Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
New Theme Restaurant About to Get All Medieval in DTLA
Image by ensiferum via Shutterstock
Lords and Ladies of Los Angeles, prepare to feast and fall back a few hundred years in time at a new theme restaurant opening in Downtown, right across from "ye olde Staples Center," as Grub Street L.A. puts it. As if the dining options at L.A. Live and in its immediate vicinity weren't tragic enough, Excalibur is poised to take eating in DTLA to a whole new realm.
According to Los Angeles Magazine, Excalibur "promises an 'old-world dining experience' in a modern tavern setting with brick accents, stained glass windows, and wooden tables with flat screen TVs and happy hour specials." Yeah! Nothing says days of yore like flat screen TVs!
Guests who want to go the full medieval can don costumes provided by the restaurant, which is a European export with Transylvanian roots. Despite the anachronistic TV sets, diners can get all tactile and eat their "mouth-watering feasts" with their own bare hands.
And what, fair diners, shall you be supping (or lunching) on? From Grub Street:
Here, standard dishes like salads and chicken wings become enchanted, turning into plates with heavy metal names like "Merlin's Salad," "Feast on the Eve of the Battle," and "The Great Feast of Knights," or as they are known throughout the land in 2012, chicken, bacon, ribs, and sausage. The food is more intriguing than one might expect at a themed restaurant, with bacon-wrapped chicken livers, as well as specialties of pheasant, boar, venison, and suckling pig that can be ordered ahead of time.
It seems a fair wager that Excalibur is not trying to court trendy local diners, but perhaps hoping to cash in on the plentiful ducats of wandering serfs courtesy the Staples Center, Convention Center, and, perhaps someday soon, the NFL stadium. Then again, if the mulled wine is flowing...a feast of boar's ribs might fit the bill nicely.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
