HISTORY

In 1927, M. Georges Gaudin, a French entrepreneur, moved his small restaurant “Le Bienvenu” from 26 Greek Street to larger premises at 48 Greek Street and renamed it L’Escargot Bienvenu. Georges and his son Alex ran the restaurant with great success until 1962 with many loyal local patrons using it like a club – a place to meet the owners and other familiar visitors as well as a place to drink and dine.

One London reporter wrote in 1929: “At lunch to-day, I rubbed shoulders there with three popular novelists, two publishers, a film star, and a couple of artists of the authentic Bloomsbury breed.”

This club-like spirit continued to be one of the sources of success of the place throughout its history – different owners maintained the same guest-focused attitude turning it into a regular meeting point for many celebrated figures from different walks of life – actors, politicians, writers, musicians and aristocracy were socialising at our venue, often booking private rooms or retiring upstairs for quieter moments, to slow down their usual daily pace.