The Great Wall Chinese Restaurant from “I Love You, Man”

In Pretty Woman, Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) states that very few people surprise him.  I could say the same about filming locations.  One that did recently surprise me, though, was The Great Wall Chinese Restaurant in Reseda.  For years I had been under the impression that the engagement party scene from the 2009 comedy I Love You, Man had been shot at Hop Louie.  But when I sat down to write my post about the landmark Chinatown eatery back in March, I realized that, despite a misleading establishing shot pictured at the beginning of the segment, the restaurant’s interior most certainly did not match what was shown onscreen.  What the wha?  I got to Googling and eventually discovered that filming had actually taken place at The Great Wall.  What’s more, the eatery’s official website noted several other productions lensed on the premises!  So it, of course, went straight to the top of my To-Stalk List and the Grim Cheaper and I headed out there for lunch a few weeks later.

The Great Wall Chinese Restaurant is one of those rarest of Los Angeles anomalies – an eatery that has been around for multiple decades.

Originally established in 1984, the Mandarin/Szechwan restaurant is a neighborhood landmark.

The site’s rather drab exterior (excluding those fabulous red doors pictured above) belies little of the grandiosity of its interior.

Featuring Mandarin décor . . .

. . . and a striking gilded ceiling, the place is absolutely stunning!

I mean, look at that chandelier!

The restaurant is also much larger than its exterior would have you believe and consists of three areas – a massive main dining room;

a rear banquet room;

and a bar area situated near the entrance.

The eatery is extremely old school – in the best way possible.

The GC and I both commented on the fact that we hadn’t seen a Chinese restaurant like it in ages.

The place even has a Lazy Susan and serves hot tea via ceramic teapots upon entering!  Talk about bringing me back to my childhood!

Per LoopNet, The Great Wall, which appears to be for sale, raked in $38,350 in filming income last year alone!   And it is not very hard to see why.  The restaurant is just begging to be photographed!  Somehow, it even manages to come across more beautifully in pictures than it does in real life.  As such, location managers flock to it.

Though an establishing shot of Hop Louie was shown at the beginning of I Love You, Man’s engagement party scene and the restaurant was even referred to by that name in the segment . . .

. . . all actual filming took place at The Great Wall.

Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) and Zooey Rice’s (Rashida Jones) friends and family first gather in the bar area in the scene . . .

. . . and then head to the rear banquet room for dinner.

The interior of The Great Wall also pops up a few times as the inside of the Golden Wonton Restaurant & Orphanage in the 2007 comedy Norbit.

That same year, the restaurant appeared in Lucky You as the spot where Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) takes Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore) for a celebratory dinner.

Though the place isn’t referred to by name and is supposedly located in Las Vegas in the flick, “The Great Wall Restaurant” is visible on the menu Huck is holding in the scene.

At the end of the 2011 drama Drive, Driver (Ryan Gosling) meets with Bernie Rose (an unrecognizable Albert Brooks) at The Great Wall.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Great Wall Chinese Restaurant, from I Love You, Man, is located at 18331 Sherman Way in Reseda.  You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

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