Casa Vega from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

One of the things I most appreciate about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the lengths director Quentin Tarantino went to portray an authentic 1960s-era Los Angeles onscreen.  To that end, he featured several local historic restaurants from the time that are, thankfully, still around today, including Musso and Frank Grill, El Coyote, and Casa Vega.  The latter is a spot I am very familiar with.  I’ve dined at the Sherman Oaks landmark several times over the years and even blogged about it once back in 2008.  Due to its recent cameo, though, I figured a more current post was in order, so the Grim Cheaper and I headed out there for a bite last September.

Initially founded in 1956, Casa Vega was the brainchild of Rafael ‘Ray’ Vega, who grew up helping his parents run their own eatery, Café Caliente, on downtown L.A.’s famous Olvera Street.  He first set up shop in a small corner space at Ventura Boulevard and Mary Ellen Avenue.  The place was such a hit that, within two years, Ray needed to expand and he moved Casa Vega to its current location, a larger site two blocks west at 13301 Ventura.

One of Los Angeles’ oldest continuously operating restaurants, today Casa Vega is run by Ray’s daughter, Christina, who began working on the premises in 1999 upon graduating from college.  The eatery has remained just as popular as ever with her at the helm.

Little of the landmark site has been changed since opening day over six decades ago.  The lighting remains dim, the same tufted red leather booths line the walls, and the kitchen still spoons out dishes based on Ray’s mother’s recipes.  The fare is so delicious that Zagat even rated the place one of L.A.’s best Mexican spots!

Thanks to its stellar food and low lighting, Casa Vega has been a celebrity draw since the beginning.  Just a few of the luminaries who have been spotted on the premises over the years include Marlon Brando, Dean Martin, Desi Arnaz, Sandra Bullock, Al Pacino, Jane Fonda, Dyan Cannon, Cary Grant, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Mark Wahlberg, Heather Locklear, Avril Lavigne, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Aniston, Nick Lachey, Vanessa Minnillo, George Clooney, Michael Jackson, Gwen Stefani, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Nicole Richie, Joel Madden, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jake Gyllenhaal, Justin Timberlake, Charlize Theron, Anthony Hopkins, and Emma Watson.  Tarantino is also a huge fan of the restaurant, so it’s no surprise he chose to feature it in his latest flick.

Casa Vega actually pops up twice in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.  It first appears as the supposed Almeria, Spain-area restaurant where Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) tells Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) that he can no longer afford to keep him on as his right-hand man.

That segment took place in the dining room that sits adjacent to the bar.  As you can see below, Casa Vega’s rear door was swapped out with a more picturesque one for the shoot.

At the end of the movie, Casa Vega plays itself.  It is there that Cliff and Rick dine as a last hurrah before going their separate ways.

That scene was filmed in the rear corner booth of the restaurant’s main dining room.

The front of the eatery was also shown in the segment.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is not the only production to shoot at the acclaimed restaurant.  In the 1978 comedy The End, Wendell Sonny Lawson (Burt Reynolds) tracks his lawyer, Marty Lieberman (David Steinberg), down at Casa Vega and crashes his lunch.

Julie Richman (Deborah Foreman) and Randy (Nicolas Cage) walk by the eatery while on a date in the 1983 classic Valley Girl, though only its neon sign is shown.

Designer Jeff Lewis gives Casa Vega’s exterior and entrance a bit of a facelift in the fourth season of the reality show Flipping Out, which aired in 2010.

The Kardashians really like the place!  Per the Reality Tea website, the family’s eponymous series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, has filmed at the eatery no less than 6 times, including in the episodes “Kris’s Mother-in-Law,” “Design for Disaster,” “The New Normal,” “Cheers to That,” “Fire Escape,” and “Some Moms Just Wanna Have Fun” (pictured below), which aired in 2013.  Please forgive me for not posting caps from each episode – it took all I had just to scan through the one!

Eden Sassoon and Lisa Rinna lunch at Casa Vega in the Season 7 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills titled “Compromising Positions,” which aired in 2017.  While there Eden tells Lisa, “We love it here cause of the lighting.”

Casa Vega also apparently made an appearance in the Season 1 episode of Barnaby Jones titled “See Some Evil . . . Do Some Evil” back in 1973, but, unfortunately, I could not find the show available to stream anywhere.

Sadly, Casa Vega is currently closed to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Shuttering was not a move the restaurant took lightly.  In fact, per a 2016 Los Angeles Times write-up, Casa Vega was one of the few area establishments that was open for business the day after the Northridge Earthquake in 1994.  As Christina wrote on the eatery’s Instagram, “As soon as it is safe to welcome everyone to our bar and tables we will do so.  The storm can’t last forever.  The sun will come.  Margaritas will flow again.”  Cheers to that!

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Casa Vega, from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is located at 13301 Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.  The eatery is currently closed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Check its official website for updates.

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