There’s a certain type of restaurant that only exists in memory. One of those locations has always been Sur, the West Hollywood location that gave “Vanderpump Rules” its name and setting. The chicken scallopini was not well received. For an hour, they felt like a tiny part of the show as they went to stand where Jax stood and ordered a Pumptini at the bar where Stassi had once thrown a drink. That formula worked for more than ten years. It seems to be getting old lately.
The atmosphere is different now than it was even three or four years ago when you stroll past Sur on Robertson Boulevard on a typical Tuesday. Longtime fans and former customers have been complaining about empty tables, a host stand with no one waiting behind it, and a bar that used to be half full on the internet for a while. It’s the kind of detail that, until you see how frequently it occurs, is easy to ignore as internet noise.
There is a structural component to the issue. In terms of food and service, Sur was never truly competitive. Over the years, reviewers have been fairly consistent about this: expensive cocktails, uneven pasta, and a bathroom that has occasionally left diners searching for a light switch in complete darkness. When the restaurant was a living set, with actors working behind the bar and the drama on screen taking place at the same tables you were seated at, none of that mattered. If you take that away, you’re left with some wilted flowers and a $28 plate of spaghetti.
Additionally, the cast has gradually withdrawn. Across town, Sandoval and Schwartz opened their own business. Jax moved to Studio City to operate a sports bar. According to reports, TomTom, the lounge named for the two Toms, has been having difficulties on its own. The universe Lisa Vanderpump created—Sur, Pump, TomTom, the Vegas outposts, Wolf by Vanderpump up in Tahoe—seems to have grown more quickly than the show’s real cultural significance, leaving more space than reality TV gravity could occupy.
It’s important to keep in mind that Sur has previously been deemed finished. For years, Reddit discussions about how long the restaurant might last have been going around, frequently outlasting the crisis that started them. According to employees, Scandoval, the affair scandal that momentarily brought “Vanderpump Rules” back into the mainstream in 2023, gave Sur a ten percent boost in business. That is not insignificant. However, a restaurant that is flourishing on its own terms is not the same as one that has a ten percent increase off a declining base.
Something more subdued and less dramatic, like a long, slow fade that doesn’t make news until the lease quietly isn’t renewed, seems more likely than a dramatic collapse. Restaurants associated with a particular cultural moment often age in tandem with that moment. The actual Boston bar, Cheers, is still open, but it’s primarily a tourist destination rather than a Friday night destination for locals. Somewhere between landmark and relic, Sur might be headed toward the same fate.
It remains to be seen if the empire truly collapses or merely survives on nostalgia and the occasional viral video. By most accounts, the goat cheese balls are still delicious. It’s more difficult to determine if that’s sufficient to keep the lights on, even in the restroom.
