After a 5 year wait…. Chateau Marmont, LA

I don’t know about you, but for me Chateau Marmont is one of those quintessentially LA places. Of course, I wanted to stay there but on my budget for LA trips that wasn’t going to be possible 😦 

So I always had my eye on just going for a meal. Breakfast is one of my favourites for going out, especially when you don’t want to bulk your bill out with booze and the menu at Chateau Marmont was no where near the extortionate amount I thought it would be (slightly less than Chiltern Firehouse in London). 

5 years later, Jax and I finally made our way here, and in the nick of time (the last day of her visit). 

We made sure we had our appetites ready with a Soulcycle visit before and then headed over for or first Chateau Marmont experience. 

I think we are probably the only people in the history of Chatau Marmont to walk up but it was just diagonally across the road from Soulcycle so we did it, who cares. The entrance is set up in a way that makes you feel like you need to know what to do, quite odd. It’s not a big foyer like you would normally expect in a grand hotel. Rather, you go in a small doorway and up a flight of stairs and enter into what feels like a grand house- I guess that is part of the exclusivity charm. 

As someone there for a meal or a drink you will only see this initial dining area and the patio area, so as a result, I still have not fulfilled my desire to sit out by the pool like they do in the movies and tv. Oh well, looks like I am just going to have to make friends with a movie or rock star (if anyone has any tips for that, let me know).

But do not despair, all is not lost on the patio. It’s beautiful and you feel like you are in some kind of secret oasis, it’s hard to believe you are on Sunset. I don’t have any pictures though as it is a strict no photos place, which in’t a big surprise. You will just have to trust me about how lovely it is.

It does seem like everyone there is there to be seen. People from ‘the industry’ talking about/selling their projects/themselves. Jax and I could not help but listen in to conversations, it’s just so surreal. My favourite involved a conversation about ‘mainland Portugal’ (who says that?) and how any churches there are. When the other person asked when the first person was there last it turned out they had never been! It was just ‘what one knows’. Hilarious!!! How weird is that? You will, no doubt be entertained.
So what about the food and our actual experience, rather than what we were eavesdropping in? 

It did not start well with them being out of every one of their ‘house pressed’ juices. How is that even possible? We also had an extremely odd waiter- someone who felt more like they were playing the role of a waiter but they hadn’t actually learnt their part properly. He was overly attentive and apologetic but didn’t seem to know what was available, and would disappear for ages to find out weird things like if they could make mint tea or provide tomato juice (in case you’re wondering, yes to tea, no to tomato juice).
We both went for the heuvos rancheros- I’m obsessed with Mexican breakfasts and Jax can’t get much of it in Sydney so it was a good goodbye LA breakkie. Again, a bit odd. Nice, but a bit odd. It came deconstructed which threw me for a minute. It was nice but in hindsight I don’t think it was the best choice. 

Probably should have gone for a more traditional breakfast like a benedict in this pace and saved the heuvos for a more real place (yes in my head Chateau Marmont is going in the not real category). I did, however, sneak a pic – I figure even some C list celebrity couldn’t make my eggs about them.

So would I go back for another shot at this surreal world? Ah, who am I kidding, probably with someone visiting. The lunch menu looks good, and I still want to see that pool!!