Step into a world where time slows down and the sizzle of steak fills the air.
Nestled high in the Agoura Hills, Old Place isn’t just a restaurant—it’s a living memory of rustic California charm. The wooden beams, creaky floors, and roaring fireplaces whisper stories of dinners past.
Every bite of their perfectly grilled steak hits like a flavor explosion that feels both familiar and unforgettable. It’s messy, hearty, and unapologetically classic.
Pull up a chair, grab a cold drink, and let the mountain air mingle with the rich aromas of charred meat and history. Old Place isn’t just dining—it’s stepping back into a simpler, wilder time.
Historical Origins of the Cornell General Store
Long before the smell of oak-grilled steaks drifted through the Santa Monica Mountains, the building at 29983 Mulholland Highway served a very different purpose. Back in the early 1900s, it was the beating heart of the tiny mountain community of Cornell — functioning as both a general store and a post office.
Residents depended on it for everyday necessities, from mail to dry goods.
At the time, Cornell was a remote, self-sufficient little settlement where neighbors knew each other by name and life moved at a slower pace. The building anchored the community’s rural identity in a way that few structures ever do.
It wasn’t just a shop — it was a gathering place, a landmark, and a piece of living history.
That history didn’t disappear when the store eventually closed. Instead, it soaked into the floorboards, the walls, and the very character of the place.
Today, walking through the front door means stepping into a space that has witnessed over a century of California life. Few restaurants anywhere in the country can claim that kind of deep, uninterrupted connection to the land and people around them.
Transformation into a Steakhouse
Tom Runyon saw something special in the old Cornell store that most people might have overlooked. Rather than tearing it down or rebuilding from scratch, he made the bold decision to restore it — carefully preserving the original woodwork, the worn floorboards, and the rustic architectural details that gave the building its soul.
In 1970, the Old Place officially opened its doors as a steakhouse.
What makes this transformation so remarkable is what Runyon chose NOT to do. He resisted the temptation to modernize, polish, or sanitize the space.
No drop ceilings, no neon signs, no cookie-cutter restaurant furniture. The result was a dining experience that felt genuinely rooted in the past — because it actually was.
Plenty of restaurant owners talk about “rustic charm,” but most achieve it through careful decoration and staged props. The Old Place earned its character the honest way: by letting a century-old building speak for itself.
That authenticity became the restaurant’s greatest selling point. Guests didn’t just come to eat — they came to feel something.
And from the very first year of operation, the Old Place delivered on that promise in a way no amount of interior design ever could.
Authentic Western Ambience Inside
Step through the front door of the Old Place and the first thing that hits you is the atmosphere — raw, warm, and completely unlike anything you’d find in a modern restaurant. The walls are rough-hewn wood, darkened with age.
The bar stretches long and low, lined with antique fixtures that look like they belong in an old Western film set. Dim lighting casts everything in a golden, almost dreamlike glow.
Vintage decor fills every corner — old photographs, weathered signs, and artifacts that evoke frontier California at its most honest. There’s no Instagram-friendly neon, no minimalist design philosophy, no carefully curated “vibe.” What you see is what the building has always been, layered with decades of stories and memories.
For many visitors, walking inside the Old Place feels like stepping into a living museum — except you can order a ribeye and a cold drink. The saloon-style aesthetic isn’t a costume the restaurant wears; it’s the natural result of a space that was never stripped of its original identity.
First-time visitors often stop in the doorway just to take it all in. That instinctive pause says everything about the power of genuine, unmanufactured atmosphere.
Fire-Grilled Fare Over Local Oak Wood
Some things are worth doing the hard way — and cooking over an open oak wood fire is one of them. At the Old Place, the kitchen hasn’t abandoned this tradition in over five decades.
Every steak, every piece of fish, and every classic on the menu gets cooked over local oak wood on an open flame. The result is a depth of smoky flavor that a gas grill simply cannot replicate.
Oak wood burns hot and clean, imparting a subtle, earthy smokiness that enhances rather than overwhelms the natural taste of the meat. It takes skill and attention to cook well over an open flame — there’s no dial to turn, no precise temperature readout.
The cooks at the Old Place have mastered this craft, and that mastery shows up on every plate.
This commitment to wood-fire cooking isn’t just about flavor — it’s a statement about values. In a food industry increasingly dominated by shortcuts and efficiency, the Old Place insists on doing things the old-fashioned way.
That dedication connects the restaurant to generations of outdoor cooking traditions stretching back to the earliest days of California ranching and frontier life. Every bite carries that history with it.
Simple but Hearty Menu Worth Savoring
Nobody comes to the Old Place expecting a twelve-course tasting menu or a wine list curated by a sommelier. The menu here is refreshingly straightforward — and that’s exactly the point.
Thick ribeye steaks, tender filet mignon, fresh fish, and classic comfort sides form the backbone of what the kitchen offers. It’s the kind of food that satisfies in a deep, uncomplicated way.
The baked potatoes here are legendary among regulars — enormous, fluffy, and loaded enough to be a meal on their own. Fried pickles have become a fan favorite, offering a tangy, crispy contrast to the richness of the grilled meats.
Every dish reflects the restaurant’s unfussy, robust character: generous portions, honest ingredients, and zero pretension.
There’s something genuinely refreshing about a menu that knows exactly what it is. The Old Place doesn’t try to be trendy or chase culinary fashions.
It serves the kind of food that mountain communities have always craved after a long day outdoors — filling, flavorful, and made with care. For diners exhausted by overly complicated restaurant experiences, the Old Place menu feels like a welcome exhale.
Good food doesn’t need to be complicated to be extraordinary.
Celebrity Visitors and Local Legend
Hollywood has always had a complicated relationship with authenticity — which might explain why so many stars have been drawn to a place as genuinely real as the Old Place. Over the decades, the restaurant has attracted its share of famous faces, particularly actors and personalities associated with the golden age of Western films and television.
Their presence added a layer of mystique that still clings to the place today.
Signed photographs, old memorabilia, and the quiet pride of longtime regulars all contribute to a sense that this is a place where real stories happened. Unlike celebrity-themed restaurants that plaster famous faces on the walls as a marketing strategy, the Old Place earned its lore organically.
The stars came because the food was great and the atmosphere was real — not because a publicist suggested a photo opportunity.
Local legend has a way of growing richer with each passing decade. Ask any longtime Cornell or Agoura Hills resident about the Old Place and they’ll likely have a story — a sighting, a memorable meal, a night when the bar was packed with characters straight out of central casting.
That accumulated lore gives the restaurant a personality that no amount of advertising could manufacture. It’s the kind of reputation that only time can build.
Small-Town Social Hub for Everyone
Walk into the Old Place on a busy evening and you’ll notice something unusual: the crowd doesn’t fit a single demographic. Bikers roll in straight from Mulholland Highway, still wearing their leather jackets.
Hikers fresh off the trails in the Santa Monica Mountains claim a corner table. Local ranchers, Hollywood weekenders, families, and solo travelers all share the same small, warmly lit space without a hint of awkwardness.
That effortless mixing of different kinds of people is one of the Old Place’s most underrated qualities. With only a handful of tables available, the restaurant has never felt like a destination designed for any one type of visitor.
There’s no velvet rope, no dress code, no attitude at the door. Everyone is welcome, and everyone tends to leave feeling like they belong.
This community-focused spirit transforms a dinner out into something closer to a neighborhood gathering. Conversations spill between tables.
Strangers swap trail recommendations and road trip stories. Regulars greet the staff by name.
In a world where so many restaurants feel transactional and impersonal, the Old Place operates more like a beloved social club — one that happens to serve exceptional oak-grilled steaks. That quality is genuinely rare and increasingly hard to find.
Preservation of Original Character Over Time
Time has a way of smoothing things out — sanding down the rough edges, replacing the old with the new, and erasing the details that made a place feel genuinely itself. The Old Place has resisted that process with quiet stubbornness.
The original flooring still runs underfoot, grooved and worn in all the right places. Antique fixtures remain on the walls exactly where they’ve always been.
Even the outdoor bathrooms — a quirk that surprises first-time visitors — have been retained as part of the restaurant’s authentic character. It would have been easy to modernize them away.
Instead, they stand as a reminder that this place was never designed for comfort in the conventional sense. It was designed for honesty.
Updates have happened over the years, of course. The menu has evolved, the outdoor spaces have been improved, and the kitchen has kept pace with the demands of a working restaurant.
But the soul of the place — the lived-in, unpolished, deeply human quality that makes the Old Place feel like somewhere real — has been carefully guarded through every change. That preservation isn’t accidental.
It reflects a conscious understanding that the restaurant’s greatest asset has always been its authenticity, and authenticity, once lost, is almost impossible to recover.
Connection to the Santa Monica Mountains
Location is everything at the Old Place — and this location is extraordinary. Sitting on Mulholland Highway amid a cathedral of ancient oak trees, the restaurant feels like it grew directly out of the landscape rather than being built on top of it.
The Santa Monica Mountains surround the property on all sides, creating a natural sense of seclusion that the city, just a short drive away, cannot touch.
Hikers finishing up trails in the nearby mountains often end their day here, trading dusty boots for a bar stool and a cold drink. The setting reinforces everything the restaurant’s interior suggests: that there is another California beyond the freeways and the sprawl, older and quieter and worth seeking out.
On clear evenings, the oak trees glow in the fading light, and the air carries a crispness that belongs entirely to the mountains.
For many visitors, the drive to the Old Place is part of the experience. Mulholland Highway winds through some of the most beautiful terrain in Los Angeles County, building anticipation with every curve.
Arriving at the restaurant feels like a reward — not just for the journey, but for the decision to look beyond the obvious and discover something genuinely special. The mountains make the Old Place, and the Old Place honors the mountains right back.
Visitor Info – How to Find & Experience The Old Place
Nestled high in the Santa Monica Mountains, The Old Place is a rustic California steakhouse that feels like stepping into an old Western saloon — but you’ll need to know exactly where and when to go to enjoy it.
Located at 29983 Mulholland Highway, Agoura Hills, CA 91301, this family‑run restaurant sits in the historic Cornell area on a winding canyon road off the 101 freeway, about a ten‑minute scenic drive from central Agoura Hills.
The Old Place is open Thursday through Sunday, with dinner service every night and breakfast and lunch offered on weekends.
Hours vary seasonally, but typical outdoor seating begins around midday on Fridays and early mornings on Saturdays and Sundays, while indoor dinner seatings are usually by reservation from late afternoon onward.
Due to its tiny footprint — only a handful of indoor tables and limited outdoor spots — reservations are strongly recommended, especially for weekend dining.
Expect hearty, oak‑grilled steaks, fresh seafood and classic American fare, all served in an atmosphere that feels authentically back‑in‑time rather than themed.
Most visitors make a day of it, pairing a meal with hiking in nearby trails or a visit to the adjacent Cornell Winery & Tasting Room before sunset.