On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: Steakhouses [Edit]
Neighborhood: Granada HillsThis is the worlds easiest place to drive by a million times and never notice it...OR IF you DO notice it you will think..."the parking is too difficult and I do not wanna bother" OR "That place doesn't look special - even tacky"
THAT IS A MISTAKE!!!
From the outside it looks like a bar (and there is one inside) but do not be put off by the appearance and lack of windows.
This place is great and special on so many levels.
First - it is a step into a time machine back to the late 1950's or early 60's (it is a matter of perspective whether that is a long time ago or not - depending what point you are trying to make! LOL)...the decor is classic from the period and is a treat for that alone...BUT
SECONDLY...this is a great little steakhouse with great food...a real surprise.
The waitresses must had been here sinc ethe palce opened and are friendly. Service is good.
Prices are good.
If you are in the Valley. This is definietly worth the trip for a special - out o fthe ordinary - experience.
You will not be disappointed for sure if travelling back in time while enjoying exceptional food is your thing. If not, there is always Sizzler!
I've drivin past this place a million times. The large and cartoonish "Safari Room" sign, with a zulu and his spear, is impossible to miss.
I decided, finally, to satisfy my curiousity. As I slowly opened the front door on Devonshire & Sepulveda, I feared I was walking into a dump. But I was wrong.
I was immediately impressed. The Safari Room is a throwback of modest 1950s bar and steakhouse, with random zulu and safari pictorials on the walls. The Safar Room is also bigger than I thought. Its a bar mostly, but the seating area is plentiful and roomy. There is enough room between the bar area and the seating booths to where you can still feel like you are in a restaurant.
A very polite host greeted and sat us, which I didn't expect. The steak dinner was good and inexpensive. The mixed drinks were STRONG, and also inexpensive.
The waitress was nice, and efficient, though a little bossy. But that's OK. I'd rather have a bossy waitress with a slight attitude, than an airhead. I think she's used to serving senior citizens who can't hear or understand things.
Additionally, the Safari Room is a good place to catch a ballgame. The TVs are not ginormous flat screens with surround-sound, so you won't get the same effect as when you go to Hooters. Rather, the Tvs are smaller and it feels more intimate and relaxed. I noticed a lot of happy locals enjoying the Cowboys-Giants game.
I appreciate that places like the Safari Room, which is 55 years old, are still around and maintain the same level of friendliness and service. I'll be back.
When I was a kid, I always assumed that assorted sex acts transpired in the Safari Room. I mean there's a 24 hour adult bookstore next door, and the bakery across the street has a wide assortment of adult cakes. And there are no windows on the joint. I just assumed this was the Valley's red light district.
I ate there for the first time recently, and while I was disappointed by the utter lack of a sex show, I was pleasantly surprised by the food and service.
It's a red-leather type steakhouse with great prices and down to Earth folks. AND FREE CELERY! Try the prime rib and the home made ranch dressing . . . not together .
This place has prime rib available every single night of the week! You can't get that at your fancy expensive big chain restaurant that serves it Friday and Saturday night only. This place is easy to pass by because it looks like a dive bar and in some respects it is. I'm in my early fourties and my girlfriend is in her mid thirties and we love this place because we can enter the building and bring down the average age by 10+ years. Oh yeah, the food is reliably good with prime rib always available. Ask for Steve as your waiter, he's great and always makes us laugh. Did I mention they have prime rib every night?
Like stepping back to the early 60's. Bow tied waiters. Full bar runs the length of the restaurant. Very clean in side. Decorated with African curios. Great for steak and mixed drinks. Home made soups. Strange location for this moderately upscale restaurant, but it is nice to find someplace a bit classy north of Ventura Bl.
This place is fabulous! My grandma lives a couple of blocks from The Safari Room and I can't tell you how many times I've driven past it. I saw all the great reviews on here and we decided to finally give it a try. This place is so good we've already been here the last 2 Sundays in a row for brunch. I can't speak for the dinner but the breakfast here is excellent.
The decor and service is way better than the crap you'd get at Denny's for less money and no wait. The portions are huge and well priced (10.95 for steak, 3 eggs, potatoes and toast is great deal to me!). The french toast is to die for and the omelets are filled to the brim. Their home fries are delicious too! Yes, it's an older crowd but I think that's what gives this place it's charm. It does look a little sketch from the outside but I promise you will be pleasantly surprised once you step inside. I can't wait to come back and try dinner here, which I'm sure is also a slum dunk.
We took my mother here for her birthday last weekend. I was searching for a quality steakhouse, without the pretension or crowds of people that steakhouses in Los Angeles (and the Valley) sometimes attract... yet I didn't want to take her to Sizzler or the Sherman Room.
I read some reviews and made up my mind: this would be HER birthday dinner place. None of us had been there before, so we were excited and a little nervous about trying this place out.
It was marvelous. It's a smaller place in a commercial area of Mission HIlls... they have a huge bar area and a dining area with white linen tablecloths and cute, funky, vintage Safari/leopard print decor. Our waiter was hilarious, and very kind. He saw to it that we had everything we could ask for... and even brought my mama a birthday sundae, and sang to her in Italian. :)
I ordered the bacon-wrapped Filet mignon with the twice-baked "Evil potato" (as the waiter put it). Evil, indeed... full of cheese, butter, and sour cream mixed and packed back into the spud. The steak was cooked perfectly, and was served with some dipping sauce I could not get enough of--though the steak didn't need it. My other family members enjoyed their cuts of steak, and said that the homemade chicken barley soup was fantastic.
In summation, I really, really like this place. A lot. I believe it's probably a well-kept secret, but I do not mind letting this cat out of the bag... the kitty in question being expensive-tasting food for a not-so-expensive price that you can enjoy in a cozy, cute atmosphere. Come here, bring your friends, and revel in the good things in life.
I love this place. I'm giving it 5 stars because of where it is located - there is nothing in Mission Hills as good as this place for the price. It looks like a bar when you walk in - but it has plenty of seating. Parking can be a challenge so be prepared. The best thing I have had here is the steak salad - really good. They have other steak specials and they do not skimp on portions - I usually end up taking it home. Prices are fair and I just like coming here - it has a 60s feel to it, but it is clean and the servers are friendly. Drinks are good and not overpriced.
This place is as good as it gets in the Valley. I've been eating here since I was a pup growing up in Granada Hills. The kind of place you have to have a little nerve to walk into for the first time - not sure whether you'll be welcomed or met by unapproving glances from the regs at the bar - but never fear, the maitre d and wait staff are awesome and original I think. The food is classic steakhouse/supper club fare. The drinks are stout and service is friendly and quick. It is my dive of choice when I head back to visit my folks in GH.
This is not really my type of hangout but the food seems good. I recommend the fried clams and other appetizers.
At first I was very disappointed when my Captain Morgan and Coke came in such a small glass and was not the strongest, but I asked for a taller glass and the next one was larger and stronger just how I like them.
Seems like a much older crowd, which is all good, but the parking situation sucks.
Definitely very old-school but extremely friendly place that might put you off at first. Our party arrived around 8:15 PM only to find the parking lot empty-- and the building with only a handful of patrons-- including one baleful rummy at the bar. We'd even made a reservation, which now seemed entirely superfluous. We almost left. But, too embarrassed by the fact that we'd turned up and the genial manager (not to mention our eldery waitress) noticed us, we decided to suck it up and give it a shot.
Much to our surprise, the food was top-notch. It's old-school supper-club fare, with a steak sandwich that's far from the sliced-down-the-middle subpar slab of beef you usually get. It's a nice-sized "petite filet" served atop a big piece of garlic bread. The onion rings that came on the side were excellent -- real onions, not frozen -- and the vegetable beef soup was hearty and homemade. The others in our party (a birthday bash that did not go unnoticed by our waitress, who brought the man of the hour an ice-cream sundae) were equally impressed, with the chopped steak getting high marks. The mai tai I had was good, too, even though it doesn't really match the traditional Trader Vic's recipe. The only negative was the bread brought to the table, which was stale and dry.
The decor brings you back to a time when people drank scotch at lunch and ate beef seven times a week, with a row of African spears at the front of the dining room and a pair of rifles (supposedly the old owner's hunting guns) displayed on the rear wall. And the service is attentive, quick and very friendly, particularly after our initial reticence.
Like Damon's and The Buggy Whip, the Safari Room hearkens back to days of LA past. It's worth the trip. Just don't be put off by the empty room if you come in late.
Great steak and prime rib, baked potato perfection, veggies done just right, salad with good greens and the best ranch dressing made fresh on the premises, added to that was a lovely martini and comedy from the waiter. Comfy, sixties Trader Vic-style atmosphere with "regulars" at the bar. Loved it. We will return. (Also of note, these older joints tend to be smelly and unkempt, but this place is clean and pleasant and staff very courteous and efficient)
This place is amazing in a very special way. You will probably recognize it when you first walk in the door. In this post-hipster era we have moved beyond the ironic fashion and facial hair. I do not know what the new era will bring. But I rest comfortable in my knowledge that The Safari Room will stay true to its essence come what may. A common description of the decor for the safari room is that it is kitsch without the irony. I reject strongly this notion as it implies an inherent cynicism which you will just not find at The Safari Room. The place is legit. It is what it is and what it probably has been for 25 or 30 years. It has been my pleasure to dine there on several occasions, and in every case I have felt as pampered and welcome as I would if I had been frequenting the place for those same 25 or 30 years.
The food is impressive. North Hills is not (yet) known for its cuisine. But The Safari Room delivers some serious comfort food done right. Steak sandwich...prime rib...fish and chips...home made bleu cheese dressing...buffalo wings...all are superb. How do they do it? They have been making comfort food before it was 'comfort food' and before we all jumped on the meatloaf fanwagon. In short, The Safari Room is a surprising gem in the North Valley. Give it a shot next time you find yourself in North Hills, Granada Hills or Northridge.
I began frequenting Safari Room when I was a Contract Programmer for San Fernando Community Hospital (does this still exist?) in the early 90s. I have always liked entering places in dubious neighborhoods with interesting names... and this restaurant / bar is one of them.
I noticed the Safari Room sign and knew at once I wanted to know what this place had to offer, whether it was drinks or eats. When you enter Safari Room, there is a pretty big and dark bar area to the left; to the right fairly lit is the dining area that will surprise you with white table-cloth tables which comprises around 2/3 of the establishment. Most of the seating are booths lining the walls of the dining area with stand-alone tables in the center.
I happened to drive by Mission Hills on the way to Phoenix this weekend; my sister and I went there for dinner.
The decor is a throwback to the 50s! The walls are decorated with a variety of Zulu spears, masks and shields, and pictures of lions and animals and rifles! Conversing with one of the waitresses that had been there for over fifteen years, I understood that Jim Gentry acquired this place around thirty years ago along with Fin and Feather (another eatery way back when) and I guess he just wanted to keep the decor similar in an animal type of theme..
I judge by the length of the bar as you walk in that the emphasis of this establishment is on the bar and not especially on the restaurant. There are a couple of TVs blasting away on the Sunday NBA game between the Nuggets and the Cavaliers.
The place seems to have a regular clientele, mostly people in their 50s or 60s that have probably been eating and drinking there since it opened. When I was working for San Fernando Community Hospital, I brought the head of the Transcription Department over here for dinner; I later heard that the Safari Room was her current watering hole. The waitresses were oldies but goodies too; their service and attentiveness is also a throwback to the good-ol' days.
Food was especially good, if you like traditional American! With every meal you'll receive a bowl filled with cold stalks of celery, green onions, and carrots. Besides the small side salad or soup and bread that comes with every meal, we ordered Sauteed Mushrooms which was a huge portion (although I think my concoction of Sauteed Mushrooms is a lot tastier!). My sister had Liver and Onions which consisted of two great big pieces of liver! I had the Sunday New York Special in Safari Room's Special Sauce which was an Oriental salty bean concoction which I had not tasted in ten years (at least!). The side on both dishes was twice baked potato which was very good.
LIke most restaurants frequented by couples in their 50s and 60s, you will feel out of place if you don't dress at least business casual. I think frequenting Safari Room, for them at least, is a real night out with friends or the spouse; and they dress up upper middle class!
You will find Safari Room serves basic American Food at very reasonable prices, And their African Safari theme is not to be missed! Even if it is dated. I recommend Safari Room heartily.
Come early because the kitchen is open during senior citizen hours. We came at 10pm one Saturday and were told the kitchen was closed. The food is excellent and everything is made from scratch. Definetely order the fried clams appetizer and the bacon wrapped filet with twice baked potato; the liver and onions are also delicious. It seems to be a cougar den some nights.
Not your dad's steak house anymore... the parking lot is full of Cadillacs and Buicks. But go there and this place will become your steak house. Truly kitsch, and they don't even know it. Make sure your server is Helen. We get the fried clam strips for appetizers along with martinis and gimlets. Main course: chared rare filet done perfectly with all the trimmings.
this is the only place left in town that you can still smoke in. why because they said so. this is also the only place that if you order a steak rare and cold they will slap it on a plate and bring it out. good food good fun good place.
Neighborhood: Granada Hills
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Lake Balboa
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Granada Hills
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: Northridge
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Granada Hills
Category: Argentine
Loading...
