On this Saint Patrick’s Day TV special, we will take you to the Tam O’Shanter, for their epic “St. Paddy’s Day Bash” and to celebrate their 101st Year Anniversary– which is a major historical Centennial milestone- being Los Angeles’ oldest restaurant owned and operated by the same family in the same location on 2980 Los Feliz Blvd. in “East Hollywood” and south of Burbank. The Tam kicked off its 101st Year Anniversary with a wild party, great authentic Irish food like Corned beef and Cabbage, & drinks like Green Beer, & live musical performances in a big white tent just outside of the restaurant, from 3 great authentic Irish Bands like: Whiskey Sunday- who are true Irish Americana: 
Whiskey Sunday started at about 8PM and went to about 11:30PM – performing authentic Irish music! They had the entire audience up on their feet, having the time of their lives, and singing along with some of the songs! Many people where wearing authentic Irish clothing, shoes and hats, but at least some green. People of all ages were dancing right in front of the stage, and a fun time was had by all! You can see their great musical performance on this TV show. 
John told us about the great history of the Tam dating back to when they were on a dirt road in when they opened up in July of 1922, how the local movie studios Execs like Walt Disney would eat their everyday since his movie studio didn’t have a commissary, and many legendary celebrities would go there on a regular basis. The Tam O’ Shanter still specializes in just the kind of comfort food that Walt liked: steak & potatoes. Walt’s favorite dish was “Toad In The Hole” – a Scottish mix of filet mignon, mushrooms, onions and Guinness gravy, all served in a Yorkshire Pudding. While he was eating at his table, Walt would doodle on the back of napkins the etchings for the rides and attractions that you can still see now in Disneyland! Those same etchings are imprinted in his table today! In fact, Walt Disney himself had his own reserved table there for himself right by the fireplace, that now has a plaque on it (see below photo). So YOU too can eat at exact same table as Walt Disney once did: the man that started it all, one of the pioneers of the movies and showbiz! Just call for reservations and ask for table #31. This is the most requested table in this restaurant.
The Tam O’Shanter was opened by Lawrence Frank and Walter Van de Kamp in 1922, and originally was named Montgomery’s Country Inn until 1925, so after 101 years the Tam is L.A.’s oldest continuously operating, same-family-owned restaurant- going back 4 generations, in the same location in Atwater Village, California, right near Griffith Park on Los Feliz Blvd. 
The Tam O’Shanter was named after a Robert Burns’ poem that recounts the story of farmer Tam who encounters a coven of witches. A beautiful witch, Nannie, wears a revealing ‘cutty sark’ or short dress and angrily pursues the spying Tam. He manages to narrowly escape but not before Nannie has ripped the tail from Tam’s poor horse, Maggie.
The Tam is world famous for its’ Scottish food like Prime Rib (see photo on left), and when in season: March and April- Corned beef and Cabbage, and of course on this special Saint Patrick’s Day: well over 1200 pounds of Corned beef, along with Beef Brisket and Green Beer! This traditional Irish dish is the centerpiece for St. Patrick’s Day. Corned beef and cabbage simmer with potatoes and carrots for a hearty dinner. At Tam’s the Corned beef just “melts in your mouth”, and the Prime Rib is “the best in world” !
The Tam is an off-the-radar industry enclave where it was not uncommon to spot John Wayne, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Walt Disney, Mary Pickford, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, Gloria Swanson, the Keystone Cops, Tom Mix in his leather chaps and ten-gallon hat, or Fatty Arbuckle in his suit and tie.
The Tam O’Shanter was used as a location for hit TV shows like “Glee” and “Mad Men”, but the restaurant’s history reaches back into the storied past of the Hollywood studio system. Nowadays many celebrities and “showbiz” people love to eat at the Tam, because they have more privacy since it is “off-the-radar” since it is out of the way from more of the regular “showbiz” – celebrity type of upscale locations like Hollywood and Beverly Hills. One of the greatest Directors of our time: Steven Spielberg enjoys going there when he likes to dine in an area where you wouldn’t expect to see him or other A-List Celebrities!
The 1940’s Disney boys’ club (and the few women among their ranks) had senior Disney animators that flocked to the Tam O’Shanter after hours, perhaps as much for its “tartan-clad waitresses” as for its cuisine. As the Disney boys aged into the studio’s venerable “Nine Old Men”, they kept eating and drinking at the Tam; and visited the restaurant so frequently over the years that it was dubbed the unofficial “studio commissary”. Walt himself favored the fireplace-adjacent Table 31, an inclination that the Tam O’Shanter now commemorates with the signature “Table 31” cocktail, as well as a plaque on the table itself.
The original owners Frank and Van de Kamp, who went on to co-own Lawry’s Restaurants, made Tam’s the very first location for Lawry’s; and commissioned Street Angel and Ben Hur art director Harry Oliver for the restaurant’s architectural design. With some help from movie-studio carpenters, Oliver constructed the Tam in the distinctive Storybook style (also seen in his Beverly Hills “Witch House”), and the restaurant’s whimsical facade has persevered through 101 years and several remodels. The Tam O’Shanter is also considered to be one of the first themed restaurants in the country; in other words, we have Frank and Van de Kamp to thank for Medieval Times.
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