Palace, beginning with her father Francis Taylor owning an art gallery on the hotel’s lower Promenade level. When not celebrating six of her eight honeymoons in her favourite Bungalow, #5, she was a regular at Table 8.
Pretty in Pink: The Polo Lounge patio – With its spectacular array of palm trees and flowers in brilliant shades of pink and rose – azaleas, bougainvillea vines, camellias, impatiens, star jasmine, and more – the patio at the Polo Lounge is one of Los Angeles’s premier and prettiest outdoor dining settings. Sunday Brunch at the Polo Lounge, besides breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, the Polo Lounge offers a three-course Sunday Brunch, served on the sun-kissed patio amidst an array of colourful flowers from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The Sunday Brunch is accompanied by a live performance of light jazz music. The Polo Lounge features more than 250 different kinds of wine from around the world. California, French, and Italian wines are especially well-represented. There are specialty Single-Malt Scotches, Cognacs, and Ports, as well. Tri-colour tortilla chips, fresh guacamole, salsa, are a cocktail-hour tradition.
Overall, the Polo Lounge menu emphasizes a wide choice of sophisticated foods in beautiful presentations. Health-conscious diners will appreciate the abundance of grilled items, vegetables, fish, and seafood on the menu. There is a rigorous insistence upon utmost quality for both ingredients and methods of preparation. In addition, the Polo Lounge maintains its own herb garden on the grounds of The Beverly Hills Hotel and does all of its own baking.
While most Polo Lounge menu items reflect cutting-edge culinary taste, long-time patrons can spot fondly-remembered dishes as the Polo Lounge “favourites.” Included are The McCarthy Salad; the Beef Sirloin Burger; Steak Tartare, the Tortilla Soup and for dessert the Chocolate Soufflé. The Polo Lounge offers breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, and Sunday Brunch.
Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 310 887 2777.
