Upon opening its doors in 1994, The Buffalo Club quickly established itself as a Los Angeles headliner offering fine dining and classic cocktails to the celebrated and in the know. More than 23 years later, The Buffalo Club continues to make an indelible mark as one of the city’s most iconic and beloved restaurants. And now, welcoming spring and summer, The Buffalo Club introduces an exciting array of new, seasonal dishes.
A full decade before the speakeasy fad first appeared, well ahead of the curve, The Buffalo Club launched as a Prohibition era supper club. Serving upscale New American cuisine with French influences, The Buffalo Club offers an innovative menu under the leadership of award-winning Executive Chef and Managing Partner Patrick Healy. Created by Owner and Founder Anthony Yerkovich, an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning writer and producer, the restaurant has continued to thrive since it first opened more than two decades ago—a rare feat in a city where restaurant trends and customer loyalties are constantly shifting.
“I was initiated into the world of fine dining by my grandmother at a young age. We dined in great French restaurants and had crepe flipping contests with my sister before I really knew what a crepe was. She taught me that cooking could be fun, but that proper technique was essential to becoming an accomplished chef,” Healy says.
“Technique continues to be the North Star in my kitchen to this day, and I particularly enjoy putting our seasonal bounty to good use as well,” he adds. “For spring, I’m focusing on new arrivals such as fava beans, artichokes and ramps, and we’re even incorporating some of these exciting vegetables into some of our classic dishes. Our customers love this time of year and the kitchen staff thrive on the challenge of creating new spring dishes.”
New spring additions to Healy’s internationally-inspired small plate menu include Grilled Thai Snapper, featuring a purée of three variations of locally grown peas (English peas, snap peas and pea shoots), mint, cilantro and a Vietnamese vinaigrette; and for main courses, Crisp Skin Mediterranean Seabass Barigoule, with baby artichokes, sautéed ramps, greens and an artichoke-olive oil emulsion, and Grilled Washimi Farms Pork Chop, apple-brined and served with fiddlehead ferns, Bloomsdale spinach, baked apple filled with cheddar mash and sage noisette butter. Other menu highlights not to be missed include the Oyster Shootout, a trio of oyster shooters seasoned with wasabi caviar-lime, ginger-soy and tomato-horseradish, Baby Zucchini Blossoms filled with Dungeness crab meat and scallop mousse with basil, lemon zest and vermouth-scallop cream, and the best Mac and Cheese in the city, with aged Vermont cheddar and a buttery breadcrumb crust.
A remarkable aspect of dining at The Buffalo Club is their tableside service which affords diners a glimpse into the skillful preparation of their dinner. The Aspen Ridge Double Rib Eye Chop grilled with thyme is carved right in front of you. The classic Beef Bourguignon is slow-braised in a cast-iron pot, its salt dough seal broken away at tableside releasing a steamy cloud of irresistible aroma. The Pan-Roasted Dover Sole is expertly fileted at tableside and finished with Beurre Meuniere. Featuring two sommeliers and impeccable service, The Buffalo Club is an ideal destination for discerning diners and provides exclusive areas as well for memorable special events.
In keeping with its inimitable classic style, The Buffalo Club’s bar offers the Prohibition era’s most celebrated cocktails as well as original, hand-crafted drinks utilizing fresh juices squeezed-to-order and house-infused syrups. For the whiskey aficionado, there is a world-class selection of hand-crafted, small batch Bourbons, Ryes and Scotch. Sit back and relax with a Sazerac (Templeton Rye, Absinthe, Peychaud Bitters, Simple Syrup), Clover Club (Gin, Lemon Juice, Egg Whites, Fresh Raspberries, Simple Syrup) or Deshler (Bourbon, Lillet Rouge, Grand Marnier, Peychaud Bitters), or sip on a refreshing house cocktail such as the Evergreen (Ford’s Gin, Muddled Cucumber and Mint, Green Chartreuse, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup), Baja Playa (Don Julio Tequila, Pomegranate and Lemon Juice, Agave Nectar, Angostura Bitters) or Cachacaberry (Sagatiba Cachaca, Muddled Lime and Blackberries, Simple Syrup). The extensive wine list and monthly seasonal cocktail specials are also outstanding.
“One of the most gratifying things about The Buffalo Club’s evolution is its ever-increasing capacity to fire on all cylinders all the time,” says Yerkovich. “In the restaurant business you’re only as good as last night. For The Buffalo Club that’s a wonderful, exciting challenge.”
The hidden gem that is The Buffalo Club offers guests two distinctly unique dining experiences. Inside, The Iroquois Room provides an elegant and memorable experience in a classic supper club setting. With Honduran mahogany paneling, sumptuous leather booths and turn-of-the-century artwork, its distinguished design creates a sense of timeless, old world charm unlike any room in Los Angeles. Custom French Limoges China, Florentine silverware, and Austrian crystal set the stage for a truly refined dining experience. Outside, for those seeking a casually-chic festive atmosphere, the Garden Courtyard presents a quintessential English garden hideaway, with the light of antique lantern sconces illuminating privet hedges, palms and night-flowering jasmine. The Courtyard Bar, with its 1920’s rum-runner design, opens to an inviting garden lounge where patrons can enjoy cocktails before or after dinner. Amber votives lend a warm glow and starry strings of lights float across the hedges making you feel as though you have found The Secret Garden.
