Dining Solo on New Year’s Eve at an L.A. Steakhouse

You’re in Los Angeles and your friends are planning a big bash out on the town for New Year’s Eve. But first, dinner. Some in your group are pushing hard for sushi. Others are vegan. You want steak. You really want steak, and if you can’t convince them that red meat is the way to go, you may just go it alone and meet up with them later. Fortunately, L.A. has a lot of fine steakhouses that will treat you like a king when you’re dining alone.

 

Here are five of L.A.’s finest steakhouses, all smaller local places (not national chains) that welcome solo diners and will give you both personal service and a superb steak.

 

 

Nick &Stef’s Steakhouse.. On New Year’s Eve, Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse is like a sophisticated oasis of calm and relaxation. Sit down, spread out, and order one of their beautiful steaks, like the dry aged ribeye or the dry aged New York strip, both classics. Sauces like creamy mustard with cognac or blue cheese make for perfect plates. The good news is that tonight, you don’t have to share!

 

Chianina Steakhouse.  Chianina restaurant has a whole portion of the menu devoted to “individual cuts,” which is just perfect for you. There’s the Chianina petite filet, but if you’re really feeling hungry, go for the porterhouse, and why not? It’s New Year’s Eve! There’s also a menu section for “shared cuts,” but that’s not right for the night, or for you, right?

 

The Derby. The Derby is one of those old school places that won’t, as you approach the midnight hour, have any people dancing on tables wearing lamp shades.. It’s a quiet, more sedate space, just right for a single diner, and they’re serving steaks that are very suitable for one. There are twelve- and sixteen-ounce slow-roasted prime ribs, a Gary Steven’s prime Delmonico, and a sixteen-ounce Kansas City filet that will positively delight you.

 

 

Carlitos Gardel Steakhouse. With an Argentinian flare, Carlitos Gardel Steahouse lays out some Latin American cuts of meat that will make you very happy that you opted for steak on New Year’s Eve. There’s a Piedmontese bone-in short rib, a ribeye with a chimichurri glaze and USDA prime ribeye cap. To go with your steak, there’s a huge cellar of Argentinian reds. Even though you’re dining alone tonight, consider getting a bottle for yourself because…New Year’s Eve.

 

Gwen. In a long room lined with tables suitable for single diners, Gwen serves up food that’s been praised by Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer prize-winning food writer for the L.A. times. For New Year’s Eve, there’s an amazing lineup of foods: For your consideration: a Reed Anderson porterhouse aged fourteen days, as well as 30-day and 80-day bone-in ribeye steaks. All these outstanding products are butchered on site, ensuring peak freshness and red meat perfection, because on New Year’s Eve of all days, you should expect no less.

 

Okay, when you’re done with your steak, you can meet back up with your friends and tell them what they missed. Some will, no doubt, be envious. Happy New Year’s Eve!