Brentwood is home to some of Hollywood’s most beautiful A-listers and its new neighborhood steakhouse Baltaire is appropriately stunning, too. In a departure from the dark woods and opulent fabrics of traditional steakhouses, Baltaire’s 68-seat main dining room and vast 2,500 square-foot terrace, which seats 90, are elegant but relaxed with stylish mid-century décor. (A low-lit cocktail lounge adjacent to the dining room does preserve the classic steakhouse ambiance with brown leather Chesterfield sofas, plaid patterned furniture and a baby grand piano.)
It was still light out when we arrived for a recent dinner. Seated in the dining room near an unlit fireplace, we could see the dusky sunlight illuminating the patio, which is hidden from the street by plantation shades and lush vegetation. We had clear sight lines of the lively bar scene and the open-air kitchen. On any given night, the view typically includes local celebs; spotted here recently were Family Guy’s Seth McFarlane, television legend Norman Lear and actors Bruce Willis and Matt Damon dining with their wives. Behind us, two events were taking place in the private dining rooms, which together accommodate 50 guests. Located next to the 3,000-bottle wine cellar, the event space is equipped with two 55-inch flat-screen monitors.  (The terrace is also available for private events, and the entire restaurant is offered for buyouts).
Our table was de rigueur white-clothed and offset by comfy green chairs accenting the mostly chocolate and mocha-shaded furnishings. Surrounding us were diners tippling handcrafted cocktails such as the Baltaire Julep or big glasses of vino to match their over-sized portions of steakhouse fare such as 22-ounce bone-in ribeye or the Dover Sole, sautĂ©ed whole and then filleted tableside (a nifty action to watch). Â
The food is helmed by Chef Travis Strickland who traveled from the Midwest to oversee this dining endeavor. His prior work includes some top-notch steakhouses such as Chicago Cut Steakhouse and the Local Chicago. He also worked at the famed Blackberry Farms in Tennessee, nationally noted for its flair in using farm-fresh ingredients. Strickland brings some of that freshness to steakhouse fare with the Greek Salad served tableside and a crunchy Shaved Vegetable Salad of beets, carrots and Maytag bleu in a citrus vinaigrette. He has also crafted a seafood menu offering Alaskan king crab, steamed or chilled, and an awesome jumbo shrimp cocktail, and a Shellfish Plateau. Lastly, Chef Strickland creates mighty delicious pastries, which are hard to choose among; standouts include the Powdered Beignets with Three Dipping Sauces and an old-fashioned Upside Down Pineapple Cake that is better than your Midwestern grandma’s.
It’s hard to take your leave of a place so redolent of restaurants past, yet so much in the present. And why do so, when the party can belly-up to the bar and have a glass of Calvados DuPont 1989 while listening to a live jazz pianist?
