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Taylor Swift’s new song “Elizabeth Taylor” name-checks Musso & Frank Grill, the storied Hollywood restaurant that has long been a favorite among celebrities.
Opened in 1919, Musso’s preserves its old-Hollywood charm with red leather banquettes, uniformed servers, and a menu featuring classics from a bygone era.
Beloved for its perfectly chilled Martinis and enduring sense of glamour, the restaurant continues to attract both locals and stars — though Swift’s favorite booth remains a mystery.
When Taylor Swift visits a restaurant, it makes headlines. But it’s not often that she name-checks one in a song. (Swift recently dispelled the rumor that The Black Dog inspired a song of the same name in 2023, though it brought colossal attention and business to the London pub.)
On “Elizabeth Taylor,” the second track of her 12th album The Life of a Showgirl, Swift sings, “We hit the best booth, at Musso & Frank’s / They say I’m bad news, I just say thanks.”
Musso & Frank Grill serves as a fitting backdrop for a song about ex-lovers who couldn’t handle the narrator’s fame. As Hollywood’s oldest restaurant, “Musso’s” has hosted an impressive list of celebrities, including the big-screen legend that inspired the song.
According to the official website, restaurateurs Frank Toulet and Joseph Musso opened Musso & Frank in 1919 on Hollywood Boulevard, and soon hired French chef Jean Rue. In 1927, they sold the restaurant to Italian immigrants Joseph Carissimi and John Mosso, who moved it next door to its current location but kept much of the menu. Today, it’s owned and operated by Mosso’s three granddaughters and their children.
Courtesy of Musso & Frank’s
Several booths at Musso & Frank are informally named for the celebrities who once frequented them, such as Frank Sinatra.
With its red leather banquettes, uniformed servers, and menu of forgotten classics, Musso’s evokes old-Hollywood glamour. When Food & Wine first featured Musso’s in 1979, it was already an emblem of a bygone era.
““[Musso & Frank] is as experimental as an old slipper and about as comfortable.””
Ruch Reichl in a 1984 Food & Wine article
“Outside, the street scene is seedy Hollywood; inside, the atmosphere is pure turn-of-the-century, as is the style of the hearty American cooking,” wrote noted San Francisco restaurant critic Jack Shelton. He praised the restaurant’s corned beef hash, chicken pot pie, bread and butter pudding, and “renowned flannel cakes,” crepe-like pancakes that are still served there today.
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A decade later, Musso’s hadn’t changed a bit. In a 1984 Food & Wine article on essential Los Angeles restaurants, the legendary writer and critic Ruth Reichl called Musso & Frank “as experimental as an old slipper and about as comfortable. This means that the decor is a little bit dingy, the waiters — some of whom have been here forever — can be crabby, and the entire place is the antithesis of chic. Most of the natives couldn’t care less.”
On the menu, she wrote, “The food is from another era, a time before California had a ‘cuisine,’ when chickens came à la king or in pot pies, and cheese came from cows instead of goats and went into Welsh rarebit, not warm salads: a time when nobody used the term pasta and spaghetti was described as ‘Italienne.’”
Courtesy of Musso & Frank’s
Musso’s is known for its ice-cold, bone-dry Martinis.
It remains mostly unchanged today. There are all the trimmings of a classic steakhouse — like filet mignon and rib eye — along with mid-century relics of haute cuisine. Executive features editor Kat Kinsman raves about the sand dabs, a type of flounder served à la meunière, lightly dredged in flour and pan-fried in a butter sauce.
Senior drinks editor and Los Angeles resident Prairie Rose swears by its ice-cold, extremely dry Martinis, served without so much as a suggestion of vermouth. “It’s my favorite place to take out-of-towners,” she says.
Naturally, Swift’s lyrics have sparked questions about the corner she haunts at the restaurant.
Musso’s indeed has several booths that are connected to famous patrons. Its “Back Room” opened in 1934 as a haven for celebrities seeking privacy. When the lease expired, the Back Room’s original bar, light fixtures, and furniture were moved to a “New Room.” Today, several booths are attached to famous regulars, from Frank Sinatra and Charlie Chaplin to Jack Nicholson and the Rolling Stones. While Elizabeth Taylor herself wasn’t known to frequent a specific booth, her estate confirmed that she was a regular Back Room customer in the ’50s.
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As for Swift? In an email, a representative for Musso & Frank said the restaurant doesn’t comment on celebrities who visit. (They protect the family?) However, Mark Echevarria, the restaurant’s president and chief executive, confirmed to The New York Times that Swift is a customer.
“She does enjoy many different booths at the restaurant. I’ll leave it at that,” he told the publication.
Ultimately, though, the best booth at Musso & Frank’s might be no booth at all. “The best spot is always at the bar, with a Martini and sidecar,” says Rose.
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