Gornik & Drucker

Brought my honey here for Christmas — the experience is wonderful and he loved the shave and cut. Jesse was awesome!

My barber changed the way I look at grooming and he’s been the only person to touch my hair since 2008. Not that I was curious for a change, but his game is so far above his fellow barbers I was wondering how his services stacked up against world renowned shops. Turns out Gornik & Drucker really only has about 65 years of history on him. Their claims to fame are the stars they cut a long time ago, the powerful in Hollywood. Does history and fame make you a better barber. Maybe not, but I thought I’d see for myself.
In LA for a wedding I did not get my customary haircut days before big events and flew in early. I called and made an appointment. It’s at the Montage and it’s well decorated, not flashy, but also not too rustic. Fully modern amenities. I did love the straight razor. I myself am not a hairy man, but on occasion will bust out the straight razor and disposable straight razor depending on the mood. To see these guys fly with the hone and strop is amazing, I am not nearly as comfortable, but probably because I do it 4 times a year instead of 10 times a day.
Prices are ridiculous. The reason rich and powerful men, Presidents even came here is because they could afford it. In talking with William and Cesar I could see how much they had to offer and the services were nominally better than a good barber, which apparently is still 1 in 100.
My consult was great, helpful, they immediately knew my barber was good, but that I’d also learned a few things and was more than just some walk up client. We blended my request with Cesar’s suggestion as I could not give him too much freedom in consultation. My haircut was excellent quality. I got compliments… I always do, but not to take away from them it shows more how many bad barbers there are. I was glad to see the full service drying and washing available, but this place totally lacks products. Stocking a dozen products for grooming, washing and styling is unacceptable. I’m sure they are all quality as they stamp their name on them, but take a look around it’s the 21^st century. Dozens of companies are doing craft and quality creams, gels, pomade’s, finishing sprays, etc. To pair a great cut with a glimpse of products does not give justice to the work you just did. I feel sorry for guys trying to recreate at home what they got in here. I’m used to the hot towel, straight razor shave and bay rum, but was expecting the end massage machine.
You come here for an experience, because I’ve gotten the sickest fade or tightest cut elsewhere, but nowhere has this history.
My thoughts on why it’s not 5 star is: At what point do you no longer rest on your laurels and a name alone? When do you embrace the future? I can say that there are too many bad barbers that it puts the good one’s out of reach and on a pedestal and in Hollywood’s lifestyles it just perpetuates the disparities.

This place is great. I have been coming here for about 3 years. Walter, Ceasar and Craig are all excellent. Great service, great atmosphere, very cool place.

This is a long overdue review. I’ve been a friend (everyone is a friend not simply a client) for close to 10 years. My Saturday mornings are Shangri La at Gornick and Druckers. A lovely shave and facial massage. Then a hair trim and scalp massage. Bill has worked on presidents, actors and heads of state yet everyone that visits G&D is treated with the same care and attention to detail. I assure you that one visit and you’ll be hooked.

Craig gave me one of the best cuts I’ve ever had. he gave me a high and tight and I was in a hurry and cruised through the cut. I HIGHLY recommend getting a cut from him. super nice guy.

Simply the Standard for Beverly Hills.
You won’t find a better place for a man to get groomed in Beverly Hills.
Hair Cut Shave or beard trim all done to perfection. make an appointment though, but waiting there isn’t a bad option. They have classic music while you sip down a house pour of scotch. The oldest Barbershop in LA. Great History. can’t go wrong. Not cheap though so be prepared .
Well worth it.

This review is going to have two parts. The first being about Chris the person who took care of me while I was there and the second will be about whomever is in charge of gift certificates and receptionist services which I will assume is part of the hotel.
First Chris was excellent, in fact the whole staff from the owner to the lovely woman who gave me a manicure were very thoughtful and very gifted in their craft. I never felt as pampered as I did in their care. I had gone in for a Facial, manicure and haircut. From the first steamed towel Chris had me relaxed, he explained everything he was doing and took care in doing it. The lovely manicurist started work on my hands and she was very kind and made my hands feel like a million dollars. After the S.R.F was finished we started in on the haircut and shampoo process. The owner, manicurist, and Chis started talking about local food and the best places to go etc and the owner handed me a glass of scotch, yes you can get a nice glass as part of the relaxation process! Everything was rounded out with the cut. Chris took more time than any barber I had ever been too. He asked questions about what I liked and made recommendations. He is quite good and I highly recommend him.
Now the process of getting me here was rather difficult. My little old lady of a a mother came down to the hotel to get a gift certificate and the young man who she was speaking with said the woman who makes up the certificates was not there and it was best if my mother came back because having the woman make up the certificate would be much more of a gift because it was process with fancy paper and writing etc. So my mother told the young man she would be back the next day in the late morning. He said that would be good. My mother returned the next day and the woman was not there and no one knew when she would be in. After a bit of running around they finally came back with a note card explaining it was a «gift certificate» now I don’t care what it is written on, my issue is making an old woman shlep from the Valley twice, Valet twice when this could have been taken care of the first time around with the same note card, especially after being told the woman would be there. That and I was given a Holiday grab bag with a card that said to go to the website and register to see what I won, it was a razor and when I tried to claim it on my visit I was told they were all out of them that they were all gone. Not exactly sure how that is fair. Bottom line deal with someone in the shop directly, not the hotel or the office!

I cannot speak for the quality of the shave itself, because I never got that far. With all of the stellar reviews and self-​aggrandizing PR on their website, the Gornik & Drucker experience was certainly memorable: it demonstrated precisely how NOT to treat customers.
I was excited to arrange shaves for my groomsmen during my recent wedding weekend. It was easy enough to make phone reservations. Unfortunately, the person that took my reservation over the phone wrote down the wrong date on the calendar. When we showed up for the shaves, the owner was there and identified the error.
However, rather than be helpful and apologetic, he basically blew me off and said that he couldn’t help me. He didn’t offer any solution, or more importantly, any concern. He just said, «Oh, you must have made the appointment with the guy that screws up the scheduling.» Actually I am happy that he turned us away at the door with his creepy flat affect, because his service was certainly not worth the audacious prices.
I have had many straight razor shaves before, and the fellas at Gornik & Drucker should realize that at some point they need to stop living off the glory of primping Ronald Regan forty years ago. Learn some manners.

I first found this place through a Groupon about a year or two ago, for Craig the Barber. Craig specializes in beards and writes for style mags and his client list is pretty impressive. The shop itself is small with only 2 chairs, and very «old boy» and has been around since at least the 40’s. Ronald Regan used to get his hair cut there. What I really like about Craig is that he doesn’t just give you the same haircut he gives everyone else, he actually looks at the shape of your face, head, etc., and suggests what he would like to do. I had been paying $ 20 for a haircut before, and now I totally see why my $ 65 haircut from Craig is totally worth it. He gives a great straight razor shave too! You won’t find this place on the street, as it is in the Montage hotel. If you go there, it will look a bit familiar if you watch Entourage, as they filmed some of the finale in the shop!

Gornik & Drucker is the ORIGINAL!!! Barbering since 1936 your not going to find a more authentic barber shop in LA or the West Coast for that mater! Family owned and operated Gornik & Drucker is dedicated to the lost art of men’s grooming. They do it right your not going to find a safety razor in the joint!!!