Taylor Swift’s song “Elizabeth Taylor” has drawn attention to one of Hollywood’s oldest restaurants, Musso & Frank Grill, a landmark that has served actors, writers, and executives for more than a century.
Taylor Swift’s song “Elizabeth Taylor”
Taylor Swift’s 2025 song “Elizabeth Taylor” from her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” includes a brief mention of Musso & Frank Grill, placing the Hollywood restaurant in the spotlight. In the lyric, she sings, “We hit the best booth at Musso & Frank’s / They say I’m bad news, I just say thanks.”
Following the release of the song, interest in the restaurant increased as fans became curious about which booth might be referenced, often asking, "Can I get Taylor’s booth?” The restaurant’s president and chief executive, Mark Echeverria, confirmed that Swift has been a customer but mentioned, “She does enjoy many different booths in the restaurant,” without specifying one in particular.
Musso & Frank has long avoided commenting on celebrity visits, maintaining a policy of discretion. Staff members declined to identify where Swift sat or how often she dined there.
The restaurant continues to attract attention because of its connection to classic Hollywood figures, and Swift’s lyric has extended that recognition to a new audience.
History of Musso & Frank Grill
Musso & Frank opened Sept. 27, 1919, first under the name Frank’s Café at 6669 Hollywood Boulevard. Frank Toulet, in partnership with restaurateur Joseph Musso, hired French chef Jean Rue to craft the menu, parts of which remain today.
In 1927, two Italian immigrants, Joseph Carissimi and John Mosso, purchased the restaurant and relocated it to 6667 Hollywood Boulevard, where it still stands.
From 1934, the restaurant operated a “Back Room,” a private space for Hollywood’s elite. When that lease expired, the furniture, light fixtures, and bar of the original Back Room were moved into what is now called the “New Room.”
Today, Musso & Frank is owned and managed by three of John Mosso’s granddaughters and their descendants.
Musso & Frank Grill & Hollywood
Musso & Frank has long been associated with writers and film industry figures. As the Screen Writers Guild was situated nearby, authors began using the restaurant as a meeting place in the 1930s.
Authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, and Raymond Chandler worked late nights in the “Back Room.” Fitzgerald even proofread his novels from a booth there, and he reportedly mixed his own drinks behind the bar.
Over the decades, actors and film personalities also dined there. Charlie Chaplin reportedly lunched with Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, and Douglas Fairbanks, sometimes wagering on horse races down Hollywood Boulevard, and gloating over a plate of Musso’s most popular ‘Roast Lamb Kidneys’.
By the 1950s, the Back Room also hosted Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen, Jimmy Stewart, Rita Hayworth, and Groucho Marx, among others. The restaurant also became a literary haunt for later-generation writers such as Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut, and Charles Bukowski.
The restaurant has also appeared in several television series and films, including he most popular ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’.
In 2019, Musso & Frank marked its 100th anniversary and became the first restaurant to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Musso & Frank Grill menu and pricing
Musso & Frank still preserves much of its original menu, design, and service style. Many dishes from the earliest menu remain on offer today.
The menu features traditional American food, including steaks and seafood. Long-standing items include filet mignon, rib-eye, chicken pot pie, and lobster thermidor. The menu also features the popular flannel cakes, which date back to the early 1920s and have been made by their long-tenured chefs for over 30 years.
Most entrées range between $30 and $70, and cocktails and desserts can add to a typical check that exceeds $100 per person. Musso is also known for its martinis, served in chilled glasses and mixed without modern variations.
The restaurant holds pieces from its 1934 Back Room in the New Room, maintaining continuity of ambiance.
Musso & Frank Grill remains one of the oldest continuously operating restaurants in Hollywood. Its connection to generations of actors and writers has made it part of the city’s story. Taylor Swift’s reference in “Elizabeth Taylor” adds one more name to that history.
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