Café Anglais

Coordinates: 48°52′16.58″N 2°20′14.81″E / 48.8712722°N 2.3374472°E / 48.8712722; 2.3374472
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

48°52′16.58″N 2°20′14.81″E / 48.8712722°N 2.3374472°E / 48.8712722; 2.3374472

Café Anglais is located in Paris
Café Anglais
Café Anglais

The Café Anglais (French pronunciation:

Paris, France
.

History

Opened in 1802, the restaurant was named in honor of the Treaty of Amiens, a peace accord signed between Britain and France. In the beginning, its clientele were coachmen and domestic servants but later became frequented by actors and patrons of the nearby Opera House. In 1822, the new proprietor, Paul Chevreuil, turned it into a fashionable restaurant with a reputation for roasted and grilled meats. It was after the arrival of chef Adolphe Dugléré that the Café Anglais achieved its highest gastronomic reputation. It was then frequented by the wealthy and the aristocracy of Paris.

The Café Anglais some months before its destruction
The site now

Although the white-faced exterior was austere, the interior was elaborately decorated with furniture in mahogany and walnut woods, and mirrors of gold leaf patina.

The building included 22 private rooms and lounges. The London food reviewer and historian Lt.-Col. Nathaniel Newnham-Davis stated "...the Anglais' was a great supping place, the little rabbit hutches of the entresol being the scene of some of the wildest and most interesting parties given by the great men of the Second Empire." The most famous was known as Le Grand 16.[1]

Recipes Dugléré created included the Germiny Soup, dedicated to the head of the

Kaiser Wilhelm I and Otto von Bismarck for the Exposition Universelle in 1867 in Paris.[3]

The restaurant closed in 1913.

The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, chapter 20 in Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady as well as in Karen Blixen's short story Babette's Feast
. The title character Babette Hersant was the head chef at the Café Anglais before fleeing to Denmark. It is also mentioned in Henry James’, “The American”, chapter one (Christopher Newman “supped” there the night before visiting the Louvre).

Notes

  1. ^ Algernon Bastard, The Gourmet's Guide to Europe, Echo Library (July 10, 2007) p2-4
  2. ^ Rogov, Daniel. "Rogov's Ramblings: Anna a la Carte". Strat's Place. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  3. ^ (fr) Three Emperors dinner
  4. ^ "(fr) The Café Anglais". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2009-08-05.