restaurants in literature

Celebrated dining rooms, cafés, and other spots for eating and drinking—some still serving, some long vanished—that function in literature as stages for appetite, status, seduction, conspiracy, gambling, political theater, art, social performance, or other ends.

By hello

8 posts

• Delmonico's — Status: Open; the Delmonico tradition began in 1827, and the present restaurant operates at 56 Beaver Street. (en.wikipedia.org) Literary p…
• Simpson's-in-the-Strand — Status: Open; after closing in 2020, Simpson's reopened in March 2026. (en.wikipedia.org) Literary passage: “something nutritious at Simpso…
• Café Anglais — Status: Closed in 1913. (en.wikipedia.org) Literary passage: “Occasionally he dined with a friend or two at the Café Anglais” — Henry James…
• Maison Dorée — Status: Closed in 1902. (en.wikipedia.org) Literary passage: In Proust's Swann in Love, Swann drives from restaurant to restaurant, pushes…
• Café Frascati — Status: Defunct; founded in 1789 and later demolished. (en.wikipedia.org) Literary passage: “Those words, spoken not four paces from Frasca…
• Au Rocher de Cancale — Status: The historic site survives; the nineteenth-century restaurant was a celebrated oyster house and supper destination. (en.wikipedia.o…
• Café Riche — Status: Closed in 1916. (fr.wikipedia.org) Literary passage: “our Saturdays at the Cafe Riche at seven-thirty.” — Guy de Maupassant, Bel-Am…
• Sobrino de Botín — Status: Open. (en.wikipedia.org) Literary passage: Hemingway called Botín “one of the best restaurants in the world.” (apnews.com) Why it m…