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Don't be fooled by the post-apocalyptic whitewashed brick exterior, the Safari Room in Mission Hills is a gateway straight to Africa. At least that's how it will feel when you step into the low-slung space. In every corner there are spears and shields, palm fronds and ceremonial masks. Rumor has it the elephant gun hanging on the wall is loaded, so play it cool as you make your way to a black vinyl booth. The food is classic chophouse, with thick steaks, stiff cocktails and a nightly prime rib that comes highly recommended. If you're only here for the bar, you may be slightly disappointed in the lack of dingy-is-cool ironic dive bar vibes; this is exactly as advertised, with no pretense to the contrary. They do make a pretty decent mai tai, though.
What ever happened to having a nice atmosphere, along with delicious food, tasty drinks and excellent service? Want a change from bleak white sterile walls of the usual and a get away from the computer age restaurants? You'll find it at The Safari Room. You will enter into an exotic world of the jungle, minus the wild animals. Instead, you will find friendly people, willing and ready to serve your appetite, with a variety of delicious food and your thirst, with all sorts of tasty drinks. The Safari Room is truly a GEM of, the one of a kind restaurant, left in the San Fernando Valley.
The old-school themed restaurant was a peculiarly mid-20th-century American institution, wherein a straight-up steak house operated within an exotic, painstakingly dressed setting. In the bleak, post–Trader Vic's era, Glendale tiki shrine Damon's Steakhouse is perhaps the highest-profile survivor. But deep within the darkest heart of the San Fernando Valley (well, the Granada Hills–Mission Hills cusp, really) there lies a stunning example of the form — the long-running, Afrocentric beauty known as the Safari Room. The exterior resembles nothing so much as a postapocalyptic stack of whitewashed bricks, and the witch-doctor-emblazoned signage leads one to expect a crummy dive bar. But one glimpse inside the door reveals a trove of mid-century exotica: a tall row of spears, ceremonial masks and tribal shields. Divided between a long, dark bar and cocktail lounge on the left and a dining room on the right, packed with black, leopard-skin-trimmed banquettes, the Mogambo motif is magnificently executed throughout, up to and including some formidable weaponry (the high-caliber elephant gun mounted on the rear wall was reportedly the original owner's hunting piece). The only thing lacking is some big-game taxidermy. And the food is first rate, with every sauce, dressing and gravy "proudly" prepared on site. Getting stranded in the jungle has never been so enjoyable.—Jonny Whiteside
The old-school themed restaurant was a peculiarly mid-20th-century American institution, wherein a straight-up steak house operated within an exotic, painstakingly dressed setting. In the bleak, post–Trader Vic's era, Glendale tiki shrine Damon's Steakhouse is perhaps the highest-profile survivor. But deep within the darkest heart of the San Fernando Valley (well, the Granada Hills–Mission Hills cusp, really) there lies a stunning example of the form -- the long-running,... More »
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