Tam O'Shanter Restaurant Endures Test Of Time

Less than 200,000 cars were rolling through the streets of Los Angeles in 1922; land west of La Brea Avenue was largely undeveloped.

Tam O'Shanter Restaurant opened at 2980 Los Feliz Boulevard that year, and despite a few shifts in concept throughout the years, the same establishment, run by the same family, still remains there.

Los Angeles has exploded in the past near-century, change and growth that makes the L.A. of '22 seem quaint. But Tam O'Shanter has not modernized nearly as rapidly. The tartan- and dark-wood-heavy restaurant is no time capsule of the early 20th century, but it does feel wonderfully dated and free of irony. Even with Atwater Village's increasing cultural caché, the self-awareness of hipsterdom hasn't wormed its way through Tam O'Shanter's doors.

The meat-and-potatoes-centric menu is uninfluenced by today's (or yesterday's) culinary trends. Start your meal off with Scotch rarebit ($8), a pleasure guilty rather than refined, which tastes more like Wisconsin beer cheese than Public House cooking. And the varied cuts of prime rib ($28 to $38), rosy slabs of beef served with smoky creamed spinach, are impressive–the family behind Lawry's owns the place, after all.

Tam O'Shanter, 2980 Los Feliz Boulevard, Atwater Village; 323-664-0228 or lawrysonline.com/tam-oshanter