Slide Into The Right Red‑Leather Booth At Musso & Frank Grill, Hollywood’s Original Power Seat

Show up five minutes before the host unlocks the door and you can watch Hollywood history flicker on. Jackets get straightened, menus go out, and one of those curved booths in deep red leather is about to be yours. Dinner service here starts at 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday and 4 pm on Sunday, and that first wave is when regulars quietly call their preferred room and first‑timers ask where they should sit. The answer depends on what kind of night you want and, yes, it affects what you eat.

We are talking about the same Musso & Frank Grill that has anchored 6667 Hollywood Blvd. since the silent era. It is open for dinner only, closed Mondays, with validated parking behind the restaurant so you are not circling Cherokee or Whitley during the peak. The menu is a time capsule that still moves: steaks from $54 for a 12‑ounce New York to $71 for prime rib with a baked potato, Thursday’s chicken pot pie, and even flannel cakes that predate talkies. The trick is pairing that food with the room that makes it taste like Los Angeles.

Two Rooms, One Legend: Where Those Red Booths Live

Walk in and you will be placed in one of two dining rooms, each with its own red‑leather rhythm. The Old Room is the original grill room, the one with the counter facing the open grill and a run of compact wooden‑backed booths. When the menu says Ribeye $61 or Calf’s Liver Steak $35, this is where I like to be if I plan to watch steaks come off the fire and land close to their target temps. Solo diners often request the counter because it is sociable without small talk and the service tempo tends to be brisk.

Step further inside and you reach the New Room, opened in the mid‑fifties and home to the gleaming mahogany bar. The booths here are wider and curvier, made for a proper martini conversation. If I am ordering a slower meal like Lamb Chops $70 with Creamed Spinach $18, this is where I settle. Both rooms run the same dinner hours, and both carry the full slate of daily features that define the week, from Wednesday Sauerbraten with potato pancakes to Friday Bouillabaisse.

Whichever room you pick, the staff will steer you with confidence. Veteran servers still recite the day’s soup choices from memory and can split a prime rib two ways without raising an eyebrow. If you have a must‑sit, say so at the host stand. You will not be the first to ask, and the team knows how to juggle preferences at the beginning of service, especially on Tuesday through Saturday after 5 pm when the first turn is still open.

What To Order When You Land A Booth

I eat here like a regular because the dishes encourage habits. There are a few patterns that never fail. Start with something cold if you are in the New Room, where the bar’s chill sets the tone. The Shrimp Cocktail $27 is exactly what it says on the card, and the Combination Louie $45 works for sharing without derailing a steak plan. If you are sitting in the Old Room with a view of the flame, lean into the grill: a New York Steak 12 oz $54 or Bone‑In Ribeye $69 with Lyonnaise Potatoes $17 belongs there.

Daily features are the real move if you like a calendar to pick the meal for you. Tuesday brings Corned Beef and Cabbage, Wednesday Sauerbraten, Thursday the Homemade Chicken Pot Pie that sells out if you wander in late, Friday Bouillabaisse Marseillaise, Saturday Braised Short Ribs with vegetables, and Sunday Duck Confit. The regulars build their week around those. If you come on Sunday when doors open at 4 pm, that duck arrives with its skin intact and a line of sides that still taste like a dining car menu: Potatoes Au Gratin $18, Fresh Asparagus with Hollandaise $19, French Fried Onion Rings $15.

Vegetarian or pacing yourself? The Italian section is present and accounted for. Spaghetti Pomodoro e Burrata $26 is fresh, not fussed over. Tagliatelle alla Bolognese $30 eats as a main course if someone else is tackling a steak across from you. And yes, the lore is true: the Original Fettuccine Alfredo $30 traces back to a recipe courted by Fairbanks and Pickford. Classicists will find Welsh Rarebit $22 and the kind of Oyster Stew $29 that still shows up in old scripts.

There is dessert if you are staying for a second round of table talk. The list reads like it did before every cake became “flourless.” Apple Pie à la Mode $17, Chocolate Mousse Cake $17, Crème Brûlée $17, and a 1919 Sundae $17 for the birthday you do not want sung. Coffee runs $5, espresso drinks $5–$6.50, which is often the right wind‑down if you are rolling back to the Valley after a Sunday seating.

How To Time It, Where To Sit, And How LA Eats Here Now

Here is how the week actually behaves. Tuesday and Wednesday are your best shots at snagging an Old Room booth on arrival at 5 pm, with room to choose your sightline to the grill. Thursdays fill because of chicken pot pie, so secure a reservation if that is your target. Friday is a parade, and a New Room booth near the bar lights is a great people‑watch while you wait for Ribeye Cap $61 if it is available that night. Sunday’s earlier start at 4 pm makes it family‑friendly, and the servers lean into the pacing that helps the second turn settle in by 6:30.

Reservations run through a familiar online system and the restaurant posts its live hours as Tuesday–Saturday 5–11 pm and Sunday 4–10 pm. If you prefer not to book ahead, arriving at opening is the tactic that gives you leverage for a booth request in your preferred room. If you are solo, ask for the counter in the Old Room, then order Calf’s Liver with onions $34 or the Ground Beef Steak $39 and let the grill show itself. If you drive, use the lot behind the building and get your ticket validated inside so you are not racing a meter when dessert menus appear.

The bar is in the New Room, and it is where Musso’s famous martinis get built. That is the seat for a pre‑dinner round if your table is not ready yet. When it is time to eat, dinner service happens in the booths, tables, and at the grill counter, which keeps the bar comfortable for guests who are purely there for cocktails. On nights when the dining room hums, I find the two‑top booths along the New Room’s wall make it easiest to share plates, like the Burrata $23 to start and a side of Truffled Mac and Cheese $22 to ride shotgun to a steak.

Another Red‑Leather Night? Two Real Alternatives In Greater LA

You could stay loyal to Hollywood and still look around. When I want the same booth energy without leaving the Valley, I head to The Smoke House in Burbank, a 1946 steakhouse that still opens seven days a week. Their posted hours run 11:30 am–10:30 pm Monday–Thursday, 11:30 am–11 pm Friday–Saturday, and a Sunday split of 10 am–2 pm brunch and 3:30–9 pm dinner. The menu reads like a studio commissary greatest hits. The calling card is the World’s Greatest Garlic Bread at $7 half and $10 full on the lunch menu, and if you miss the prime rib special at Musso’s, the Smoke House runs prime rib in two sizes at lunch, $36 regular and $44 Smoke House cut, with steak dinners and sides priced to mix and match.

On the other side of town, Taylor’s Steakhouse in Koreatown splits the difference between a classic steak menu and a neighborhood price point. The Koreatown location posts dinner hours of 4–10 pm Tuesday–Sunday, closed Mondays, with most tables first‑come and reservations accepted for larger parties. The steaks themselves are listed at market price, which fluctuates, but the add‑ons are steady and inexpensive: Mashed Potatoes $2.50, Baked Potato $2.95, Bearnaise $2.95, and Peppercorn Sauce $3.95. Taylor’s keeps its own version of the red‑booth mood, closer to a midcentury supper club, which is why a lot of people bounce between it and Musso’s depending on who is in town and how many birthdays are on the bill.

Quick Takeaways For Getting The Right Booth

• For the widest booth choice, arrive at opening. Musso & Frank starts dinner at 5 pm Tue–Sat and 4 pm Sun, and early arrivals can usually request Old Room or New Room.
• Daily features set the rhythm of the week. If Thursday’s Chicken Pot Pie is the goal, secure a reservation and ask for a booth when you check in.
• The Old Room is for grill theater. Park at the counter if you are solo and order from the steak section, from $54 to $71, with Creamed Spinach $18 on the side.
• Vegetarian options exist and are specific, not afterthoughts. Spaghetti Pomodoro e Burrata $26 and Gnocchi Gorgonzola e Noci $30 play well in either room.
• Validated parking sits behind the restaurant. Grab your ticket on the way in so you are not fumbling while the Crème Brûlée $17 lands.
• Craving another night in a red booth. Try Burbank’s Smoke House for $7/$10 garlic bread and prime rib, or Koreatown’s Taylor’s for late‑evening steak with sides from $2.50.

Reader Q&A

Is the chicken pot pie really a Thursday thing?

Yes. Musso & Frank runs a fixed slate of daily features and the Homemade Chicken Pot Pie is listed for Thursdays. If that is your must‑order, book dinner on a Thursday and aim for an early seating when the kitchen starts service at 5 pm.

Can I eat at the counter, or is it just for drinks?

The counter sits in the Old Room facing the grill and is a proper dinner seat. It is a good choice for one or two people who want to watch service up close. If you are hoping for the counter, ask at the host stand when you arrive at 5 pm Tue–Sat or 4 pm Sun.

What are realistic prices for a steak dinner here?

The steak list starts at $54 for a 12‑ounce New York and runs to $71 for roast prime rib, with classic sides like French Fries $15, Lyonnaise Potatoes $17, and Fresh Asparagus $19. You can also go lighter with pasta like Spaghetti Pomodoro e Burrata $26.

Where do I park, and do they validate?

Validated parking is available behind the restaurant. Pull into the lot at the rear, bring your ticket inside, and you will be covered through dinner service, which runs until 11 pm Tuesday–Saturday and 10 pm Sunday.

Here is the simple way to choose. If you want to watch the grill while you eat, ask for the Old Room or its counter and order from the steak column. If you want a longer evening in a curvy booth with a cocktail start, request the New Room, then let the week’s feature or a Ribeye $61 decide the plate.

Published: September 8, 2026