The London Casino
The London Casino
The Prince Edward Theatre on Old Compton Street, named after Edward Prince of Wales, opened on the 3rd April 1930 on the site of a drapers business called The Emporium. The area was soon to be known as London’s Quarter Latin now simply Soho. The exterior was in the style of an Italian [...]
View Page: The London Casino
The French Casino
The French Casino
In December 1934, the refurbished Earl Carroll Theatre located on the south-east corner of 7th Ave and 50th Street, New York City, opened as the French Casino. This glittering supper club was described by Fortune magazine as ‘a vast scarlet and silver restaurant which, in terraced rows of tables, seats fifteen hundred people [...]
View Page: The French Casino
The Kursaal Pleasure Palace Ostende
The Kursaal Pleasure Palace, Ostende
One of the premier locations in Europe in the 1920s and the show piece of Ostende was the magnificently appointed Kursaal entertainment complex.
The Casino Kursaal situated on the Digue, the chief promenade, was without doubt a pleasure palace without equal and was described as ‘the great, soul searching, musical stage of [...]
View Page: The Kursaal Pleasure Palace Ostende
Poccardi Restaurant, Paris
Poccardi Restaurant, Paris
Poccardi’s was a Parisian institution and, at one time, the most famous Italian restaurant in Paris.
The establishment was first opened at 12 Rue Favart opposite the entrance to the Opera Comique with dining rooms upstairs and downstairs along with various private rooms. Each room was offered the same menu and there were no [...]
View Page: Poccardi Restaurant, Paris
The Grand Casino or Cercle of Aix le Bains
The Grand Casino or Cercle d’Aix-le-Bains
The Cercle (Casino) of Aix-Le-Bains was an elegant and architecturally magnificent monument comprising a labyrinth of rooms dedicated to entertainment and pleasure.
In 1824 the number of visitors to Aix-le -Bains was around 4,000 a year and it was thought that a place was needed for assembly and recreation. And so [...]
View Page: The Grand Casino or Cercle of Aix le Bains
The Villa des Fleurs Aix Le Bains
Grand Casino of the Villa des Fleurs at Aix-Le-Bains.
The Villa des Fleurs was a stunning entertainment complex set in beautiful gardens that made it one of the most fashionable places in Europe during the 1920s.
In the beginning there was a detached building known as the Villa des Fleurs in the middle of a beautiful park [...]
View Page: The Villa des Fleurs Aix Le Bains
Delmonico Restaurant, New York
Delmonico’s Restaurant, New York
The legendary Delmonico’s dominated New York society for almost one hundred years from 1824-1923 representing a standard of excellence in food, elegance and service.
Giovanni (John) Delmonico was the youngest of three sons born 1788 in Switzerland on the border with Italy. He eventually settled in New York opening a shop in 1824 [...]
View Page: Delmonico Restaurant, New York
The Parisian Institution of Maxims Restaurant
The Parisian Institution of Maxim’s Restaurant
One of the most important additions to the Parisian landscape in the late Nineteenth Century was the legendary Maxim’s restaurant. It has continued to shine as a beacon of excellence for over a century and has become a symbol of Parisian elegance and chic.
One morning on the 14th July 1891 [...]
Murrays River Club: A Rendezvous of Ragtime and Romance
Murray’s River Club: A Rendezvous of Ragtime and Romance
The American Jack May was instrumental in developing the nightclub scene in London shortly before the First World War and famously opened the legendary Murray’s Club in Beak Street in 1913. At about the same time, or shortly afterward. he opened a summer resort at Maidenhead that [...]
View Page: Murrays River Club: A Rendezvous of Ragtime and Romance This post has 1 Comment »
The Magnificent Murrays Roman Gardens
The Magnificent Murray’s Roman Gardens, New York
The eight-storey edifice that was Murray’s Roman Gardens in New York created by John L. Murray, could be described as the first themed restaurant and certainly it became one of the city’s most famous eateries.
The Irish born John L. Murray was born in 1865 and started his restaurant [...]
View Page: The Magnificent Murrays Roman Gardens
Floral Frascati Restaurant, London
Floral Frascati Restaurant, London
Frascati’s at 32 Oxford Street, London was celebrated for its cosmopolitanism, luxury and excellent cuisine and was a sumptuous and elegant venue that was highly regarded for its international cuisine.
Opening in 1893 Frascati grew to be an institution with its large, fashionable clientele, and was also a favoured venue among businessmen from [...]
View Page: Floral Frascati Restaurant, London This post has 4 Comments »
The Classy Ciro Restaurant Chain
The Classy Ciro’s Restaurant Chain
Among European high society Ciro’s became an institution and perhaps the first classy restaurant chain in Europe with main branches in Monte Carlo, Paris, London and Biarritz. Each venue was regarded as far more than a restaurant but the very centre of fashionable life.
The original owner who gave his name to [...]
View Page: The Classy Ciro Restaurant Chain
Prunier Restaurant, Paris
Prunier Restaurant, Paris
The premier seafood restaurant in Paris was the wonderfully fashionable Prunier’s at 9 Rue Duphot near the Madeleine. It was proud of the fact that every conceivable dish possible that has shellfish as a basis could be served to its eager clientele.
Prunier’s was founded in 1872 by Alfred Prunier and was a striking [...]
View Page: Prunier Restaurant, Paris
