I Visited The Old-School Orange County Steakhouse Loved By John Wayne

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As you head south into Orange County, just before you enter the sprawl of Irvine's master-planned communities and modern shopping centers, is something of a hidden gem. Tucked between John Wayne Airport and a slew of corporate buildings is Gulliver's Restaurant, a legendary steakhouse that has been churning out traditional prime rib dinners for more than five decades. While much of the surrounding area has evolved, Gulliver's has very much stayed the course — leaning into traditional steakhouse dining rather than chasing trends.

Gulliver's isn't flashy, and it's never tried to be. Rather, it has built its reputation on consistency, nostalgia, and exceptionally well-executed prime rib. Over the years, the restaurant has welcomed everyone from longtime locals and special-occasion diners to notable regulars like John Wayne, all while maintaining an image that feels increasingly rare these days.

On a recent visit to Gulliver's, I spent some time with Deborah Clark, the restaurant's banquets and special events manager, who has worked there for over 25 years. She spoke about the restaurant's history, commitment to a classic menu, and present-day charm — along with a few details about its most famous regular, the "Duke" himself. It's a fascinating story rooted in doing things the old-school way.

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Gulliver's was founded by a European restaurateur and chef with a remarkable past

Hans Prager, founder of Gulliver's, was born in Oppeln, Germany, into a Jewish family whose livelihood centered on his father's successful liquor business. His childhood was upended when the Nazis imprisoned his father in the Buchenwald concentration camp. Wisely, Praeger's mother sold the family liquor business in exchange for her husband's freedom and passports to China.

In Shanghai, Prager got his first kitchen job peeling potatoes at the Fiaker, a Viennese restaurant with a window into the dining room. There, he was exposed to the thrill of theatrical cooking — something that would come to play an important role in his own restaurants. But life in Shanghai was challenging. Growing anti-Semitism during the Japanese occupation, along with his father's advanced diabetes, added stress to the family. Ultimately, his father took his own life to relieve them of the burden of his care.

In 1947, Prager immigrated to the U.S., working his way up from cook's helper to morning cook at Scandia, a Los Angeles staple. He later completed a chef's apprenticeship at New York's Waldorf-Astoria and served in the Army during the Korean War. By age 29, he returned to Scandia as head chef. In 1959, he became executive chef of Lawry's specialty restaurants, including Lawry's The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills and Five Crowns in Corona del Mar.

Just over a decade later, Prager struck out on his own. He opened Gulliver's in the early 1970s — with help from Al Levie, according to Deborah Clark — launching a successful career as a restaurateur. Prager later opened three more restaurants, including The Ritz in Newport Beach in 1977.

Gulliver's helped expand prime rib and formal dining in Orange County

Prager spent 10 years as the executive chef for Lawry's The Prime Rib, where he was immersed in the grand style of traditional prime rib restaurant dining . There, he refined the theatrical service that would define his own restaurants — most notably the tableside carving of roasted prime ribs of beef from gleaming silver carts. He also oversaw other Lawry-affiliated restaurants, such as the Tam O'Shanter in Los Angeles and Five Crowns in Orange County, both of which served prime rib in Old-World European settings (and still do).

When Prager left to make his own mark, he channeled that Old-World charm and formal theatrical dining to Orange County, opening up Gulliver's in the early 1970s — the restaurant that would go on to become rooted in Irvine. From the start, the restaurant was a hit, and the menu was quite simple. "They didn't take reservations when they opened," recalls Deborah Clark. "And they only had prime rib."

A meal at Gulliver's Restaurant was a performance, with prime rib as the centerpiece. The signature Glub Dub Drib salad, now called Gulliver's Classic House Salad, featured romaine lettuce, bay shrimp, crumbled egg, and an oak-aged red wine vinaigrette, all tossed together next to diners, and included with every entrée. Even the soup arrived with flourish, ladled from a pot kept warm over a small flame. For dessert, English trifle , which Clark describes as "layers of yellow sponge cake, Bavarian cream, and raspberries, soaked with sherry wine," would be scooped out of a large display bowl placed at the center of the dining room and finished with a pour of sherry à la minute.

Why John Wayne kept coming back to Gulliver's

John Wayne famously loved steak. "My father would have eaten steak and potatoes at every meal," his son Ethan Wayne wrote in " The Official John Wayne Way to Grill ", a cookbook released by his family. So when Wayne settled down in Newport Beach, where he lived for nearly two decades, it's no surprise he became a devoted regular at Gulliver's Restaurant.

But Gulliver's was more than just a place to eat for Hollywood's cowboy. Per Clark, Wayne would have everything from business meetings to casual meetups there. She recalls that on occasion, he would spot ladies dining solo and, in true cowboy fashion, invite them over to his table. Over time, the restaurant designated two tables for him — one in the main dining room and another in the bar area. The latter included a 4-prong phone jack so he could take calls while dining. Even today, guests can request to sit at either table.

So, what did the "Duke" eat? Deborah Clark's answer was definitive: "He ate prime rib a lot." Today, that order includes classic accompaniments like creamed corn, creamed spinach, whipped horseradish, Yorkshire pudding, and au jus. Though unverified, there is a story that Wayne was such a frequent guest that he had a key to the restaurant, so he could close it out for the night, showing just how beloved a regular he was.

Gulliver's built its reputation on slow-roasted prime rib

From the beginning, exceptional, slow-roasted prime rib has been the defining feature of Gulliver's Restaurant, and much of that has to do with how it's cooked. With over 50 years in operation — and Hans Prager's extensive background in prime rib houses — the restaurant relies on consistency and technique. According to Deborah Clark, the kitchen still uses the same two Alto-Shaam ovens it opened with decades ago. These specialized ovens use low-temperature radiant heat to cook the meat slowly and evenly, helping it retain moisture while gently breaking down connective tissue.

The restaurant's signature prime rib is aged on site for 28 days. "They pack it in rock salt and seasoning and then put it in the oven ... The way they cook it breaks down the enzymes and fibers in the prime rib," Clark explains. The result is exceptionally flavorful and tender meat. In fact, when Gulliver's first opened, the prime rib was so tender it reportedly couldn't be served with a steak knife — guests had to use a butter knife. Steak knives are now standard — one of the few things about Gulliver's that has changed.

The old-school details that Gulliver's has never let go of

While Gulliver's no longer does full tableside service — the last of it went away during Covid — there's no shortage of old-world charm that remains. The moment you walk in, you're transported to 18th-century England. The lighting is low, the interiors are lined with rich, dark wood, and the space is divided into cozy booths and a formal dining room.

The atmosphere is authentic. "The furniture and the booths came from Europe. They went to England and brought back all the tables and chairs," says Deborah Clark, referring to the founders' opening efforts. Decades later, those same pieces still furnish the dining room. Antiques — leaded glass pieces, pewter dishes, vintage kitchenware, framed prints from Hogarth, Rowlandson, and other Gulliver's Travels illustrators — cover the walls; there's barely an empty space. Even the staff adds to the ambiance: female servers continue to wear traditional German dirndl-style outfits with low necks, fitted bodices, puffed sleeves, and ruffled skirts, a nod to the theatrical experience that Hans Prager loved so much.

Gulliver's isn't flashy — and that's the point

While developing the restaurant's concept, founders Hans Prager and Al Levie traveled to Europe for inspiration. They wandered into a warehouse filled with relics tied to "Gulliver's Travels," the satirical 4-part book written by Jonathan Swift during the 1700s. "That's where they came up with the name," explains Deborah Clark.

Today, the story of Lemuel Gulliver's adventures to remote islands is woven into the design. "When they designed the restaurant, they designed it like a capsized boat," says Clark, pointing out wooden buttresses on the ceiling and areas meant to represent the hull and the deck. "During the storm, [Gulliver] would flip his boat upside down and travel between island to island," which allowed the rounded underside to face the brunt of the bad weather. The dining room — including the main space and the semi-private Jonathan's Study and the Travelers Room — is warm and timeless, while the bar, Lemuel's Pub, features an oval-shaped, solid oak, copper-topped bar surrounded by stools.

Over the years, the restaurant has welcomed its share of notable guests, including John Wooden, George Yardley, Nicholas Cage, Mary Tyler Moore, and Bob Barker. But Gulliver's has never been about scene-making. As Clark notes, many guests are multi-generational families, showing that Gulliver's isn't a hot spot you dine at once, but rather a place to return to again and again.

What it's like to dine at Gulliver's today

Dining at Gulliver's today feels like a continuation of its early days. The prime rib remains the centerpiece, and according to Deborah Clark, it's a must-order for the full Gulliver's experience. "The prime rib hasn't changed; the recipes haven't changed," she says. Currently, the restaurant offers four cuts of varying sizes, ranging from the smaller O.C. Cut to the thin-sliced Traditional English Cut, the popular Gulliver's Prime Cut, and the Brobdingnagian — the largest, bone-in prime rib cut .

Clark insists that at least one person at the table should order the prime rib, but other dishes to try include the filet mignon, Long Island duck, and rack of lamb, while her personal favorite is the aged ribeye. When it comes to signature cocktails, Clark raves about "Gulliver's Old Fashion" made with Michter's rye, sugar, bitters, orange peel, and a maraschino cherry, and "Duke's Manhattan", a mix of Four Roses bourbon, sweet vermouth, Angostura and orange bitters, and cherry.

More than five decades in, Gulliver's continues to attract a wide range of diners — from first-timers to longtime locals and families celebrating special occasions. For nostalgia seekers, the restaurant hands out copies of their original creamed corn and creamed spinach recipes, and for John Wayne fans, your table awaits. Though Hans Prager passed away in 2004, Gulliver's remains just as the chef intended, with its old-world charm that once — and still — defined a night out in Orange County.

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