John Wayne's Favorite Steakhouse Is Best Known For Its Prime Rib Dinners

Given his frequent roles as rugged cowboys, it's no surprise that John Wayne was known to be a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy IRL. As a mainstay at many of the restaurants in the Newport Beach, California area — where he lived from 1966 until his death in 1979 — the Duke was known to love a big steak. The steakhouse beloved by the old Hollywood star, Gulliver's, is located directly across from John Wayne Airport in Irvine. It's still open, serving up over-the-top English-style prime rib dinners, making it an old Hollywood hangout you can still eat at today.

The name of Gulliver's restaurant is inspired by the Jonathan Swift novel "Gulliver's Travels" and, as per their website, promises to evoke "images of 18th century England" and offer the "gracious hospitality of an English roadside inn." The restaurant, now one of the oldest in Orange County, is known for its large prime rib feasts. Diners can even ask to sit at John Wayne's favorite table, which is a cozy booth located on the dimly lit bar side of the restaurant, where the actor was known to use a private phone line.

Being an English-themed steakhouse, Gulliver's claim to fame is its prime rib dinners. Each one is served with creamed corn, creamed spinach, whipped horseradish, au jus, and traditional Yorkshire pudding. While the most popular cut is the Gulliver's Prime Cut, which is big enough to be "fit for a king," it's the "Brobdingnagian" bone-in cut (available for a whopping $84 as of this writing) that really gets Yelp reviewers talking: "If you're looking for a great prime rib in OC this is the place. I had the Brobdingnagian cut [...] which I believe is a 33oz or more bone in cut and it was probably one of the best I've ever had." (The name pays homage to a land of giants in "Gulliver's Travels.")

The ambience at Gulliver's has been described online as "old English pub style" and "a moment in time standing still in the modern era." Even if you aren't there for John Wayne's favorite booth, eating a prime rib feast at Gulliver's sounds like an experience worth having in Orange County. If that's a little too far out of reach, you can always make a hearty John Wayne Casserole at home.