I love Lawry’s. Their food is excellent, and its a place to celebrate a special occasion or a a fancy night out. Having said that, the Beverly Hills location is probably my least favorite of the Lawry’s locations. 
The last time I was at Lawry’s Beverly Hills was probably the worse day, Valentine’s Day. This visit was on June 26, a Sunday and we were here to celebrate my Grandmother’s 88th Birthday.
Compared to our February visit, the place was not busy at all. There was plenty of waiting room and we even had the lounge with the free meatballs and chips to ourselves.
Our party was called about 15 minutes after check in. They placed us in the edge of the main dining room, with just 1/2 inch between the next table and the walkway. I had to suck in my gut and move closer to the table to let in the meat trolley. We were also just 1/2 inch from the next door group. My brother in law had to ask the guy in the next table to move over an inch so that he could sit comfortably. Those stuck in the middle of the long table could not get out again if they needed to use the toilet. That’s how crammed they were.
We had 2 servers, but none of the added “personal” touch you’d normally find at a table service for 2 or 4 people. In fact, I can’t even tell you the guy or gal’s name. They quickly told us the non prime rib features, took our drink orders, and grabbed our menus away. They came back and plopped a few shrimp cocktails on our table. For a while, no one touched it, until we were told that it was “on the house”. I still don’t know how we got them for free, but each person got 1 shrimp to share.
It may have been a big party, but they didn’t even try to show off their “Spinning Salad”. The lady just started making the salad, and started her monologue on the salad. No one could hear her as she did her “routine”… nor did she even bother to get anyone’s attention. She plated the salad, handed us the cold forks, and off she went to the next step.
When it came time to order our prime rib, the lady asked me what cut I wanted, and how I wanted. That’s part of the service. Then I said I wanted the cream corn on the side. No problem. However, there was 3 of us sharing the side dish, and she looked directly at me and said “You DO know this is a side dish for ONE person, right?” How dare she! I told her we were sharing not just the creamed corn but also the English peas. Besides, what’s her problem? If I wanted more food, I’d order more food.
By her saying that, it made Stephen question sharing the side with me and my sister. We just wanted a taste, so the 2 side plates would have easily been enough for 3 of us. I was very upset at the lady for that.
Earlier in the evening, when we were placing our order, my brother in law asked about the Rib Eye, and the waiter actually told him it was no good. My BIL ordered it anyway, and you know what?? It was probably one of the best darn Rib Eye he’s had in a long time!! I was very disappointed at how the waiter discredited the steak.
For dessert, we ordered the CC Brown Sundae which is supposed to be done table side. Apparently the waiter did prepare it tableside… the other side of the long table. We never saw our sundae being prepared, and on top of that he quickly dumped the ingredients in the bowl. It wasn’t pretty at all.
So to sum up my experience:
5 stars for the food. Always excellent!!
Service? 3 stars is being generous.
But overall? 3 star experience. I’d rather drive to Burbank and eat at Tam o’ Shanter or to Corona Del Mar’s 5 Crowns.
Our bill came to well over $1000, which means our servers got at least a $150 tip to share. This was not a cheap meal by any means. While Beverly Hills may be in a classy area, their service (especially for a large group) isn’t up to par with the other locations.
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