The Ultimate Guide To Eating And Drinking At The Iconic Chateau Marmont
Hidden inside the towering edifice of the Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset Boulevard is a restaurant known for its celebrity sightings and cozy atmosphere. Visiting this West Hollywood restaurant is somewhat about the food and drink, but a large part of the reason for going is about the experience. The hotel has been a big part of Hollywood since the late 1920s and still carries an aura of mystique. Thus, dining there feels a lot like escaping into a bit of Hollywood's past as well as its present.
Since there's such a culture of privacy surrounding the hotel, the restaurant doesn't publish a lot of information about itself online. So, if you want to visit, there's a lot that you need to know if you want to actually get in. For example, you can get a reservation for breakfast or lunch online, but how do you get a dinner reservation? From parking, reservations, and dress code to what to expect from the atmosphere and what to wear, we've created your ultimate guide to dining and drinking at the iconic Chateau Marmont.
(323) 848-5908
8221 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046
The restaurant and bar were late additions to the Chateau Marmont
From the time that Chateau Marmont was built in 1929, it was known for its privacy. Back then, it had no lobby or other gathering spots like bars, restaurants, or a pool. Guests could simply park their cars in the underground garage and not have to encounter anyone anywhere except the elevator unless they wanted to. Thus, it was popular with Hollywood celebrities or other people who didn't want to have to interact with other guests.
It wasn't until Andre Balazs bought Chateau Marmont in 1990 that the hotel underwent changes to make it a little more like other hotels. Balazs added amenities guests were starting to expect from their hotels, like a gym and business center. He was also the owner who decided to put in a restaurant and bar. The bar came first and the restaurant second. Bar Marmont opened in 1995 down the street but within walking distance from the hotel proper, on Sunset Boulevard. The night Bar Marmont opened, then-up-and-coming movie star Leonardo DiCaprio used the bar as the location for celebrating his 21st birthday. Eight years later, in 2003, Balazs opened the Chateau Marmont's first restaurant.
Chateau Marmont's restaurant is a well-known place to spot celebrities
Because of Chateau Marmont's reputation for privacy, it's long been a place where celebrities felt like they could get away from it all. They could rent a room by the hour or for multiple days, getting up to all sorts of mischief without worrying about their exploits being publicized. Despite being open to the public, the restaurant has plenty of security and well-enforced rules about not allowing photographs or social media updates, which normalizes the dining experience for celebrities dining side-by-side with fans.
While you may not know what happens behind the closed doors of the hotel rooms and bungalows, you're likely to encounter celebrities in the restaurant any day of the week. In fact, it's considered one of the best restaurants for celebrity sightings in the area. In its early days, you might run into actors and actresses like Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, and John Wayne. In more recent times, Leonardo DiCaprio seems to have never stopped hanging out there. Singer Miley Cyrus has been seen in the restaurant singing along with the restaurant pianist. On a typical night, you might run into movie stars, rock stars, and others you're likely to recognize.
However, celebrities aren't always on their best behavior while dining there
Despite being secretive, Chateau Marmont and its restaurant has still had its fair share of celebrity scandals. John Belushi famously died of a drug overdose at Chateau Marmont, and celebrity scandals sometimes spill over into the restaurant for the public to see.
Plenty of celebrities have been kicked out of restaurants, and at the Chateau Marmont's restaurant, the most infamous episode happened in 2007 to pop star Britney Spears. 2007 was the year she shaved her head, checked into rehab, filed for divorce, and lost custody of her kids. In the middle of all that, she got kicked out of Chateau Marmont's restaurant for acting strange and ultimately covering her face with food. However, she wasn't permanently banned.
In 2025, rapper Kanye West reportedly punched a man in the face in the restaurant. The story goes that a man ran into West's wife in the crowded lobby and didn't apologize. Once West saw the man sitting at a table in the restaurant, he confronted him and supposedly punched him in the face. Only, it seems that West punched the wrong man because both Mark and Jonnie Houston were sitting at the table, and they're very similar-looking twins. By the time the police arrived on the scene, West had skedaddled.
Chateau Marmont's once-hidden Japanese restaurant is now permanently closed
In 2018, Chateau Marmont opened up a second restaurant — a Japanese restaurant called Chateau Hanare. Chateau Marmont brought in jazz pianist and restaurateur Reika Alexander to open the restaurant in a bungalow on the eastern side of the hotel property. Alexander had opened a similar restaurant in Manhattan's West Village called EN Japanese Brasserie, which is known for being a celebrity hangout.
Everything from the Japanese-style tiles on the roof to the bamboo in the outdoor dining area gave the restaurant great Japanese ambiance. Plus, there was Japanese erotic shunga artwork throughout the restaurant. Some of the beautiful dishes you could enjoy there included a 10-piece sashimi sampler sprinkled with gold leaf, sashimi, squash blossom dishes, and a six-course kaiseki meal with an optional sake pairing. Customers mentioned the food tasting more like food you'd enjoy in Japan rather than an Americanized version.
The restaurant tended to start out with excellent reviews, but in its later days, customers seemed less happy with their experience and the food they received being either a big hit or a big miss. Just as there was no fanfare when Chateau Hanare opened, there was also no fanfare when it closed. The last review we could find was from 2021.
There were once plans for the Chateau Marmont restaurant to be members-only
Chateau Marmont announced in 2020 that both its hotel and everything on the property, including the restaurants, were going to go to a members-only format. Perhaps it made sense in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, with owner Andre Balazs laying off most of the hotel's staff because fewer people were visiting hotels and restaurants. In fact, Balazs would have sold the whole property if he could have found a buyer. Membership fees would help cover the cost of managing the property, with members coming and going as they liked, with access to dining and personal butlers.
The staff members who'd been laid off during the pandemic spent their newly-acquired free time outside the hotel protesting their lack of employment and healthcare. Plus, they didn't like the idea of the hotel and restaurant going members-only. Part of the outrage was related to the fact that Balazs didn't plan to rehire some former longtime employees because they didn't fit the ideal persona and skillset he had in mind for the type of people he wanted to serve guests in a private club environment.
The former staff members weren't the only ones who thought making the hotel private was a bad idea. Members of the Hollywood community who had enjoyed Chateau Marmont and its restaurant over the years hated the idea of closing the iconic property to the public. With outrage over the privatization idea all around, the hotel stayed open to the public.
Getting a reservation at the Chateau Marmont restaurant can be tricky
Chateau Marmont's restaurant is open from 7:30 a.m. until 1:30 a.m. every day of the week. However, getting a reservation is different depending on the time of day. A link on the Chateau Marmont website will take you to a reservation page to choose a time to eat breakfast or brunch. However, getting dinner reservations is far trickier and seems to require a phone call or other social acrobatics.
To get a reservation for breakfast or lunch, you first need to do it through Resy. If you need to cancel and don't do so at least two hours before your reservation, you'll be charged a $50 late fee per guest. Your other option is to call for a reservation.
Getting a dinner reservation at Chateau Marmont is trickier because it's in high demand. On busy nights, you may need to know someone to be able to get a seat during the dinner meal, even at the bar. There are also reservation services like Table Elite that can help secure a dinner spot. You're far more likely to be able to score a table on one of the nights when fewer people are going out to eat, like Monday and Tuesday nights. Customers have mentioned calling and having hotel staff tell them that reservations become available at the beginning of each month. However, they don't take dinner reservations in December because of the holidays. However, some customers have had luck just showing up and trying to get drinks at the bar and later snagging a table from no-shows when reservations weren't available.
You need to know a few things about parking
Finding free street parking nearby is challenging. So, many people opt to park in paid lots or use the valet parking service.
There's a $25 guest parking option for $25 downhill from the hotel and restaurant. That $25 only covers three hours of parking. So, expect to pay $5 for every extra hour you plan to stay at the restaurant. Street Angel can be helpful for locating other parking options, like places where you can park free or where nearby parking garages are located.
To save the headache of trying to figure out parking, you could always use a rideshare company to get to the restaurant instead of dealing with the hassle of parking your own car. Valet parking is also an option, but it costs $65 for the evening.
You'll want to dress appropriately to dine there
The dress code at Chateau Marmont's restaurant is smart casual or snappy casual. Considering the high-end atmosphere and potential of eating surrounded by celebrities, you'll want to dress nice. However, you don't have to go over-the-top formal.
Smart casual isn't an invitation to come dressed in a tee shirt and blue jeans. In fact, the restaurant might turn you away if you show up in a tee and jeans. The restaurant also dissuades from wearing workout clothes, shorts, or clothes you just wore at the beach.
Instead, go at least a step up from true casual. That means you might wear slacks paired with a nice collared shirt or sweater, or a nice dressy top or sweater with dress pants or a skirt. You could also wear a dress. Sure, you might see guests dressed down a little more, but considering the way the average diner will be dressed, you might feel out of place if you don't dress well.
You should know what to expect once you're inside
The restaurant has a classy, plush, and luxurious ambiance and an air of exclusivity. Some have even called the restaurant magical for the way it feels. The setting certainly is pretty, with nice decor and hotel architecture that lends a bit of Old World charm. Plus, there's a feeling of connection with the glitz and glamor of Old Hollywood. The bar has a cozy feel, dining feels relaxed, and the outside area is peaceful. Of course, the excitement of dining with celebrities and the energy they bring to the experience adds more to the overall feel of the place as well.
However, some diners have expressed feeling like they were unwelcome interlopers who didn't belong, while others have found the atmosphere to be too pretentious for their liking. So, it's not for everyone.
There are several places to choose to dine and drink at the restaurant
Not only is there indoor dining in Chateau Marmont's restaurant, but there's gorgeous outdoor patio seating in view of the garden. Both have a cozy and intimate feel. So, you're likely to be happy with either option.
The tables in the main indoor dining area are well-spaced, with dim candle sconces on the walls, castle-style candelabras, and lamps at the tables providing atmospheric lighting. Eclectic upholstered chairs and couches provide seating around both coffee tables and regular restaurant tables. There are also more private dining areas with tables and chairs by themselves in separate rooms.
Outdoor dining includes lounge chairs and couches under the covered part of the outdoor courtyard, full of soaring arched ceilings and beautiful architecture. Plus, there are small cafe-style wicker tables and chairs out in the garden terrace. The patio area features palm trees, tropical plants, and all sorts of beautiful outdoor greenery and hanging plants. Outdoor tents and tall curtain dividers create a sense of privacy in areas and shelter from any sudden rain showers. It's even dimly lit at night, giving it an even different feel.
Chateau Marmont's restaurant menu changes with the seasons
The restaurant at Chateau Marmont doesn't publish its menus for the public. So, the only way to know what might be available is to catch a menu pic on social media. Although, with photos being banned at the restaurant, it's not something you should count on finding. The menu has a lot of French influence, with twists and additions that are typical of California cuisine. The restaurant uses as many locally-grown ingredients as it can. Thus, the offerings change with the seasons.
Brunch has some of the normal items you'd expect, like eggs or omelets with breakfast potatoes, pastries, granola, acai bowls, and bagels. However, there are also other more lunch-forward items like spaghetti, salads, and steak.
A sampling of the appetizers you might find on the dinner menu includes white bean hummus with sesame lavash and rainbow carrots; burrata de bufala with prosciutto, arugula, and fig balsamic sauce; or black truffle arancini and wild mushrooms. The salad menu has classics like Caesar salad, but it also may have options like a smoked trout, watercress, potatoes, and tarragon salad or a beet and warm chèvre salad with an orange hazelnut vinaigrette. While you may find items like steaks, burgers, salmon, roasted chicken, and spaghetti among the main courses, there are also options like seafood and chorizo paella, lamb shepherd's pie, and sweet corn polenta with lion's mane mushrooms and seasonal vegetables. You're also likely to find a seafood menu with options like fresh oysters, crab claws, caviar, and warm lobster rolls.
What you should know about getting a drink at Chateau Marmont
Bar Marmont closed down in 2017 for a makeover, and while it was known as being one of the best hotel bars in America, its comeback was in a private capacity. However, the general public can still get drinks from the restaurant's bar. It's a small bar, and it's likely to be crowded. However, you can also order drinks for your regular table, too.
Customers can expect to find a nice wine selection, with options from California and around the world. A typical list might contain four options each in the category of sparkling, white, rosé/orange, and red wines. Examples include a "Love You Bunches" orange wine from Stolpman Winery in Santa Barbara County and a Chablis white wine from Domaine Millet vineyard in Burgundy, France.
The bartenders also excel at making a wide range of cocktails and mocktails. Cocktails you might find on the menu include a Gardener's Gimlet (a gin or vodka cocktail featuring lime and cucumber) or a Prosé (a vodka and rosé cocktail featuring strawberry and lime). If you're looking for a mocktail, some options may include the Smoke and Mirrors (made with non-alcoholic Little Saints and flavored with grapefruit, agave, and lime) or The Maltese Falcon (a pineapple and lemon drink flavored with ginger and honey).
The Chateau Marmont restaurant is sometimes used for celebrity parties
With private and semi-private dining areas off the main dining area and on the patio, it's no wonder that Hollywood stars often bring their parties to the Chateau Marmont restaurant. However, some larger ones congregate there, too. And the parties often spill over into the private Bar Marmont.
For example, in December of 2024, the restaurant hosted a 120-person dinner party for Italian designer Brunello Cucinelli full of film and fashion stars, with many ending up over at the Bar Marmont. Attendees ranged from Oprah Winfrey and Sharon Stone to Chris Pine and Kevin Costner. And plenty of Hollywood awards parties take place there, too, like the 2025 Vanity Fair and Amazon MGM Studios party, where you would have seen stars like Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lopez.
You'll want to be prepared for your bill
Eating and drinking at the bar and restaurant at Chateau Marmont can be pricey. If you opt for paid or valet parking, you're already down $25 to $65 before you even walk in the door. Customers on social media report spending about $100 per person for a meal.
Even if you just go for drinks, they start at $20 for mocktails, with cocktails costing slightly more. Meanwhile, wine starts around $20. There might be a few appetizers for around $10, like a French baguette or marinated olives, but most range from $15 to almost $40. The cheapest entree is around $40 at dinner, and they go up to $120. For brunch, you might be about to get away with a $25 entree. Even brunch side items can be pricey, ranging from $5 for a singular egg (made your way) to nearly $20 for truffle Parmesan fries.