1975 Los Angeles restaurant guide is a trip down memory lane with prices from a bygone era

Forget $20 cocktails.In 1975 Los Angeles, that much cash could buy chateaubriand for two at the Brown Derby, two coffees — and still leave $2 in your pocket.Redditors ate it up this week when one user cracked open a vintage copy of “The Menu Guide of Los Angeles,” revealing the wildly cheap-looking prices once charged by some of the city’s most famous restaurants.“I bought this for a friend but figured reddit would also like to take a peak,” the poster wrote alongside photos of the aging guide.“Some of these might still be around?”The directory serves up a mouthwatering snapchat of LA’s dining scene half a century ago, covering restaurants from Beverly Hills and Hollywood to Santa Monica, Marina del Rey and the San Fernando Valley.At the legendary Brown Derby, diners could order a filet mignon for $7.85, a lobster tail for $7.25 or combine the two for just $9.25.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story The restaurant’s famous Cobb salad — described in the guide as the invention of owner Bob Cobb — cost $5.50 for a full portion of $2.80 as an appetizer.A rotating lineup of beef stew, pot roast, short ribs, lamb stew, corned beef and cabbage and baked ham went for $4.85, while desert from the card was $1 and coffee or tea just 50 cents.Benihana’s prices also looked almost too good to be true.Hibachi chicken was listed for $6.50, sukiyaki streak cost $7.50, filet mignon went for $8.25 and hibachi steak was $8.50.

The $11 Benihana Special came with soup, salad, shrimp, chicken, New York steak, vegetables, rice, tea and green tea ice cream.A beer cost as little as $1, while warm sake was $1.75.Over at Chez Jay in Santa Monica, the handwritten menu offered lobster thermidor for $6.50, a New York cut steak for $7.50 and a filet bé...