The California Mexican Restaurant Where Elizabeth Taylor Had Her Own Private Dining Room

Elizabeth Taylor was known for living a life of excess. In the spotlight since she was a young girl, Taylor had a tremendously successful acting career, and surrounded herself with rich and famous people. Her extravagant lifestyle was one of jet setting, jewelry, activism, fashion, and a love of fine food and drink. But the raven-haired beauty didn't limit her appetite to expensive treats like caviar and champagne. She found joy in all kinds of food, including casual Mexican cuisine. One of her favorite places to enjoy such food was El Cholo in Los Angeles, an eatery that had been around since before she was born.

The original El Cholo location opened in the Mid City neighborhood of L.A. in 1923. Over the decades, the popular restaurant has opened six more outposts. It's unclear which location Taylor preferred to dine at, but she discovered the restaurant's delicious, authentic Mexican food sometime in the late 1990s. She certainly wasn't the first or only celebrity to frequent the eatery (this was La-La-Land, after all), but when Elizabeth Taylor showed up, other patrons couldn't seem to contain themselves and gravitated towards the Hollywood legend. While she remained gracious, the restaurant eventually gave her a private dining room whenever she came to eat, so she could dine in peace.

Born in England, Elizabeth Taylor and her family moved to the Los Angeles area when she was a child. Having found early success in the film industry, she naturally lived near Hollywood when she was young, but even as an adult and throughout her life, L.A. was largely her hometown. It's no surprise, then, that several of her favorite restaurants were located in Southern California.

La Cabanita in Glendale was also a Mexican restaurant where Taylor liked to dine, even though it was a good distance from the Beverly Hills area where she lived. Canter's Deli was another favorite spot of hers. This Jewish delicatessen opened in 1931 and has been adored by several famous faces throughout the decades. Taylor was also known to stop by Romanoff's in Beverly Hills during Hollywood's Golden Age, when even the most famous names would sometimes wait for hours for a table. When Taylor craved the casual hot dog, she sometimes went to Pink's, which is known to name its frankfurters after famous people, although Taylor never got her own dog. On the fancier side, Taylor also adored The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel where she was known to order fried chicken, her all time favorite food.