½ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 lb. white bread, cubed
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ cup sweetened coconut flakes
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and nutmeg. Mix in the bread cubes. Place in the prepared pan and sprinkle the top with the cinnamon and coconut.
3. Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm.
A tartan-clad server at the Tam O’Shanter, 1930s.
OPEN: 1922–present
LOCATION: 2980 Los Feliz Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90039
ORIGINAL PHONE: OL-0228
CURRENT PHONE: (323) 664-0228
CUISINE: British Pub Fare
DESIGN: Harry Oliver
BUILDING STYLE: Storybook
THE TAM O’SHANTER IS SAID TO BE THE LONGEST-RUNNING SAME-LOCATION, SAME-FAMILY-OWNED RESTAURANT IN LOS ANGELES. Two families, the Van de Kamps and the Franks (of the now-famous Van de Kamp’s Holland Dutch Bakeries and Lawry’s Restaurants, Inc.), opened the Scottish pub-themed Tam O’Shanter in 1922. The restaurant has been rechristened several times—first named the Tam O’Shanter, then the Montgomery Inn, then the Tam O’Shanter again, then the Great Scot, and then finally the Tam O’Shanter again in 1968.
Motion picture art director Harry Oliver, who worked on such films as Ben-Hur and Scarface, was commissioned to build the Tam O’Shanter. Oliver, who also designed the famous Witch’s House in Beverly Hills, hired carpenters from a nearby studio to char the inn’s wooden planks to create a weather-beaten effect. Thanks to this technique, the planks have never had to be painted and only look better with age.
The Tam was built on a dirt road named Tropico Avenue (now Los Feliz Boulevard), in an area that was originally on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The neighborhood around the restaurant soon grew into what the motion picture studios nicknamed “On Location”—off of studio property, but still close by.
Having lunch at the Tam was like being in a backlot commissary. It was not uncommon to spot Mary Pickford, the Keystone Kops, Tom Mix in his leather chaps and ten-gallon hat, or Fatty Arbuckle in his suit and tie. John Wayne was a frequent diner in his later years; his table was number 15 in the Tartan Room.
With the original Walt Disney Studios about half a mile away, Walt Disney himself also had a regular table at the Tam: number 31, which now displays a plaque that reads, “This was a favorite spot of Walt Disney and his Imagineers.” Disney was such a frequent visitor that some called the restaurant “the Walt Disney Studios commissary.” Today, two of Disney’s autographed sketches hang in the lobby: one of Lawrence Frank with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Tinkerbell, and another of Richard Frank and his son, Richard Jr., sitting at a table with half a dozen Mickeys (one for each decade that both the Tam and Disney had been around). Upstairs, near the employee changing area, are framed photographs of some of Disney’s “Nine Old Men” (the Walt Disney Company’s famed animators) hamming it up for the camera. These are some of the last pictures taken of them together.
Walt Disney’s sketch of Lawrence Frank with Disney characters, 1958.
Considered one of the first themed restaurants in the country, the Tam O’Shanter hasn’t wavered from its original 1922 vision, featuring medieval weapons, coats of arms, and family crests. Three roaring fireplaces and a large pub welcome you in the lobby. The restaurant’s “snug” displays awards won by the eatery, Scottish tartans, and lively decor. A large red display case houses old menus, photos, napkins, and other memorabilia. Because of its historical look and feel, the Tam has been used in many film and television productions—most recently for one of the final episodes of AMC’s Mad Men, in which it played a steak house where Don Draper ate lunch.
The Tam O’Shanter pulls out all the stops for holiday celebrations. Christmastime is especially festive at the Tam, with carolers in old-fashioned garb making their way through the restaurant, singing songs. Every year on January 25, the inn celebrates the birth of Scotland’s favorite poet, Robert Burns, by serving haggis.
The restaurant’s menu, which features both British pub fare and American favorites, has not changed much over the years. Baked chicken and ham have always been mainstays. Box lunches, such as burgers with coleslaw, are available for picnicking at nearby Griffith Park. On Dodger game days, the Tam offers special menus with free bags of roasted peanuts, making it easy to get over to Chavez Ravine in time for the first pitch.
Today, meals at the Tam start off with bread hot from the oven—pumpernickel and sourdough. Two of the most popular items on the menu are the prime rib with Yorkshire pudding and the “toad in the hole” (sausages in Yorkshire batter). The creamed horseradish is the same recipe that was served in 1922. After all, when you’ve found a good thing, why change it?
Walt Disney, Lawrence Frank, and Harry Oliver at the Tam O’Shanter, 1960.
The dining room at the Tam, 1939.
Postcard featuring the Tam, 1933.
This tasty coleslaw is served alongside the Tam O’Shanter’s incredible hamburgers.
Serves 4 to 6
4 cups shredded white cabbage
½ cup chopped green onion, including green tops
1 cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped cocktail peanuts
½ tsp. seasoned salt
¼ tsp. seasoned pepper
⅓ cup Italian salad dressing
1. In a large salad bowl, toss together the cabbage, onion, celery, and peanuts.
2. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper. Toss evenly with the Italian dressing and serve.
The Tam in 1931, when it offered car service.
The Tam O’Shanter as it appears today.