555 East Awards

555 East Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Since 1984, this clubby restaurant with a traditional English décor has been serving hand-cut Prime steaks, aged 26 to 35 days and broiled at up to 1,600 degrees to sear the outside and keep the inside juicy. Despite the old-school steakhouse appearance, the fare has plenty of contemporary leanings.

Food & Drinks: First and second courses like calamari and tableside Caesar salad for two share menu space with grilled artichoke with basil or baked goat cheese with roasted garlic. All of the classic steak cuts, such as bone-in rib-eye and porterhouse, are available and ready to be served "Oscar style" with lump crab, asparagus and hollandaise or smothered with mushrooms and onions if you so choose. You can score seafood with confidence --- think crab cakes, lobster tails or wild Pacific swordfish --- as this eatery is under the same ownership as nearby King’s Fish House and L.A.’s Water Grill. The wine list offers plenty of full-bodied reds to complement the steaks; the lively pub-style bar, where a pianist plays on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, is stocked with single-malt Scotches and small-batch bourbons. For dessert, we’re partial to chocolate bread pudding with hazelnut ice cream, but consider the cheesecake, crème brûlée and soufflé, too.