The Story of Tartan of Redlands: A Local Steakhouse Since 1964
There are restaurants that open, make a brief splash, and disappear before the year is out. And then there is Tartan of Redlands — a steakhouse that has been part of the city’s identity for over sixty years, weathering trends, decades, and the ever-shifting tides of the American dining scene. If you want to understand what it means for a restaurant to truly belong to its community, you start here.
Located in the heart of Redlands, California, this beloved institution opened its doors in 1964 — a year when the United States was still processing the shock of President Kennedy’s assassination, the Beatles had just appeared on American television, and the concept of a neighborhood steakhouse was as wholesome as it was appealing. While the country changed around it in countless ways, Tartan quietly, faithfully, kept the steaks coming.
Where It All Began
The founding of Tartan of Redlands was rooted in a simple but powerful idea: that a good meal, served in a welcoming atmosphere, could anchor a family’s most meaningful moments. The name itself — Tartan — carries with it a kind of heritage, evoking the bold plaid patterns of Scottish tradition and a sense of pride in craftsmanship and identity. From the very beginning, this was never meant to be a flashy, here-today-gone-tomorrow dining spot. It was built to last.
In the early 1960s, the Inland Empire was expanding. Redlands, with its historic orange groves, Victorian architecture, and small-city charm, was becoming a place where families put down roots. Those families needed gathering places — and Tartan stepped into that role with purpose and warmth.
The original vision was straightforward: offer quality cuts of meat, cooked with care, in an environment where guests felt genuinely at home. No gimmicks. No theatrics. Just honest food and good hospitality. That vision, remarkably, has never wavered.
A Timeline of Six Remarkable Decades
1964 — Tartan of Redlands opens its doors, quickly earning a reputation for generous cuts, warm hospitality, and a classic American steakhouse experience built on quality and consistency.
1970s — As the “dining out” culture blossoms across Southern California, Tartan becomes a true neighborhood staple — the go-to destination for Sunday family dinners, birthday celebrations, and milestone moments of every kind.
1980s — Amid the explosive rise of fast-food chains and casual dining franchises, Tartan holds firm to its identity, proving that authenticity and consistency are qualities no corporation can easily replicate.
1990s — A new generation of Redlands residents discovers Tartan through their parents and grandparents, creating a multi-generational dining tradition entirely unique to the local community.
2000s — Through the restaurant boom-and-bust cycles of the new millennium, Tartan remains a reliable fixture — a reassuring constant in a rapidly shifting culinary landscape.
2010s — Social media introduces Tartan to a wider audience, earning renewed appreciation from food enthusiasts who prize authentic, old-school steakhouses over trendy upstarts.
2020s — Still standing strong. In a post-pandemic world where beloved local restaurants have become increasingly rare, Tartan represents something priceless: a living piece of local heritage.
The Food That Built the Legend
At the core of any great steakhouse is, naturally, the steak. Tartan has long been celebrated not for culinary gimmicks or fusion experimentation, but for an unwavering commitment to doing the classics exceptionally well. Think perfectly seared cuts cooked to your precise specification, accompanied by the kind of sides — buttery baked potatoes, crisp salads, rich house soups — that make you feel at home the moment the plate lands in front of you.
The menu at Tartan has evolved thoughtfully with the times while keeping its soul completely intact. You can still order the kind of straightforward, deeply satisfying steak dinner that families have ordered here since the Johnson administration. There is something profoundly comforting about that — the knowledge that quality and tradition can coexist without one sacrificing the other.
Prime rib nights have become something of a local institution in their own right. Regular guests plan their weeks around them. New visitors stumble upon them and immediately become regulars. The cocktail list carries that same old-school confidence — nothing fussy, everything made right.
Portion sizes at Tartan have never been about optics. You leave full. You leave satisfied. And nine times out of ten, you leave already thinking about when you are coming back.
The Atmosphere: Warmth You Can Feel
Walking into Tartan of Redlands is like stepping into a different era — and that is entirely intentional. The lighting is warm and low, the booths are wide and inviting, and the décor carries that unmistakable old-school steakhouse character that no interior designer can fully replicate from scratch. It has to be earned over time, layer by layer, year after year. The charm and the stories accumulate together.
Long-time servers who know regulars by name. The familiar clink of silverware on ceramic. The low, contented hum of conversation filling the room. These are the details that national chain restaurants spend millions of dollars trying to manufacture and almost never get right. At Tartan, they are simply the natural byproduct of sixty years of genuinely caring about the guest experience.
There is no background noise engineered to hit a specific decibel level. There are no QR code menus designed by a branding agency. There is just a room full of people eating well and feeling at ease — which is, when you strip everything away, all a great restaurant ever needs to be.
A Community Anchor, Not Just a Restaurant
What truly separates Tartan from the ordinary is its role in the larger story of Redlands itself. The city is known for its intellectual character — home to the University of Redlands, a thriving arts community, beautifully preserved historic architecture, and a deep civic pride. Tartan has been present at the edges of all of it: the pre-graduation dinners, the faculty farewells, the retirement parties, the quiet proposals, and the ordinary Tuesday evening meals that turned out to be anything but ordinary.
To say that Tartan has fed generations of Redlands families is not an exaggeration — it is a measurable, verifiable fact. Children who were brought here by their parents in the 1970s now bring their own grandchildren. That kind of loyalty cannot be purchased through marketing campaigns or manufactured through loyalty apps. It is earned, one honest meal at a time, over the span of a lifetime.
The restaurant has also served as an informal gathering place for the business community, the academic community, and the civic community of Redlands in equal measure. It is the kind of neutral, welcoming ground where deals get done over dessert and disagreements get smoothed over with a shared bottle of wine. Every city needs a place like that. Redlands is fortunate enough to have had Tartan.
Why Places Like Tartan Matter More Than Ever
We live in an era of relentless novelty. Every week brings a new food trend, a new dining concept, a new viral dish that everybody must try immediately and nobody remembers six months later. Against this backdrop of ceaseless reinvention, a place like Tartan of Redlands is quietly radical. It refuses to be something other than what it is. It refuses to apologize for being a steakhouse. It refuses to chase clout at the expense of character.
Independent, locally owned restaurants are disappearing from American cities at an alarming rate. Chain restaurants continue to homogenize the dining experience in town after town, turning every downtown into a replica of every other downtown. Tartan stands as a proud rebuttal to that trend — a daily reminder that when a restaurant earns the genuine love of its community, that love can sustain it across decades that would break any less authentic institution.
Supporting Tartan is not merely about enjoying a good meal. It is about choosing to invest in the kind of place that makes a city worth living in. It is about valuing memory, continuity, and craft over convenience and novelty. Every table filled at Tartan is a small vote for the kind of local culture that once lost, is almost impossible to rebuild.
A Final Word: Six Decades and Still Sizzling
If you have never visited Tartan of Redlands, consider this your open invitation. Slide into a booth, order a steak cooked exactly the way you like it, and take a quiet moment to appreciate that you are sitting in a place that has been doing this — reliably, lovingly, and consistently — since 1964. That is not just a restaurant. That is a legacy.
And if you are a longtime regular, you already know everything we have tried to describe here. You have felt it every time you walked through that door and the familiar warmth of the place settled over you like coming home. You have tasted it in every bite that met your expectations perfectly because Tartan has never given you a reason to expect anything less.
Here is to Tartan of Redlands — a steakhouse that has earned its place not just on the map of California dining, but in the hearts of an entire community. May the fire stay lit, the steaks stay sizzling, and the tradition endure for sixty years more.
Tartan of Redlands — Proudly Serving the Community Since 1964 | Redlands, California
About Tartan of Redlands
Tartan of Redlands has been a cornerstone of the local dining scene since opening its doors on April 15, 1964. Known for its classic steakhouse offerings and welcoming atmosphere, the restaurant was originally established by the Ctoteau brothers—Velmer, Al, and Art—with a vision centered on great food and genuine hospitality.
As the years passed, the restaurant evolved under new ownership while staying true to its roots. Larry Westin became an integral part of the business alongside the Ctoteau family, helping shape its long-standing reputation. Following his passing in 2003, his son, Larry Westin Jr., continued the legacy until 2015. That year marked a new chapter, as Jeff and Lisa Salamon assumed ownership and carried the tradition forward.
Jeff Salamon, a Marine Corps veteran originally from Boston, brings a strong sense of discipline and community values to the restaurant. Under his leadership, Tartan continues to emphasize consistency, loyalty, and a welcoming environment for all guests.
The menu features timeless steakhouse favorites, including premium cuts of steak, the popular Saturday prime rib, and the well-loved Redlands Tartan Burger. A fully stocked bar complements the dining experience, offering a range of classic cocktails and beverages.
Often described as the “Cheers of Redlands,” Tartan has earned a reputation for its friendly ambiance, attentive service, and devoted clientele. With both indoor and outdoor seating available, it remains a dependable and beloved gathering place for the community year-round.
