Restaurant in Brentwood, United States
Serious beef, deep wine list, book ahead.
Baltaire is a mid-century modern steakhouse in Brentwood with a serious wine list — 4,695 bottles, 3-Star World of Fine Wine accreditation — and an open-air terrace that makes it the neighborhood's most considered choice for a long lunch or wine-forward dinner at the $$$ tier. Rated 4.5 on Google across 960 reviews and ranked #505 on OAD Casual North America 2025.
Baltaire is the steakhouse to book if you want serious beef cookery, a wine list with actual depth, and enough outdoor space to make a weekday lunch feel like an occasion. At the $$$ price tier, it sits comfortably above neighborhood casual dining but below the city's white-tablecloth tasting-menu circuit. The terrace seating alone makes it worth reserving ahead for lunch — but the wine program, accredited three stars by World of Fine Wine and carrying nearly 4,700 bottles, is the real differentiator against most LA steakhouse competition. Book it for a long lunch on the terrace or a dinner where the wine list is part of the point.
Baltaire occupies a mid-century modern space on San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood, and the layout is one of the better-designed rooms in the neighborhood. The open-air terrace gives the venue a dual identity: sun-soaked lunch venue by day, dinner-under-the-stars destination after dark. The interior carries spacious seating with none of the cramped shoulder-to-shoulder energy common at smaller steakhouses, which makes it a reliable call for groups who want to hear each other speak. Chef Samuel Jung leads the kitchen, and the cuisine classification sits squarely in contemporary American steakhouse territory — meaning the menu framework is familiar (cuts, sides, classics) but the execution has enough refinement to justify the price point.
The wine program under Wine Director David Taylor is the clearest point of separation from peers at this tier. A 760-selection list drawn from 4,695 bottles of inventory, with particular strength in France (Burgundy and Bordeaux), California, and Italy, is a serious commitment for a Westside steakhouse. Corkage runs $50 if you'd rather bring your own. For wine-forward diners, this is one of the more considered lists in the Brentwood dining corridor , and worth more attention than the steakhouse label typically invites. For a peer comparison on pure wine depth, look at what Providence in Los Angeles carries, though that's a different cuisine format entirely.
Ranked #505 in Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list for 2025 (up from #552 in 2024), Baltaire has demonstrated upward momentum in critical recognition. That OAD ranking places it in a reliable tier , not at the level of Michelin-starred destinations like The French Laundry in Napa or Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, but firmly in the category of places where the kitchen is operating with real intention. For Brentwood specifically, that's meaningful: the neighborhood has solid dining but few spots with this level of documented critical traction. See our full Brentwood restaurants guide for the wider picture.
Hours run Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 am to 10 pm, with Saturday dinner from 5:30 pm and a Sunday schedule that includes both lunch (11 am to 3 pm) and dinner (5:30 to 9 pm). Monday closes earlier at 9 pm. Saturday is the tightest window for walk-in prospects; book ahead if weekend dinner is the goal.
Google reviewers rate Baltaire 4.5 across 960 reviews, which for a $$$ steakhouse in a competitive LA neighborhood indicates consistent execution rather than occasional brilliance. That consistency matters more than peak performance for most booking decisions , you're not gambling on whether the kitchen is having a good night.
If you're exploring the wider area beyond dinner, Pearl also covers Brentwood hotels, Brentwood bars, Brentwood wineries, and Brentwood experiences. For a different cuisine format nearby, Katsu-ya is worth knowing for sushi.
Quick reference: $$$ pricing, lunch and dinner daily, 4,695-bottle wine inventory, $50 corkage, 3-Star World of Fine Wine accreditation, OAD Casual North America #505 (2025), Google 4.5/5 (960 reviews).
Yes, though the format suits solo diners better at lunch than dinner. The spacious layout means you won't feel conspicuous at a table for one, and the terrace makes a solo lunch genuinely pleasant. At the $$$ price tier, a two-course lunch is a reasonable solo spend. If counter seating or a more compact solo-friendly format is the priority, Katsu-ya nearby offers a different pace.
Smart casual is the operative standard. The mid-century modern room and $$$ price point signal that jeans are fine but put-together jeans , not beachwear. Brentwood dining tends toward polished-relaxed rather than formal, and Baltaire fits that register. No dress code is listed, but the room's character makes effort feel appropriate.
Lunch is the stronger recommendation if the terrace is open. The open-air space on San Vicente is designed for daylight, and the sun-soaked terrace experience is a genuine differentiator at this price point. Dinner has its own appeal , the same terrace works well for evening dining , but if timing is flexible, a weekend lunch or weekday lunch gives you more of what makes Baltaire architecturally distinct. Saturday dinner is the most popular slot, so book ahead for that.
Booking is rated Easy, meaning you're unlikely to face multi-week waits for most time slots. A week out should be sufficient for weekday lunch or dinner. For Saturday dinner or Sunday lunch, give yourself at least 10 to 14 days. Given the OAD ranking and wine program reputation, weekend prime-time slots fill faster than the easy booking rating might suggest for first-timers.
Yes, with one qualification: it's a better special-occasion choice if the occasion calls for a long, wine-forward meal rather than a tasting-menu event. The 760-selection wine list gives you genuine ceremony around the bottle choice, the room is comfortable for extended dining, and the $$$ price tier means a celebration dinner won't feel like a budget compromise. For a more theatrical tasting-menu occasion, consider Alinea in Chicago or Lazy Bear in San Francisco instead.
Within Brentwood, the dining options at steakhouse level are limited, which partly explains Baltaire's OAD ranking. For Japanese in the neighborhood, Katsu-ya is the clearest alternative for a different cuisine at a comparable price register. Further afield in LA, Providence is the reference point for serious wine programming paired with ambitious cooking, though it operates at a higher price tier and different cuisine. See the full Brentwood restaurants guide for a broader set of options.
Three things: first, the wine list is the sleeper strength here , a 4,695-bottle inventory with real Burgundy and Bordeaux depth is not standard for a Westside steakhouse, so use it. Second, the terrace is a genuine asset; request it when booking. Third, the Google rating of 4.5 across 960 reviews points to consistent kitchen execution, so don't overthink the order , the steakhouse classics are the point. For context on what top-tier steakhouse cooking looks like at a different scale, A Cut in Taipei and Capa in Orlando are useful comparisons.
The spacious layout and large seating capacity make Baltaire well-suited to groups. The room doesn't have the cramped configuration that makes large-party steakhouse dinners difficult elsewhere. At $$$ per head, budget accordingly for a group where wine is part of the evening , the $50 corkage fee makes BYO a viable option for parties with a specific bottle in mind. Phone number is not publicly listed in our data, so use the reservation system to confirm private dining arrangements for larger groups.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Baltaire | — | |
| Le Bernardin | $$$$ | — |
| Atomix | $$$$ | — |
| Lazy Bear | $$$$ | — |
| Alinea | $$$$ | — |
| Atelier Crenn | $$$$ | — |
How Baltaire stacks up against the competition.
Yes, and it works better for solo diners than most steakhouses in the area. The bar seating and spacious layout avoid the awkward two-top squeeze, and lunch hours — Monday through Friday from 11:30am — give you a relaxed window without the evening crowd. The $$$ price point is easier to stomach at lunch when you're eating alone.
The mid-century modern room and Brentwood address set a polished tone, so dress accordingly — neat casual at minimum, business casual is comfortable. The open-air terrace means you're visible, so avoid anything too casual. Nothing in the venue record mandates a dress code, but the $$$ cuisine pricing signals this isn't a jeans-and-sneakers crowd.
Lunch is the sharper value play: the open-air terrace is at its best in daylight, the room is less pressured, and you get the same kitchen under Chef Samuel Jung. Dinner is better for occasion dining — the full evening service runs until 10pm Tuesday through Saturday, and the 760-label wine list earns its place over a longer meal.
Book at least one week out for dinner, two weeks for Friday or Saturday evenings. Sunday lunch (11am–3pm) tends to be more accessible, but the terrace fills on good-weather days. Baltaire ranks #505 in Opinionated About Dining's 2025 Casual North America list, which means enough demand to make last-minute bookings unreliable.
Yes, particularly for occasions where wine matters as much as the food. Wine Director David Taylor oversees a 4,695-bottle inventory with strength in Burgundy, Bordeaux, California, and Italy — that's a serious cellar for a steakhouse. Corkage is $50 if you'd rather bring your own bottle, which is a reasonable option at the $$$ price tier.
Baltaire is the dominant steakhouse option on this stretch of San Vicente. For a different format at similar spend, Brentwood Restaurant and Lounge offers a broader American menu with less wine focus. If you want a more formal steakhouse experience with a longer LA pedigree, Nick & Stef's or CUT Beverly Hills are worth the short drive, though both carry higher price ceilings.
The wine list is not just decoration — with 760 selections and a World of Fine Wine 3-Star Accreditation, it's one of the stronger steakhouse lists in Los Angeles, and worth reading before you arrive. Cuisine pricing sits at $$$ (typically $66+ for a two-course meal excluding drinks), so factor in wine if you're budgeting. The terrace is a genuine asset; request it when booking.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
