OPEN: 1937–1987
LOCATION: 9170 Sunset Boulevard West Hollywood, CA 90069
ORIGINAL PHONE: BR 5-1397 and CR 6-7814
CUISINE: British Pub Fare
BUILDING STYLE: Colonial
CURRENTLY: Jaguar Dealership
Servers dish out food at the Cock ’n Bull’s buffet table, 1941.
JACK MORGAN, A FORMER WRITER AT MGM, HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO OWN AN ENGLISH PUB AS A HAPPY REMINDER OF HIS DAYS AS A STUDENT AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY. In the fall of 1937, his dream became a reality, and by 1968, the Cock ’n Bull reigned as the oldest restaurant on the Sunset Strip.
The Cock ’n Bull’s cozy interior displayed antiques and art that Morgan had collected during his travels. British Empire etchings and polished brass fixtures hung from the walls; pewter and porcelain sat on the tables. Mementoes of royalty, including a portrait of Queen Victoria, were placed throughout the pub, instead of the typical Hollywood celebrity photographs. A plaque also hung on the wall listing the names of deceased regulars, including actor Jack Webb. On the restaurant’s closing day, the plaque was marched down to Scandia (see page 173), which would become its new home.
The Cock ’n Bull was more of a private club than a restaurant. You would see the same people in the same booths on the same nights of the week, year after year. The menu was consistent as well, hardly changing at all over the years. Even the employees seemed to remain there forever. Ralph Olsen was a bartender at the Cock ’n Bull for fourteen years prior to becoming the pub’s manager. Chef Vivian Langford held her position for more than twenty-five years.
Errol Flynn, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, and Somerset Maugham were regulars around the bar, along with industry agents and deal-makers of the day. Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper often came to the Cock ’n Bull to observe its star patrons—what they ate, what they wore, what they said, and, of course, who they dined with. Hopper and her archrival, Louella Parsons, were the only members of the press allowed on the premises. One March night in 1938, Hopper was at the pub entertaining some friends from New York when she spotted a station wagon in front of the Cock ’n Bull packed with everything for a trip, including luggage strapped to the roof. Immediately, she knew exactly who was at the pub, eating dinner before leaving on a hunting trip: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. Hopper commented in her column the next day that the two must have been fighting because Lombard was wearing a crazy hat, knowing full well that Gable hated her in hats like that. Further proof of the brouhaha, according to Hopper, was that Gable was overeating, since he usually watched his diet carefully.
The restaurant’s hearty British pub fare was served as a daily buffet: prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, beefsteak and kidney pie, roasted ham, curries, and duck. Friday was fish day. The buffet, which also featured salads, house-made pickled beets, and steamed zucchini, cost $2.50 for lunch and $6.00 for dinner. The Sunday brunch buffet also included eggs, ham, sausages, kippers, and bloaters for $3.25. The Cock ’n Bull also had a pastry chef on its staff who produced an assortment of desserts ranging from dark chocolate cake to blueberry pie. The pub’s dessert specialties were English trifle and warmed crumpets. From 11:00 PM until closing, the kitchen served Welsh rarebit, and customers were allowed to play darts.
Postcard featuring the Cock ’n Bull.
In the 1940s, Jack Morgan created the famous Moscow Mule, a concoction made with ginger beer, vodka, and fresh lime juice poured over ice in a copper mug. Many celebrities had their own copper mugs (with their names engraved on them) that were kept behind the bar.
In 1987, John Morgan Jr., who took over the pub’s operations when his father died in 1974, decided to close the fifty-year-old restaurant after receiving an offer he could not refuse. The Cock ’n Bull was the longest-running restaurant of the Sunset Strip’s Golden Era, and one of the last of its establishments to close. Today, a plaque hangs outside the original entrance to the Cock ’n Bull building, which now houses a Beverly Hills Jaguar dealership. The inscription reads:
The Cock ’n Bull on Sunset Boulevard.
Janet Leigh and Tony Martin at a publicity luncheon at the Cock ’n Bull, 1951.
FORMER SITE OF
THE COCK ’N BULL RESTAURANT
(LICENSED VICTUALER)
FOUNDED DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF
HIS MAJESTY GEORGE VI’S REIGN
&
SITUATED IN THE REGION OF
SUNSET-UPON-THE-STRIP
CLOSE BY THE HAMLET OF HOLLYWOOD
MCMLXXII 