L'Escargot is London's oldest French restaurant,[1] and is also one of the city's oldest restaurants.[2][3] It is housed in a Georgian townhouse on Greek Street, in the heart of the Soho district. The building, which dates from 1741, was previously the private residence of the Duke of Portland.
Soho began to be developed after the Great Fire of London in 1666, when over 13,000 houses were destroyed and 100,000 citizens left homeless. The area, then called Soho Fields, was an obvious location for the wealthy to build their property, being within easy reach of the royal palaces of Westminster, Whitehall and St James's. The name Soho is said to derive from "so-ho", a popular hunting cry of the time.
Georges Gaudin established a restaurant in 1896 at the bottom end of Greek Street, called Le Bienvenue. He became famous for his snails, his being the first restaurant in England to serve the delicacy. When in 1927 he moved to larger premises at 48 Greek Street,[2] his customers implored him to rename his restaurant L'Escargot after his most popular dish. He acquiesced, and called the new restaurant L'Escargot Bienvenue. His snail farm in the basement of the new restaurant became quite a talking point. A plaster bust of Gaudin riding a snail, with the motto "slow but sure", remains to this day on display outside the restaurant.
1980s–1990sedit
After his retirement his son Alex ran the restaurant, and it established itself as the best French restaurant in London. Nick Lander and his wife Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine, took over the restaurant in 1981 and maintained its reputation as one of the best restaurants in London. They employed Elena Salvoni, widely recognized as one of the greatest restaurant managers of the 1980s, hence regulars often nicknamed the restaurant 'Elena's Place'.
L'Escargot was refurbished in 1992, when Jimmy Lahoud and chefs David Cavalier and Garry Hollihead took over the reins. Marco Pierre White took over as Head Chef when he went into partnership with Jimmy Lahoud at Quo Vadis restaurant on Dean Street and the restaurant was voted Best French Restaurant in London and Best Restaurant in Soho.
^Royce-Greensill, Sarah (17 October 2014). . The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
^ abVines, Richard (17 June 2014). "L'Escargot Is Hot -- Even Before Your Snails Catch Fire: Review". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
^ abPrynn, Jonathan (6 August 2014). "Members' club that's just 'for nice people' to open at historic Soho venue - London". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
^"L'Escargot in Soho comes out of its shell under new ownership". Time Out London. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
^Gwilliam, Katy (9 March 2011). "Soho's French fancy: L'Escargot reinvents the snail". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
escargot, restaurant, escargot, london, oldest, french, restaurant, also, city, oldest, restaurants, housed, georgian, townhouse, greek, street, heart, soho, district, building, which, dates, from, 1741, previously, private, residence, duke, portland, escargot. L Escargot is London s oldest French restaurant 1 and is also one of the city s oldest restaurants 2 3 It is housed in a Georgian townhouse on Greek Street in the heart of the Soho district The building which dates from 1741 was previously the private residence of the Duke of Portland L EscargotFacade of the restaurant in 2024Restaurant informationEstablished1896 128 years ago 1896 Street address48 Greek Street SohoCityLondon W1CountryUnited KingdomOther informationNearest station Tottenham Court Road Contents 1 History 1 1 1980s 1990s 2 Today 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editSoho began to be developed after the Great Fire of London in 1666 when over 13 000 houses were destroyed and 100 000 citizens left homeless The area then called Soho Fields was an obvious location for the wealthy to build their property being within easy reach of the royal palaces of Westminster Whitehall and St James s The name Soho is said to derive from so ho a popular hunting cry of the time Georges Gaudin established a restaurant in 1896 at the bottom end of Greek Street called Le Bienvenue He became famous for his snails his being the first restaurant in England to serve the delicacy When in 1927 he moved to larger premises at 48 Greek Street 2 his customers implored him to rename his restaurant L Escargot after his most popular dish He acquiesced and called the new restaurant L Escargot Bienvenue His snail farm in the basement of the new restaurant became quite a talking point A plaster bust of Gaudin riding a snail with the motto slow but sure remains to this day on display outside the restaurant 1980s 1990s edit After his retirement his son Alex ran the restaurant and it established itself as the best French restaurant in London Nick Lander and his wife Jancis Robinson Master of Wine took over the restaurant in 1981 and maintained its reputation as one of the best restaurants in London They employed Elena Salvoni widely recognized as one of the greatest restaurant managers of the 1980s hence regulars often nicknamed the restaurant Elena s Place L Escargot was refurbished in 1992 when Jimmy Lahoud and chefs David Cavalier and Garry Hollihead took over the reins Marco Pierre White took over as Head Chef when he went into partnership with Jimmy Lahoud at Quo Vadis restaurant on Dean Street and the restaurant was voted Best French Restaurant in London and Best Restaurant in Soho Today editIn February 2014 L Escargot was acquired by Brian Clivaz 3 4 of The Arts Club Home House and Langan s Brasserie Laurence Isaacson and a group of their friends 5 See also edit nbsp Food portal nbsp Companies portal nbsp London portal List of French restaurants List of restaurants in London Marcus Gleadow Ware Paul LiebrandtReferences edit Royce Greensill Sarah 17 October 2014 Upstairs at L Escargot Soho s newest members club Telegraph The Telegraph Archived from the original on 18 October 2014 Retrieved 5 May 2015 a b Vines Richard 17 June 2014 L Escargot Is Hot Even Before Your Snails Catch Fire Review Bloomberg Business Retrieved 5 May 2015 a b Prynn Jonathan 6 August 2014 Members club that s just for nice people to open at historic Soho venue London Evening Standard Retrieved 5 May 2015 L Escargot in Soho comes out of its shell under new ownership Time Out London 20 March 2014 Retrieved 5 May 2015 Gwilliam Katy 9 March 2011 Soho s French fancy L Escargot reinvents the snail The Telegraph Retrieved 28 November 2012 External links editL Escargot Soho in London England L Escargot Bleu in Edinburgh Scotland 51 30 50 2 N 0 7 51 6 W 51 513944 N 0 131000 W 51 513944 0 131000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title L 27Escargot restaurant amp oldid 1212414943, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
