Musso & Frank Grill

Musso & Frank Grill is a historic restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Opened in 1919, it is widely described as Hollywood's oldest restaurant and has become one of the best-known surviving institutions associated with the neighborhood's cultural history. The restaurant began as Frank's François Café, founded by French immigrant Firmin "Frank" Toulet at 6669 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1923, Toulet entered into a partnership with Joseph Musso, and the business adopted the Musso & Frank name. The restaurant's identity is therefore rooted in both its French origins and the classic American restaurant culture that developed around Hollywood during the twentieth century. The business changed ownership in 1927, when it was sold to Joseph Carissimi and John Mosso. John Mosso was not related to Joseph Musso. The Mosso and Carissimi interests shaped the restaurant's long-term continuity, and the Carissimi family eventually sold its share to the Mosso family. The restaurant remains owned by descendants of John Mosso and has been managed by his great-grandson Mark Echeverria. This family continuity has helped preserve Musso & Frank as an independent, institution-like restaurant rather than a conventional multi-unit chain. The premises expanded over time. In 1936, the restaurant added the adjacent address at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard. A larger eastern dining area opened in 1955 and continues to be known as the "new room." In 2021, Musso & Frank expanded its seating capacity for the first time in 66 years by adding two private dining rooms. The building and interior retain features associated with the restaurant's historic character, including high ceilings, dark wood paneling, red booths, glass-brick windows, a recessed entrance, a neon sign, and long-serving traditions of red coats worn by waiters and bartenders. The property is also a contributing building in the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Musso & Frank's menu is associated with classic steakhouse and old-Hollywood dining. Signature or longstanding offerings include steaks, Welsh rarebit, lobster Thermidor, chicken pot pie, and fettuccine Alfredo. The restaurant is credited with being the first restaurant in the United States to serve fettuccine Alfredo. According to the restaurant's historical account, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks brought the recipe back from their honeymoon in Italy and asked the kitchen to prepare it; the dish was later incorporated into the menu. Chicken pot pie has traditionally been offered on Thursdays. The bar is equally central to the brand, and Musso & Frank has been particularly associated with martinis. GQ named it the best place to have a martini in America in 2008; the restaurant served 55,272 martinis in 2018. The restaurant's importance extends beyond food service. In the 1920s and 1930s, Hollywood was becoming a gathering place for writers, artists, political figures, and film-industry workers. Musso & Frank's location made it accessible to this emerging community, and its bar and dining rooms became meeting places for screenwriters, novelists, actors, producers, directors, journalists, and political figures. Literary regulars associated with the restaurant include Raymond Chandler, John Fante, James M. Cain, Nathanael West, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Dorothy Parker, Dashiell Hammett, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gore Vidal. Film-industry patrons have included Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Orson Welles, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and members of the Warner family. Later patrons have included Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Keith Richards, and Harrison Ford. Musso & Frank has also become a recurring location in popular culture. It has appeared in films and television programs including Ed Wood, Ocean's Eleven, Greenberg, The Man Who Wasn't There, Mad Men, The Kominsky Method, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bosch, Blonde, Family Guy, and Better Things. Its reputation has been reinforced by references in novels, travel writing, and Los Angeles cultural histories. In 2019, the restaurant marked its centennial and became the first restaurant to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Its positioning today is that of a historic, independent, classic Hollywood restaurant: a destination for traditional food and cocktails, recognizable service rituals, and the atmosphere of an established cultural landmark.

Musso & Frank Grill opened in Hollywood in 1919 as Frank's François Café. Its founder was Firmin "Frank" Toulet, a French immigrant who established the restaurant at 6669 Hollywood Boulevard. The location placed the business in a neighborhood that was becoming increasingly important to Los Angeles cultural life. At the time, Downtown Los Angeles remained the center of much of the city's political and financial activity, while Hollywood attracted a more bohemian mixture of writers, artists, performers, and people connected with the growing motion-picture industry. In 1923, Toulet formed a partnership with Joseph Musso, and the restaurant's name changed to Musso & Frank. Four years later, the business was sold to Joseph Carissimi and John Mosso. Mosso was unrelated to Joseph Musso, despite the similarity of their names. John Mosso became central to the restaurant's subsequent ownership history. In 1936, he expanded the premises to include 6667 Hollywood Boulevard, creating the footprint that remains associated with the restaurant. The larger eastern dining area opened in 1955 and is still called the "new room." The restaurant became particularly prominent in Los Angeles literary life during the 1930s. The Screen Writers Guild was located across the street, and Stanley Rose's bookstore was next door. Writers associated with hard-boiled fiction and the broader Los Angeles literary scene spent time at Musso & Frank, including James M. Cain, John Fante, Raymond Chandler, and Nathanael West. Other literary figures linked to the restaurant include Ernest Hemingway, William Saroyan, Dashiell Hammett, Erskine Caldwell, Dorothy Parker, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Elliot Paul, Gore Vidal, and Donald Ogden Stewart. The restaurant appears in Paul Cain's 1933 novel Fast One and Nathanael West's 1939 novel The Day of the Locust. By the 1940s, Musso & Frank had become sufficiently associated with writers that aspiring authors, including Charles Bukowski, reportedly visited partly to follow in the footsteps of established literary figures. Musso & Frank also functioned as a meeting place for political and social figures. Helen Gahagan Douglas dined there on her first night in Los Angeles after moving to the city with her husband, actor Melvyn Douglas. Actor Will Geer, who was associated with the Communist Party USA, met there during the late 1930s and 1940s with a group of young radical writers and actors. These associations helped make the restaurant part of the city's intellectual and political history as well as its restaurant history. The film industry was another important part of the restaurant's clientele. Musso & Frank maintained a separate back room for industry patrons, attracting screenwriters, actors, producers, and directors. Figures associated with the restaurant include Tom Mix, Charlie Chaplin, Harry Warner, Jack Warner, Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, William Frawley, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Orson Welles, Rudolph Valentino, and Budd Schulberg. The association continued into later decades, with modern entertainment figures also reported as patrons. This connection has contributed to the restaurant's reputation as a place where Hollywood's professional and social worlds overlap. The Carissimi family eventually sold its interest to the Mosso family. Ownership has remained with descendants of John Mosso, while management passed to his great-grandson Mark Echeverria. The business has retained its historic layout and visual language rather than pursuing broad expansion. High ceilings, dark wood paneling, red booths, traditional red service coats, the neon sign, glass-brick windows, and the recessed entrance all contribute to its continuity. In 1985, the building was listed as a contributing property in the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District after that district was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Musso & Frank's culinary identity is based on classic restaurant and steakhouse traditions. It is associated with steaks, Welsh rarebit, lobster Thermidor, chicken pot pie, and martinis. The restaurant is also credited with introducing fettuccine Alfredo to the United States restaurant scene. The account connected with the restaurant says Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks brought the recipe back from Italy after their honeymoon and asked the kitchen to prepare it; the dish later became part of the menu. The restaurant's bar reputation was strengthened when GQ selected it as America's best place for a martini in 2008. In 2018, the restaurant reported serving 55,272 martinis. The restaurant celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, described as the first such star awarded to a restaurant. In 2021, it added two private dining rooms, expanding capacity for the first time since the 1955 opening of the new room. Its physical presence and cultural associations have also made it a recurring film and television location. It has appeared in or been featured by productions including Ed Wood, Ocean's Eleven, Greenberg, The Man Who Wasn't There, Family Guy, Mad Men, The Kominsky Method, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bosch, Blonde, and Better Things. Musso & Frank remains positioned as a historic Hollywood dining institution whose value rests on continuity, atmosphere, traditional food and drink, and its connection to the literary and film history of Los Angeles.

• 2021

  Private dining rooms are added

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Two private dining rooms expand seating capacity for the first time in 66 years.

• 2019

  Centennial and Hollywood Walk of Fame recognition

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Musso & Frank celebrates its 100th anniversary and receives the first Hollywood Walk of Fame star awarded to a restaurant.

• 2018

  The restaurant serves 55,272 martinis

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  The reported annual martini total illustrates the importance of the bar program to the restaurant's identity.

• 2008

  Martini reputation receives national recognition

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  GQ names Musso & Frank the best place to have a martini in America.

• 1985

  The building becomes a contributing historic property

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  The Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District is added to the National Register of Historic Places, with Musso & Frank listed as a contributing property.

• 1955

  The new room opens

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  A larger eastern dining room opens and remains known as the new room.

• 1936

  The restaurant expands to 6667 Hollywood Boulevard

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  John Mosso expands the premises to include the adjacent address.

• 1927

  Ownership changes to Carissimi and Mosso

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Joseph Carissimi and John Mosso purchase the restaurant; Mosso later becomes central to its continuing family ownership.

• 1923

  The Musso & Frank name is adopted

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Toulet enters a partnership with Joseph Musso, and the restaurant changes its name to Musso & Frank.

• 1919

  Frank's François Café opens in Hollywood

  [1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Firmin "Frank" Toulet opens the restaurant at 6669 Hollywood Boulevard.

A historic, independently owned Hollywood restaurant offering classic steakhouse-style food, traditional cocktails, old-Hollywood service, and a preserved landmark atmosphere.

• Restaurant cuisine

  Classic steakhouse menu

  Musso & Frank's core food offering is a traditional American steakhouse-style menu served in a historic dining room. The menu is associated with steaks and other long-established restaurant dishes rather than trend-driven or frequently changing cuisine. Its appeal is tied to continuity, familiar preparations, formal service, and the atmosphere of classic Hollywood dining.

• Pasta dish

  Fettuccine Alfredo

  Fettuccine Alfredo is one of the restaurant's most historically notable dishes. Musso & Frank is credited with being the first restaurant in the United States to serve it. The restaurant's account connects the dish to Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, who brought the recipe back from Italy and asked the kitchen to prepare it before it was later added to the menu.

• Cocktail

  Martinis

  The martini is a flagship part of Musso & Frank's bar identity. The restaurant's traditional bar, long association with writers and film professionals, and formal service style have made the drink emblematic of the venue. GQ recognized Musso & Frank's martini service in 2008, and the restaurant reported serving 55,272 martinis in 2018.

• Classic restaurant dish

  Welsh rarebit

  Welsh rarebit is part of the traditional menu associated with Musso & Frank. Its inclusion reflects the restaurant's emphasis on historic, recognizable preparations and its continuity with older American restaurant and bar traditions.

• Classic restaurant dish

  Lobster Thermidor

  Lobster Thermidor is one of the established dishes linked to Musso & Frank's classic steakhouse-style menu. It represents the restaurant's longstanding focus on formal, traditional preparations rather than a narrowly modern or specialized cuisine.

• Classic restaurant dish

  Chicken pot pie

  Chicken pot pie is a recurring traditional offering at Musso & Frank and is associated with a Thursday-only service tradition. The dish reinforces the restaurant's use of scheduled classics and its broader positioning around familiarity, ritual, and continuity.

• 2021

  Addition of private dining roomsStrategy

  Background

  Musso & Frank had not increased its seating capacity since the opening of the new room in 1955.

  Action taken

  The restaurant added two private dining rooms.

  Aftermath

  Seating capacity increased while the restaurant continued operating from its historic premises.

  Source

• 1955

  Opening of the new roomStrategy

  Background

  The restaurant sought additional dining capacity while retaining its established Hollywood Boulevard location.

  Action taken

  A larger eastern dining room opened.

  Aftermath

  The room remained part of the restaurant and continued to be known as the new room.

  Source

• 1936

  Expansion to the adjacent Hollywood Boulevard addressStrategy

  Background

  The restaurant had operated at 6669 Hollywood Boulevard since its opening.

  Action taken

  John Mosso expanded the restaurant to include 6667 Hollywood Boulevard.

  Aftermath

  The expanded premises became part of the restaurant's enduring physical footprint.

  Source

• 1923

  Adoption of the Musso & Frank identityStrategy

  Background

  The original restaurant operated as Frank's François Café under founder Firmin Toulet.

  Action taken

  Following Toulet's partnership with Joseph Musso, the business changed its name to Musso & Frank.

  Aftermath

  The new name became the enduring identity of the Hollywood restaurant.

  Source

• 2021

  Musso & Frank adds private dining rooms[1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The restaurant increased its seating capacity for the first time in 66 years through the addition of two private dining rooms.

• 2019

  Musso & Frank Grill celebrates its centennial[1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The restaurant marked 100 years since its opening in Hollywood and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first restaurant to receive that distinction.

• 2008

  GQ names Musso & Frank the best place for a martini in America[1]Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  GQ recognized the restaurant for its martini service, reinforcing the bar's importance to the Musso & Frank identity.

1. 1Musso & Frank Grillen.wikipedia.org