Saddle Peak Lodge from “Bones”

There is no shortage of historic restaurants in Los Angeles that have appeared onscreen.  Despite their abundance, I thought I was well-versed on pretty much all of them.  One I went completely unaware of for years, though, was Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas.  I only learned of the 100-plus-year-old eatery in March 2013 while searching for the general store featured in the Season 2 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Camping Trip.”  During my hunt, I came across screen captures of a 1960 Perry Mason episode lensed at Saddle Peak Lodge and the structure shown looked quite a bit like the market I was trying to track down, so I did some further digging.  Come to find out, the restaurant was expanded and remodeled significantly in the years following the Perry Mason shoot and most definitely was not the spot I had been searching for, but I was intrigued nonetheless – especially when I found out it had appeared in countless productions.  So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to see it shortly thereafter.  (Though I am happy to report that the location of the 90210 general store was eventually unearthed as 34813 Bouquet Canyon Road in Santa Clarita, the structure was sadly torn down in 2003.)

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Saddle Peak Lodge was originally established as a rustic one-room general store/roadhouse at the turn of the 19th Century.  Situated along a well-traveled road in the Santa Monica Mountains, visitors would pop in for a quick bite to eat or to pick up basic sundries while en route to their respective destinations.

Named in honor of a peak located nearby, the small market (which you can see an early photograph of here) stocked little besides sandwiches, drinks and basic goods.

It did not take long for the place to become a popular respite for the Hollywood set thanks to the many movie ranches located nearby.  Such stars as Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Milton Berle were all known to pop in when filming in the area.  In later years, Richard Burton, Ernest Borgnine, and members of the Rat Pack were frequent guests.

In the 1960s, Saddle Peak Lodge was purchased by Bud and Jean Simmert who transformed the establishment into a larger, more upscale restaurant.  It went through further renovations and expansions in 1985 after being acquired by Grand American Fare Inc., the enterprise that also founded the Oar House Bar & Buffalo Chips Restaurant in Santa Monica (which later became O’Brien’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, made famous in The Truth About Cats & Dogs).  The company’s owner Al Ehringer was responsible for creating the lodge-inspired aesthetic that still graces the eatery today.

The stone and wood space is both decidedly rustic and elegant at the same time.

And its patio is one of the most gorgeous in all of L.A.

As such, Saddle Peak Lodge has become one of the area’s most popular wedding and event venues.

Owned by Al’s ex-wife Ann Ehringer since 1992, the restaurant boasts countless warm, homey touches that make dining there feel more like being in a friend’s home than a public space.

Antique books . . .

. . . unique lamps . . .

. . . and other curiosities can be found at every turn.

Saddle Peak Lodge, which can host 225 hungry patrons at a time, has won countless accolades and awards over the years including the AAA Four Diamond Award, Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence, and a Michelin star.

And the restaurant is even more popular with celebrities than ever.  Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there in recent years include Molly Ringwald, Selena Gomez, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, and Titus Welliver.  Bruce Jenner even proposed to Kris Kardashian at Saddle Peak Lodge in 1991.

The hostess that the GC and I encountered upon entering Saddle Peak Lodge could not have been nicer and invited me to take all the photos of the place that I wanted even though we were not dining on the premises.  She was also kind enough to fill us in on some of the site’s filming history.  I was most excited to hear about the restaurant’s appearance on my grandma’s favorite show, Bones.  In the Season 6 episode titled “The Truth in the Myth,” which aired in 2011, the eatery portrays the Pine Tree Manor hotel where Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) investigate the suspicious death of television host Lee Coleman (Leigh McCloskey).  Both the exterior . . .

. . . and interior of the restaurant were featured in the episode.

In the 1955 drama The Fast and the Furious, Connie Adair (Dorothy Malone) stops for lunch at Saddle Peak Lodge and winds up getting kidnapped by escaped fugitive Frank Webster (John Ireland).

I am unsure if the interior shown in the movie was Saddle Peak’s actual interior or a set.

As I mentioned earlier, the restaurant was featured in a 1960 episode of Perry Mason.  In Season 3’s “The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor,” Jefferson Pike (J. Pat O’Malley) fakes being shot outside of Saddle Peak Lodge.

Harry Baldwin (Ray Milland) and his family stop at Saddle Peak to use the phone and grab some provisions after learning that the city of Los Angeles has been destroyed in a nuclear attack in the 1962 thriller Panic in Year Zero!

As was the case with The Fast and the Furious, I am unsure if the interior shown onscreen was the restaurant’s actual interior or a set.

In the Season 6 episode of Dynasty titled “The Decision,” which aired in 1985, Miles Colby (Maxwell Caulfield) dines with Fallon Carrington Colby (Emma Samms) at Saddle Peak Lodge.

Thanks to fellow stalker Colette, I learned that Saddle Peak Lodge masked as Sable Mountain Ski Resort, where Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) found herself snowed in with an Olympic ski team in the Season 5 episode of Murder, She Wrote titled “Snow White, Blood Red,” which aired in 1988.

Larry David (playing himself) discusses basketball with friends over dinner at Saddle Creek in the Season 2 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm titled “Shaq,” which aired in 2001.

In the Season 3 episode of Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica titled “Newlyweds Two Year Anniversary,” which aired in 2005, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson celebrate their anniversary at Saddle Creek Lodge.

Saddle Peak pops up in the “Dinner with Rush” segment of the 2010 documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, which you can watch here.

In the Season 4 episodes of Awkward. titled “Snow Job: Part 1” and “Snow Job: Part 2″,” which aired in 2014, the restaurant portrays the hotel where the Palos Hills High School gang stays while on the senior ski trip.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 

Stalk It: Saddle Peak Lodge, from “The Truth in the Myth” episode of Bones, is located at 419 Cold Canyon Road in Calabasas.  You can visit the eatery’s official website here.