Venice Room — Restaurant in Monterey Park

Omg who knew. Fun retro bar, dark inside, red leather booths, has Italian wall mural of Venice. Busy at 1 to 3 pm. I've driven past this place for years and always wondered about it. But today was the day for a reunion with an old high school friend. First time for the borh of us, so got their signature steak lunch with all the fixings plus dessert. The gimmick here is you grill your own steak. Grill located in a second room, grill very clean, steaks you prep, all the seasonings are there. I whined about raw meat on my meal platter, so Steve our server (he's worked here for 14 years) gave me a clean platter. Put that 8 ounce steak on the grill...Steve told us the best placement on the grill for the meat, nicely strategic thanks Steve...and he suggested keeping an eye on the slices of garlic bread,thanks Steve, good advice. 4 minute on one side, 3 on the other...perfect medium rare. My friend and I grew up in mpk but never ate here. ..peobably bec you have to be 21 years old to enter bar, and her dad 50 years ago was a bartender here. Which is why we came. This place is perfect for nostalgia. I'm not one for bars, but this place had a bar that was hopping busy, many regulars. Great neighborhood vibe. Will be back with mom in tow. She's gunna love the prices. Quality top sirloin steak for lunch only 23 bucks. Bargain. And tho I whined about having to cook, that was half the fun. Highly recommend. Old...

For $15, you get unlimited trips to a lettuce and dressing only salad bar, a raw 14oz steak, a baked potato, and a dinner baguette as big as your steak. Once you get your steak, you can take it to the grill where there is an assortment of spices for you to season your raw piece of meat. When you're meat is all seasoned, use one of the tongs to put your slab of meat on the grill. For those that aren't savvy grillers, make sure your meat doesn't burn on the outside while still raw on the inside. Keep an eye on your steak as the grill's temperature is not adjustable. There are no instructions as to how long you should cook your steak to get the perfect medium rare or medium well. So for the newbie grillers, I wish you luck!

You also get two packets of butter and a cup of sour cream for your potato. If you want more, the menu charges $0.25 each. I'm not sure if they actually charge it since it seems ridiculous to charge a quarter just for a small packet of butter.

Once your steak is done, you can take it back to your seat to enjoy. I ended up having to take my steak back for a second trip because the inside was still too rare...

The Venice room is the epitome of a solid dive bar with the added bonus of of good service and a grill Your Own steak fun! Honestly, It's a solid dive bar with the usual trappings. Decent karaoke on Friday and Saturday night. Honest drink deals (my last tab for 4 people per round was $45 before tip). A definite deal in LA considering the alternatives. The dinner special...... The New York steak is as relatively good as you can get from a local grocer. I'm sure you can procure a finer cut of meat but seriously, it's not a bad steak by any means. You cook and season it yourself. The seasonings are pretty standard with Lawrey's seasoned garlic salt one of the standard favorites. The salad is standard chopped fair with some carrots and other veggies shredded in. A couple garlic breaded toasted tasty things later and you're full. All in all, a 7 out of 10 for a tasty steak you can cook yourself, strong drinks, and a solid atmosphere. The best part about all of it is that it's tasty, AND...