The Polo Lounge – A Rock Star Breakfast inside The Beverly Hills Hotel

The Polo Lounge

When I was a little girl my favorite movie was Troop Beverly Hills. This comedy movie has it all – an amazing cast, vibrant colors, fashion and fun. In one of many hilarious scenes, the girls of Troop BH get rained on as they’re camping in the Hollywood hills. This dreary incident forces them to abandon their adventures in the “wilderness” and seek refuge at The Beverly Hills Hotel. Thus, my love affair with the luxurious pink palace was born.

Now as an adult, whenever I need to escape a rainy situation and abandon all worries for several hours, I I enjoy a luxe meal inside The Polo Lounge.

Hotel California

I was humming “Hotel California” by the Eagles as our silver Mini Cooper slowly drove under the green and white stripped porte–cochère of the most famous hotel in California. This historic Beverly Hills landmark warmly greeted us with a peachy, pink facade and eye-catching exterior. The signature palm trees towered above us as they swayed lazily from side to side under a blue, 90210 sky.

The Eagles’ seductive rock melody played on repeat in my head as I envisioned all the celebrities, legends, and royalty that have visited this mystical destination (Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, John Lennon, etc.).

It was a typical, sunny Los Angeles morning and we had arrived for our breakfast reservations at The Polo Lounge inside The Beverly Hills Hotel.

The Pink Palace

My husband and I giddily navigated our way up the red carpet and entered through the large, glass doors where we were embraced by an elegant lobby. Displayed in the heart of the room was a decadent arrangement of flowers and an illuminating and whimsical chandelier. The ambiance of the room whispered seductively, “crème de la crème and effortlessly cool.”

Oh, and I enjoyed a mini celebrity sighting moment – Luann de Lesseps from The Real Housewives of New York walked coolly by me as we made our way past the front desk. On occasion I like to binge watch The Real Housewives of New York and Beverly Hills. So yeah, I was kinda excited that I got to see a RHONY; I swear she smiled at me, I’m sure she noticed my jaw dropped a little when I recognized her.

The Polo Lounge

The Polo Lounge entryway gave off major ‘Mad Men’ vibes with its sumptuous wood paneling, striking plaques, and dimly lit menu. Several meticulously curated photographs hung on the wall near the door, so we took a few moments to admire the rich legacy of this timeless Beverly Hills hideaway. After, we readily breezed through The Polo Lounge portal where we were transported into gourmet heaven.

Dress Code – Posh & Elegantly Casual

Full disclosure – I kinda expected to see Kevin Costner sitting in one of the booths, maybe spot a Kardashian at the bar, or hear Eddie Murphy laughing in a corner somewhere. On the contrary, the great majority of customers were not famous, but all were posh and elegantly casual.

The vibrant green walls, rich emerald carpets, enormous comfortable booths, and massive windows screamed ‘vintage glamour.’ It was a true, visual delicacy as the hostess directed us to our table.

Vintage Glamour

Since we were just a small party of two and arrived to a bustling Polo Lounge, I wasn’t too disappointed that we weren’t seated in an enormous booth in the center of the restaurant. However, we were placed in a mini booth, a romantic alcove that was absolutely spacious enough for just the two of us. The shimmering light beaming down on our breakfast table through the patio windows made our little nook sparkle and shine.

Opulent, Dignified And Warm

Immediately, the polite waiter came over and introduced himself  to us. He filled our glasses with water, and handed out the menus. I ordered a cappuccino and my husband ordered a coffee. I know this goes without saying, but nothing is better with a cappuccino or a coffee than mouth-watering pastries. We ordered the bakery basket: croissants, danishes and muffins. Everything in our $24 bakery basket was scrumptious. I will not hesitate to order this again on our next visit. It was just the right amount of pastries as well, it wasn’t ridiculously humongous nor too small either. We could have spent the entire morning alone indulging in this ‘bundle of pleasure pastries’ and ordering a massive amount of their hot, fresh coffee.

The Beverly Hills Hotel

For the main meal, I ordered the Eggs Benedict and added the butter-poached main lobster with the hollandaise sauce on the side. My meal also came with a single English muffin, spinach, asparagus, roasted tomato, and hash browns. My eggs were perfectly cooked, the hash brown was fresh and crispy. I’m usually not a big fan of hollandaise sauce, but this one in particular was very tasty.

Let’s see, would I order this $47 meal again? No, I think my portion size was just too small. Also, for the price of the meal, they could have been a little bit more generous with the lobster. This meal wasn’t impressive at all, it was lacking in flavor, and I don’t recommend it. But, if you’re an Eggs Benedict lobster fanatic and you’re just dying to try it…then maybe you’ll be more impressed with this meal than I was. Was it unappetizing or horrible? Absolutely not. It just wasn’t memorable or impressive.

Caviar And Lobster For Breakfast

My husband ordered the Smoked Salmon Soft Scramble which included: Crispy Potato Rösti, Chive Crème Fraîche, Sturgeon Caviar and toast.

Look, was this a horrible $36 plate of food? Not at all. Was this an unforgettable meal? Meh. Would I recommend it if this were to be your last breakfast on earth? Not at all. It was ok. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but it also didn’t impress him. It was good, not fantastic. The portion size with this salmon scramble was descent, they could have been more generous with the salmon. As you can see in the pictures, there’s a reasonable amount of scrambled eggs, but my husband claimed he could barely taste the salmon. The Chive Crème Fraîche was delightful, savory, and decadent. I’d like to add that the caviar was divine, and all in all, this was a pleasant breakfast meal.

The Polo Lounge Breakfast

The service was quick, polite and professional. Without ever having to ask, we were served with our personal size jam jars, cold butter, a variety of sweeteners for our coffee, refills of fresh water and coffee. A plethora of employee staff were constantly checking in on us, not just our waiter. At the end of our meal the manager came by for a brief little chat with us as well.

Breakfast At The Beverly Hills Hotel

Chic, Pink And Luxurious

Below is a few options that I have my eye on next time we go to The Polo Lounge for breakfast. Since obviously, we weren’t big fans of the seafood breakfast plates, I’m going to stick with more of a protein packed meal and top it off with something sweet:

TWO EGGS ANY STYLE – hash Browns, toast, and you can pick between bacon, sausage or ham.

We didn’t finish all the goodies in our pastry basket, so our leftover treats were packed in these chic, pink to go boxes.

Things we did NOT experience at The Polo Lounge:

• Pretentiousness ~ I didn’t notice any of this from the professional staff or other guests. I read horror stories online from dissatisfied customers that had horrible experiences from other well-known Beverly Hills restaurants. I’m pleased to report that I didn’t notice or feel any of that negativity on this occasion. Every single employee at The Beverly Hills Hotel & The Polo Lounge treated us like we were A-listers.
• Amateurish/Lazy Service ~ Honestly, every single employee at this fabulous place treated us like royalty. The hotel & restaurant staff were constantly offering to take pictures of us. Several of the staff members complimented my outfit (I’m sure they’re trained to do that, but I don’t mind.) There was always an employee willing to provide us with wonderful service. Seriously, I wouldn’t keep giving this place my money if it didn’t do its very best to live up to its hype.
• Sloppiness ~ Not at all. It is a pet peeve of mine when I patronize an upscale establishment and it’s messy or downright filthy. Nothing was dusty, the ladies room was flawless, and our dining table…immaculate. Everything at The Beverly Hills Hotel & Polo Lounge was clean, neat, and presentable.

The Grand Dame Of All Southern California Hotels

After finishing our breakfast at The Polo Lounge, we slowly meandered around ‘the Pink Lady’ to try to walk off a little of our breakfast. We explored several hallways and admired their signature banana leaf wallpaper. A grand staircase led us downstairs to their coffee shop, hair salon, gift shop and pool. The gift shop was filled with upscale leisure souvenirs that had the classic banana leaf design kissed all over them. I purchased a coffee mug, pink bathrobe and a couple of gourmet chocolate bars.

Troop Beverly Hills

As our morning was officially coming to an end, I reluctantly sashayed down the red carpet towards our car. Then, Troop Beverly Hills popped into my head and my heart joyfully melted. In that moment, I had an epiphany, all these swanky people that were walking on this red carpet maybe they had their own personal reasons for visiting The Beverly Hills Hotel. I warmly realized that these other visitors no longer seemed like strangers, but more like friends, because we all shared a mutual love and admiration for our Hotel California and its endearing legacy.

Have you visited The Polo Lounge inside The Beverly Hills Hotel? Please let me know in the comments section below.

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