Lawry's The Prime Rib - Beverly Hills

07/23/09

Great Prime Rib

by cj914 at Citysearch

This was the first time that I have been to the famous restaurant. I'm from the midwest and this was a nice treat with very good meat. The carver understood the cut of meat that I was looking for and accomodated me very well. Loved the spinning salad, I think that what's it called, and the horseradish sauce. It was very creamy and not too much spicy as horseradish can get.

• Pros: spinning salad, prime rib, service
• Cons: waiting for a table with reservation

05/02/09

Solid simple food.

by 9524tee at Citysearch

Great food, down to the salad dressing. Excellent Wine list and some rare dessert wines. Great desserts as well. Very pricey though. It could have been 10-20% cheaper for the quality. Oh well, it was good. Nice wood decor and the waitresses are in very old attire which has a nostalgic feel to it and makes you feel at home. Very cool place.

• Pros: Prime Rib
• Cons: Expensive

02/07/09

Decent, but Over Priced

by fluteplyr011 at Citysearch

First of all, I have to say that I was looking forward to going to Lawry's. Secondly, the long drive down in traffic AND in pouring rain didn't exactly help.

I can't believe we still had to wait 20 minutes to be seated, even though we had reservations! The furniture and setting is definitely from way back in the day, with the servers dressed as old war nurses complete with hat. There was an appetizer buffet hidden in the seating area, which I didn't see until we were being seated, which I heard had some mediocre meatballs.

The spinning salad was fun to watch, but they definitely put too much dressing, I love dressing, but even that was too much for me. The iced tea they had was flavorless, the meat was pretty good, but they only serve prime rib. Some of the meat was dry and small, the creamed corn was pretty good, kind of tasted like the corncake from El Torito.

There was a lot of Happy Birthdays going around, but doesn't everyone want free dessert? I've always wanted to try the English Trifle since that one episode of Friends ("It tastes like feet!"), it was too sweet and too tart.

Overall, I would probably go again, but only if it were for a fraction of the cost. Also, beware, valet is $6, though I have heard that for special occasions like Valentine's day, it could go up to about $20.

• Pros: Decent food, interesting service
• Cons: Pricey

09/20/08

Overly presented, but under performed

by MCfromPhilly at Citysearch

I went to Lawry's with my boyfriend for our anniversary for the first time.

When we stepped into Lawry's the decor seemed lovely- lots of chandeliers, more sophisticated, with tons of presentation at the entry.

Our server introduced herself as "Ms. Something-or-other" (I'm choosing to omit her name), which struck us as a bit odd, but it was clearly Lawry's policy. Our server was a distracting and odd combination of cold and hospitable- everything she conversed with us was evidently recited from memory and "perfect"- almost like she had been trained to say certain things, and the experience was uncomfortably robotic.

Everything was overly-presented- from height pouring on salad dressing on a spinning salad (makes no effect on the taste) to the formality the servers are clearly told to act with. On top of all this, on the Monday night we went, we literally heard "Happy Birthday" being sung every 3-4 minutes, I almost felt like they just do it at every table for desert! =)

When our actual meals arrived, the meat was carved in front of us on a large rolling cart, and after an average salad, we assumed that the main course was going to make us forgive the salad- afterall, this is a steak house. With the level of presentation you really feel like it MUST be good, whether or not your mouth thinks so- but the steak was among the more average of steaks we had both had. It didn't register as bad, it didn't register as amazing- just an alright steak. Dissapointing considering the reputation- if I had had this steak at IHOP, I would have just thought "wow, IHOP has pretty good steak for 8.99".

We decided to order strawberries and chocolate for dessert, and most of the strawberries were overly ripe (verrrry mushy- eew)

I really wanted to like Lawry's- but it just glowed with being overly self-special with all the "this is how we do things", and our service would have been perfect if she was not afraid to loosen up and "be there" rather than phoning in personal warmth.

09/05/08

Pretty good, not great

by MaryCC at Citysearch

My husband and I pass by this place all the time. So many restaurants in that area to choose from. We finally tried Lawry's. Nice place with a friendly staff. We felt so young. Most folks who dine here are 50+. We were sat at a nice booth, and our server took good care of us. Most of their service staff are also older then the usual young attitudes that serve in the area. We think that's a good thing. The only complaint I have is the cooking temp on my husband's prime rib. He likes it rare. A carver comes to the table, and cuts right in front of you. His cut was not rare. Instead of complaining, he ate most of it. Nothing special about this place that has been around for something like 70 years. Their $99 dinner for two seemd like a good idea when you compare the regular menu prices to what you get for that fixed price.

• Pros: Service, valet
• Cons: cooking temps

07/07/08

BEST PRIME RIB!

by OnTheGo101 at Citysearch

I love dining here. The service and food are both excellent. I would recommend making reservations and arrive a little early so you can get seated at the time you requested. It is definitely worth the wait though. The cream corn is my absolute favorite. Don't fill up on the bread! You'll want an empty stomach so you can enjoy the juicy prime rib.

05/22/08

Good food!

by foodie114 at Citysearch

This is definitely a place to go for a special occasion. The decor and furniture is very upper class and fancy. I liked the way they cut the prime rib for you at the table. Expensive, but it's worth a try.

03/22/08

definitely only go for prime rib

by dthstar at Citysearch

it's always good here. but we recommend only going to get their prime rib- afterall, that's what they're know for. the sides you order that come along w/ the prime rib dinner are all very good as well. do order the bread pudding too! the service is always so pleasant- the cutely dressed older waitresses really make your meal just a little bit better.. they've been serving prime rib probably longer than i've been alive. have dessert & coffee too when you're done. the decor feels like you're dining in a ball room. you see tons of tourists dining w/ you too!

• Pros: all round great dining experience
• Cons: tourists, tourists, tourists!

02/20/08

Cream corn, yorkshire pudding and their seasoning meat

by deathtaster21 at Citysearch

Love this place for their traditional services and great food. I have been there fore years, great for occasions because its too busy and its fairly crowded. However, the last time I went, the host is very rude. She kept nagging at us about when will our party arrive so we can start ordering. My parents came only 15 minutes late and she gave one whole hell of the attitude, which really made my mother angry at the scene. I wished I remembered her name and report her. Eversince that kind of service, I never went back, and I wished they do something about that. Ok about the place, they literally crowd the whole entire place up, I even had to pull the table over to be seated in the booths...which I'm not too happy when it comes to fine dining place like this. Their Lawry salad is a spectacle, its just fresh ingredients and special sauce with the waitress tossing it with the sauce poured straight up 4 feet from the air spinning the bowl...hahah. I guess the oxygen gives it the special flavor. Took about 30 minutes until the food arrive in a heavy duty metal cart with the Chef. Cream corn and yorkshire pudding and prime rib, is a must, very flavorful. Don't eat the lobster, I felt it was overcooked and bland the whole entire time, and it's not worth it when you have to rip a hard shrimp on my own. Food is great on the meat and corn, but they need to re-evaluate their service with the host. I know they are busy and some get bitchy, but THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE to throw it at people.

• Pros: Valet is easy, grand entrance like a hotel, good food, good wine, old fashion style. Cream corn!
• Cons: Overcooked lobster, bad management on the tables/crowd, and unforgettable moment with a bitchy host

02/14/08

Pretty good but nothing great

by sdticks at Citysearch

I've been eating here since I was a little kid. The prime rib is pretty good, nothing extraordinary.

• Pros: Prime rib and baked potato are pretty good
• Cons: Not much.