Above and left photo and menu are from the original Luau on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Below is a photo of the new Luau on Bedford Drive in the same city.
LUAU CLOSED
The New Luau opened to the public for dinner on Friday night October 24th.
369 North Bedford Drive
Tel. 310-274-0090 (reservations advisable)
A new Luau is open on Bedford Drive in Beverly HIlls however, it will not be a 100% tiki-type operation and will lean more to Balinese decor laced with Asian-influenced cooking with a menu put together by Mako Tanaka from Mako, Beverly Hills. There will be, I am happy to report, some tropical drinks based loosely on old recipes from the original Luau. There is no relationship whatsoever to the original Luau on Rodeo Drive that was opened in 1953 and was a popular celebrity hangout throughout the 50’s and 60’s, which closed in 1978. The Luau was owned by Steve Crane who was one of Lana Turner’s husbands. Their daughter Cheryl Crane became infamous due to stabbing her mother’s boyfriend gangster, Johnny Stompanato to death, although it was deemed justifiable. According to latest reports Ms Crane (an admitted lesbian) is currently a real-estate broker living with her female companion in Palm Springs. A decade earlier the same Rodeo location housed “The Tropics” owned by Harry Sugarman also popular with celebrities in the 40’s.
Regarding the comment below from Susie: flattery will get you everywhere! No, not really, but I do think the cause she is plugging is a good one so I allowed it to fly. K.M.
