Café de L’Enfer (Hell’s Cafe)
A hot spot called Hell’s Café lured 19th-century Parisians to the city’s Montmartre neighborhood—like the Marais—on the Right Bank of the Seine. With plaster lost souls writhing on its walls and a bug-eyed devil’s head for a front door, le Café de l’Enfer may have been one of the world’s first theme restaurants. According to one 1899 visitor, the café’s doorman—in a Satan suit—welcomed diners with the greeting, “Enter and be damned!” Hell’s waiters also dressed as devils. 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!” [from National Geographic]
This entry was posted on May 29, 2012 at 9:00 am and is filed under Photography, Satan with tags 19th century, black and white, cabaret, coffee, devil, hell, hell's cafe, montmartre, paris, photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 31, 2012 at 8:03 am
Wonderful!!!
April 24, 2015 at 1:47 am
Awesome disparity between the building facings….duck, duck, devil..with some interesting decor. I wonder if this was partial inspiration for the Jeepers Creepers lair.