A decade after Aussie celeb chef Curtis Stone opened his European-style butcher shop and glamorous Michelin-starred steakhouse, Gwen remains a fixture in Hollywood. Known for its daytime butchery and sophisticated evening dining, the establishment prides itself on sourcing unique cuts of beef, pork, veal, and lamb, aligning with the seasons when animals are at their prime. This commitment means animals arrive in complete, carcass form and are broken down entirely in-house.
The restaurant's dedication to quality is evident in offerings like powdered beef tallow, served atop a grilled cipollini onion alongside a precisely marbled, medium-rare flat iron Wagyu. To ensure access to specific high-quality products, the Stone brothers established an import company solely to bring Australia’s Blackmore Wagyu to Los Angeles. This particular Wagyu is rated MBS 9+, indicating an exceptional level of intramuscular fat.
Beyond Wagyu, Gwen showcases a diverse selection of meats in its floor-to-ceiling glass dry-aging locker. The restaurant recently received Gold Certification from The Beef Advocate, marking it as the first North American restaurant to achieve this distinction. Depending on nightly specials, diners can find cuts from Kansas’s Creekstone Farms, Napa’s Five Dot Ranch, and Australia’s O’Connor. These range from 30- to 120-day-aged ribeye, short loin, T-bone, New York, porterhouse, and zabuton—a cut more commonly known as Denver steak—among others.
Charcuterie boards feature meats cured in-house. Other notable dishes include smoky and tender lamb ribs, served with pomegranate molasses, pomegranate crème fraîche, and crispy grains. A hyper-fresh stonefruit dish presents fruit in a bed of silky, smoked stracciatella, dotted with arugula pesto, chopped almonds, and basil, creating a blend of sweet, tart, herbaceous, and nutty flavors.
For beverages, Gwen once featured one of the world's few water sommeliers, Martin Riese, and continues to offer an extensive menu of sparkling and still waters from around the globe. The sodium-forward Vichy Catalan is a suggested pairing for the fleshy Ibérico pressa, which, while flavorful on its own, comes to life with tangy, earthy squid-ink jerk sauce and grilled scallions. For steak, a red wine such as the Noelia Ricci Sangiovese Predappio is recommended, having earned multiple Tre Bicchieri nods from Gambero Rosso, a prestigious Italian wine authority.
Before the main courses, diners begin with warm, hand-pulled stecca—a free-form, baguette-adjacent loaf with a shattering crust—served alongside rich Normandy butter. This bread service is considered among the best in the city. While a steakhouse at its core, Gwen also offers dishes beyond beef, such as Maine scallops with pork fat, corn foam, and a lemon gel, or pasta dishes featuring guanciale, ‘nduja, or Italian sausage. On the side, duck fat potatoes with chicken salt and vinegar are a particular highlight. Dessert options include a seasonal sorbet, which on one occasion featured mango-ginger-carrot with ginger gelee and mint green tea foam, and a caramelized chocolate mousse with vanilla creme fraiche and whiskey caramel.
The restaurant’s design marries Art Deco with what has been described as dystopian-Gaudí aesthetics, featuring tiered chandeliers. At the chef’s counter, executive chef Marcell Hatten, who has led the kitchen since 2024, oversees operations, including an amuse-bouche of fennel-cucumber clarified gazpacho. The dining experience extends to a choose-your-own steak knife ceremony, where each blade is introduced with the story of its maker and materials. While the Stone brothers remain the public face of Gwen, Hatten is credited with the kitchen’s refined execution.