549. Shell Mex House: was Hotel Cecil (approx 1886-1930)

8/3/2019 549. Shell Mex House: was Hotel Cecil (approx 1886-1930)

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Sear c h

Cafe de Paris, London

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Chain

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Maxims Restaurant

The Villa des Fleurs Aix Le

Bains

The Hotel Cecil was one of the largest and grandest hotels in the world when itopened in 1886 situated between the Embankment and the Strand and not farfrom the Savoy Hotel. It was one of the most popular places to visit in Londonwith excellent cuisine, perfect ambiance, luxurious surroundings and one of thebest dancing salons in the West end.

The building was originally a red brick and stone block of chambers and flats built next to the Adelphi Terrace

overlooking the Embankment Gardens. It was one of th e schemes of the well known financier, MP and fraudster Jabez

Balfour whose Liberator Building Society failed in 1892 causing a scandal by leaving thousands of investors penniless. The

building project was abandoned and a company was subsequently formed, with some distinguished gentlemen as

directors, to buy the building and they turned it into one of the most comfortable hotels in London. It was named the

Cecil Hotel after Sir Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury and treasurer to James 1 who had had a house on part of the site.

Built in a very spacious and lavish style with over 800 rooms,

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at first it had an enormous entrance courtyard, known

affectionately as the beach and regarded as the most

American spot in London. Here, on the paving were cane

chairs and rocking chairs and piles of luggage and it became

a favoured meeting and socialising spot.

M. Bert ini, a clever, quick e yed and bearded Italian was th e

manager and M. Coste one of t he greatest c hefs of the late

Victorian era was in charge of the kitchens. The Cecil

restaurant was a large, lofty and spacious with a very

imposing colonnades or pillar of rich blue. At one end the

vast windows formed part of hanging terrace which seemsalmost at one with the trees and the gardens of the

embankment ove rlooking the Victoria Gardens and t he river

and big windows on the West side giving a glorious view of

Westminste r. For t he summe r, t here was also a veranda part

of th e restaurant with a sheltered striped sun awning.

But at first the dcor in the restaurant was too sombre and

things were not right. The panelling was of walnut wood

with a large square of deep crimson velvet embroidered

with the Cecil coat of arms and great mantelpieces of purple

grey Sicilian marble. The restaurant had no anteroom, and

people had to wait in the busy hall of the ho tel that p roved

to be an inconvenience. It was deemed to be slightly old

fashioned and not palatable for the ladies. It was not long therefore, before the management decided to build on thelarge ent rance courtyard creating a separate entrance for the restaurant and a vast Palm Court or winter g arden as a

noble reception room all charmingly decorated and upholstered in powdered blue and gold. The Palm Court was the

location for dancing that was held nightly because of it was airy and expansive and romantically lit. Even with chairs and

sofas around the sides of the room, the floor space was considerable. By the 1920s it had an excellent jazz band at one

end and a charming fount ain at t he ot her and became a hugely favoured spot in London.

At the same t ime t he restaurant was redecorated from floor to ceiling to make it far more palatable in to nes of pink and

white and gold. The wall panels were of Rose du Barri silk, the pillars gleaming white, while the friezes were of the

lightest blue. A dark rose carpet gave an added accent. In its centre was placed a handsome table of many tiers for

fruit and swe et things. After t he renovation the restaurant w as often referred to as the Rose du Barri room.

Below the main restaurant was the Grill Room or (the main restaurant) was the Indian room decorated in oriental

fashion with blue and yellow tiles. The Grill is actually beneath the restaurant but it is by no means below ground, for

the slope from the Strand to the Embankment is so acute that there is a difference of one story from back to front.

The grill also has a fine view of t he river. Here a grill dinner and a table d hot e dinner w as served and when t he room

overflowe d anot her equally spacious room w as opened up. The table dhote for lunch was 5s and dinner 7s and

sixpence. There was also a string o rchestra but n o dancing and sometimes a th dansant was staged.

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At first M. Paillard, the great Parisian restauranteur was brought over to be the manager for a while and the services of Smiler, a curry cook of great

renown, was utilised. A Roumanian band from Paris was also imported and given a perch on a rostrum and M. Califano known as Sunny Jim was appointed

as Maitre dhotel.

By the mid 1920s t he t able dho te luncheon is 7s and sixpence and dinner was 10s and sixpence and the cuisine was on a broad cosmopolitan line that one

expected from a large first class hotel with a large overseas and foreign clientele. By the 1920s the head chef was M. Campeau who was highly regarded for

his great originality, variety and attractiveness of his food and he was particularly renowned for his vegetarian banquets.

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One particular luncheon comprised a grape-fruit in place of hors doeuvre. Iced consomm, poached eggs in aspic, sliced breast of chicken and foie gras in

jelly. Then a dessert of fresh strawberries and a sliced fresh peach sprinkled with a liquer flavoured syrup resting on strawberry ice and partly covered with a

golden nest of spun sugar.

For dinner there w ould a wonderful sole inven te d by M. Campeau, called So le de la Francise after his daughte r. The sole is stew ed in a liquid consisting of

tw o-thirds fish stock and one t hird dry Chablis, with salt, peppe r, bay leaf, parsely, but te r and white mushrooms, a little cream. Decorated with skinned and

stoned grapes.

The Hotel Cecil had t he b iggest b anqueting accommodation in London and 600 p eople could dine in the Grand Hall; 350 could dine and 500 c ould dance in

the Victoria Hall; 200 could dine and 350 could dance in the Princes Hall.

Sadly Shell Mex purchased t he hot el in 1930, t he river faade w as remode lled into a more sober stone t hirteen -storey building w ith a central clock to we r,

which wo uld not be out of place on an art-deco mantelpiece.

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Josephine Earle

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Favours and Carnival Novelties

The Social Season

Who was Ninette?

Restaurant Maxim, London

The A mbassadeurs Show 1928

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2. Ragnasays:

September 18, 2011 at 9:25 pm

Thank you for this interesting post. My Great Grandfather Sydney Frederick McLaven w orked here as a night porter unt il around 1904. Do you

know if there are archives available to see if I can find out more about his life here.

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549. Shell Mex House: was Hotel Cecil (approx 1886-1930)

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