Yamashiro, the landmark Japanese Revival restaurant in the Hollywood Hills, has been listed for $100 million. The 7.3-acre estate sits immediately north of the famed Magic Castle and up the block from the TCL Chinese Theatre, which is also owned by the sellers, movie producers and entrepreneurs Elie Samaha and Steven Markoff.
“Who this property appeals to are probably folks that aren’t necessarily slaves to interest rates,” broker Peter Sherman told Bloomberg. He noted the prime hillside property with city-spanning views could be converted into a boutique resort, think tank or personal estate.
Yamashiro, a tourist magnet known for its ornate setting, has long been favored by location scouts, appearing in projects like Memoirs of a Geisha and Kill Bill: Vol. 1. Its history, which dates back more than a century, includes hosting the Four Hundred Club for a time in the 1920s. The San Vicente Bungalows of its era, it was an invite-only Hollywood conclave that was attended by the likes of Louis B. Mayer, Sam Goldwyn, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Charlie Chaplin, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and Pola Negri. The property has gone in and out of fashion since then, at one point serving as a boys’ school.
It boasts a 600-year-old pagoda imported from Japan and has changed ownership and management on multiple occasions over the past several decades. In 2010, the noted hospitality impresario Sean MacPherson (owner of nightlife spots like Bar Lubitsch and the Roger Room in Los Angeles and hotels, including the Maritime and Ludlow in New York) lost a lengthy court battle over his own $55 million deal to purchase the site.
In early July, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that seller Samaha, who has a checkered history in the film business and local hospitality sector, is also in discussions to acquire the Dolby Theatre as a member of an investment consortium. That venue, the home of the Academy Awards telecast, could sell for $70 million.