Café de l'Enfer was a Hell-themed restaurant and opened in the late nineteenth century in Pigalle. It was possibly one of the first ever themed restaurants and doesn't it look like it was about a bajillion times more fun than Planet Hollywood or the Hard Rock Cafe?
 |
| Just look at this fucking awesome door! It might just be one of the best things I've ever seen. Raaawwr! THANK YOU INTERNET. |
The interior was described by National Geographic as having "plaster lost souls writhing on its walls", the doorman wore a Satan suit and greeted customers by saying "Enter and be damned!" and the waiters were dressed as devils. Also:
An order for three black coffees spiked with cognac was shrieked back to the kitchen as: "Three seething bumpers of molten sins, with a dash of brimstone intensifier!"
Ok, to be honest, all the screaming and the lost souls eyeballing you while you eat your dinner might have made for a somewhat stressful dining experience, but Jaysus it would have been tremendous craic too.
Some smart arse went on to open a cafe next door called Heaven. It looks lovely and all, but I know which one I'd rather go to. I'll see your starry celestial entrance and raise you a FUCKING GIANT DEMON MOUTH.
Apparently a Monoprix supermarket stands on the site these days. It's a goddamn crime that a building facade as awesome as that was ever torn down. Fuck you, Paris.*
*Not really, I love you Paris, please don't rain all over us when we are in you.
Images yoinked from Retronaut.
Holy shit, it's fantastic! I wonder what they did with all the stuff when they got rid of it? I like to think that a supermarket boss has a giant tooth in the corner of his living room.
ReplyDeleteLook at that second picture! You'd know they were french. They're all like 'Yeah, we're French, we're in a hell cafe, we're not scared. We're FRENCH, MOFOS.'. Except for the lad with the bottle in front of him. He is possibly not French.
Have a great holiday!
Ah Paris! That place looks fantastic, pity it is no longer with us. I would however, recommend eating in Simone & Nicola (http://www.timeout.fr/paris/en/restaurants-cafes/simone-nicola). Was brought there by a chef friend last year. One of the best meals of my life, and much better than the Gordon Ramsay at Versailles restaurant the following night.
ReplyDeleteMissGreenEyes - He *does* look a bit uneasy doesn't he!
ReplyDeleteEileen - Thanks for the recommendation! :)
Interesting that first (or one of the first) themed places was decorated in hell's atributes... but it looks more professionally designed than many of today's places
ReplyDelete