Former Café Royal site is hit by blaze
Published: 2 April 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM
FIREFIGHTERS tackled a blaze on the site of a historic celebrity haunt in central London.
They were called out to a construction site in Glasshouse Street, off Regent Street, where the Café Royal stood until it closed in 2008.
A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: “A small part of the ground floor of a six-storey building, which is under construction, was damaged.”
The Café Royal was once a favourite of Oscar Wilde, Elizabeth Taylor and numerous members of the royal family in its 143-year history.
More recently, TV chef Gordon Ramsay chose the venue to hold his wedding reception.
Furniture and memorabilia from the venue were auctioned off in January last year after its doors closed to make way for a landmark redevelopment.
The Café Royal was opened in the 19th century by Parisian wine merchant, Daniel Nicolas, who was on the run from a prison sentence imposed for bankruptcy in France.
In 1894 it was the scene of an infamous unsolved murder when the night porter Marius Martin was found with two bullets in his head.