A Beacon for Los Angeles

The Tam O’Shanter’s new neon sign with a dramatic red lightning bold reflects its rich history and is a beacon on Los Feliz Boulevard in Atwater Village.

The sign symbolizes the new energy and spirit of fun found at today’s Tam.

THE TAM O’SHANTER BUZZED with anticipation on a hot day in late August. By nightfall that evening, an eye-catching new sign, the three-dimensional version of our landmark restaurant’s logo, was lighting up Los Feliz Blvd. in Atwater Village.

When it opened in 1922, the original hand-painted sign advertising “potato chips and pretzels” attracted the attention of passersby. A large neon lightning bolt, a direct reference to the 1791 Robert Burns poem after which the restaurant is named, made its debut above the Tam in the 1930s.

The 1930s Tam O’Shanter sign provided inspiration for the new Tam sign.

In the poem, a farmer named Tam O’Shanter heads home from the pub and narrowly escapes a band of angry witches as “the lightnings flash from pole to pole…near and more near the thunders roll.” The restaurant’s lightning bolt was retired for almost seven decades but now returns as a vivid emblem of the Tam O’Shanter’s 21st-century vitality.

The glowing red sign is certain to become a beacon for Los Angeles.

At the Tam, guests can get lost in history and tradition while enjoying the best in contemporary cuisine. Today’s Tam O Shanter is truly unique, a place where past and present meet.