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Seeing Stars: Where the Stars Dine..
KATE MANTILINI
9101 Wilshire
Blvd,
Beverly Hills, CA. / (310) 278-3699
Alas, it has been announced that Kate Mantilini will close its doors on June 14, 2014, due to a rent increase.
Mel Brooks lamented the upcoming closing in an article in the Hollywood Reporter,
saying, in part: "It's heartbreaking. This is really -- seriously, I
gotta tell you -- this is a bad thing... There's nothing else like Kate
Mantilini. There are going to be a lot of disappointed people. I'll be
there tonight and every night until it closes."
I will keep this page up for a while, for anyone interested in reading
about the restaurant. But keep in mind that it was written when
Kate Mantilini was open for business.
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Kate
Mantilini opened in 1987, and by L.A.
standards that makes it an oldie but a goodie.
Located right on
busy Wilshire Blvd., this restaurant has had a celebrity and industry following
for years. Breakfast sees the suits - the agents and power-brokers who
make and break careers over French toast. Before lunch, the celebs start
drifting in.
It's mostly American
diner fare served here: a great breakfast menu, burgers, meat loaf,
macaroni & cheese, white chili, steaks & mashed potatoes...
but this comfort food comes at higher prices than you'd find in any
standard diner.
For the extra money,
you get good food, white linen on the table, and the possibility of of
seeing Brad Pitt or
Cameron Diaz
or Jodi Foster
slip into one of the booths for a magazine
interview or a meeting with a producer. People-watching is one of the main
attractions here.
For a Beverly
Hills
restaurant, it's an informal place, made of stainless steel and big
windows
with a view of Wilshire (and offering passersby a view of the diners).
Like many Hollywood landmarks, Kate's is open late, so it gets lots of
stars coming home from evenings out at premieres, as well as events at
the nearby Academy building and Writers Guild headquarters. They
can have dinner here and then just walk two blocks to an Academy
screening.
Who? No need
for insider tips here. A simple Google scan turns up more celebrity sightings
than you can count: Antonio Banderas
chowing down on their spaghetti with meatballs. Snoop
Dogg talking to an agent. The Stones'
Mick Jagger
passing on dessert. Dawson Creek's
James Van Der Beek
dining with two girls. Star
Trek's 'Seven of Nine', Jeri Ryan,
combining breakfast and a magazine interview. Topher
Grace (of That 70's Show) was spotted
there. Kevin Sorbo
(Hercules, Andromeda) says its his favorite breakfast spot.
Tom Cruise
arrived on a motorcycle at Kate Manitelli's, had dinner, posed with fans
for pictures, and rode off... Josh Brolin
and Diane Lane
met at Kate's during a premiere party for "A Beautiful
Mind" (and were married three years later).
One fan reports having
Donald Sutherland
seated next to his table. Speaking of Sutherland, his director in M*A*S*H,
Robert Altman,
showed up one evening, following a screening of his classic Nashville,
with most of that movie's cast in tow.
Who else? How
about Jerry Seinfeld,
Drew Barrymore,
George Clooney,
Nicole Kidman,
Sydney Poitier,
Toby Maguire,
Ben Affleck,
Adam Sandler,
Matthew Perry,
Jennifer Garner,
Samuel L. Jackson,
Stevie Wonder,
Tom Selleck, Billy
Bob Thorton, Kirsten Dunst,
Matt Dillon,
Queen Latifah,
Keri Russell,
Whitney Houston,
David Duchovny,
Claire Danes,
Magic Johnson,
Gary Shandling,
Winona Ryder,
Jamie Kennedy,
Susan Dey,
Joseph Bologna...
Robert Downey
Jr. says that back in 1997, he met a director
at Kate Mantilini's bar. Downey arrived shoeless and packing a semi-concealed
pistol in a purse. The director noticed the gun, but still hired him for
the movie One Night Stand.
Legendary director
Billy Wilder
(Some Like It Hot, Sunset Blvd) was a regular. He always
ordered calves brains, so they kept them in stock for him, even though
not many other people ordered them. He was also the only person they let
make a reservation - in a restaurant that doesn't take reservations.
Even the waiters
here have become famous... sometimes. Buffy the Vampire Slayer's 'Xander',
Nicholas Brendon
used to wait tables here, and so did Billy Crystal's
daughter, Jennifer Crystal,
until she finally landed an acting role.
They've even shot
movies here. Remember the first head-to-head meeting, over coffee, between
Al Pacino
and Robert De Niro
in the 1995 film Heat? Director Michael Mann shot that scene
in Kate Mantilini's main dining room.
Kate Mantilini's
was the creation of Marilyn and Harry Lewis, who also created the successful
Hamburger Hamlet chain.
Harry Lewis was an
actor under contract with Warner Bros. He played the memorable character,
"Toots", in John Huston’s classic Key Largo, starring
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson.
Marilyn Lewis was
one of the most successful clothing designers in the fashion industry,
designing the costumes for Marlo Thomas in That Girl and
creating her own highly successful Cardinali clothing line.
After Harry told
Marilyn on their first date that he had always dreamed of opening a small
bistro where industry people could meet, Marilyn went to work on the Hamlet
menu and found a space. She convinced Harry to invest his last $3,500
in the lease, despite the fact that she didn't even know how to cook at
the time. It was a good bet. A few years ago, they sold the Hamburger
Hamlet chain for $33 million. (By the way, they named it Hamburger
Hamlet because every actor dreams of playing Hamlet...)
So why did they name
this restaurant Kate Mantilini? Kate was the first female boxing
promoter, and a close "friend" of the owner's uncle... explaining
the large boxing mural on the wall.
People argue about
whether Kate's menu is overpriced or reasonable... (Some might find the prices high for homestyle American
food.) But if you want to keep the tab down, try breakfast or lunch.
Hours: 7:30 a.m.
to 1 a.m. on weekdays; open until 2 a.m. on Fridays; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Sundays. Breakfast, lunch and
dinner daily. Sunday brunch. Valet parking.
Getting
there: from
Rodeo Drive, drive east on Wilshire Blvd, about eight blocks, to just before
Doheny Drive. The restaurant will be on your left (north) side.
Looking
for something in particular? Search the Seeing-Stars website!
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