Author Archives: Editor

LE PROCOPE

Dating back to 1686, Le Procope is one of the most famous and storied restaurants in Paris. A brasserie of distinction, bedecked in ornate furnishings, grand artwork and gilded decor, the restaurant has long-been held as a bastion of traditional French cuisine. Throughout the establishment’s history it has been a celebrated meeting place for Parisian society, the intelligentsia and various luminaries in artistic and literary circles, particularly so in the days that the dining room acted as a café in the grand European café tradition. Indeed, the restaurant regards itself as the oldest continuously operating café in the city. The beautiful environs make the venue a particularly popular destination for Parisians and tourists alike, keen to try the classic fare on offer or to enjoy their famous confections or ice creams. Today, the restaurant is a key institution of the Group Bertrand collection.

1897

A coffeehouse in the Viennese tradition, 1897 has been a Bayreuth institution since it’s foundation more than a century ago. Located in the beautiful medieval old town of Bayreuth, close to the castle and the UNESCO protected Margravial opera house, the café includes a guesthouse and private roastery, producing bespoke coffee under their own brands and as a private label for other organisations. 1897 (sometimes known as the Kaffeehaus Bayreuth or the Wiener Kaffeehaus) maintains the aura and ambience of the great European coffeehouse and grand café archetype. For tourists and locals alike, this is a must-visit for delicate pastries and confections, sit-down meals or excellent coffee.

RIMOWA

Rimowa, like so many of our most celebrated luxury brands, began life as a saddlery in the 19th Century, crafting high quality equestrian goods, accessories and leather goods for exacting customers in the age of horse-drawn travel. The company, founded in 1898 by Paul Morszeck and his business partner, Heinrich Görtz, traded as Görtz & Morszeck and quickly developed a reputation for excellence. Görtz left in 1900 and Morszeck would take the company a different direction, focussing on saddlebags, travel trunks and luggage, embracing the advent in aviation and steamship travel. When his son, Richard, joined the business in 1931, changing the businesses name to a play on his own, Rimowa would begin to craft the highest quality luggage, robust and indestructible and inspired by the flight cases used by pilots. This design brief would become the house’s signature and is still very much in demand today. The house was taken over by the luxury goods conglomerate, LVMH, in 2016.

21 CLUB

A legendary speak-easy that grew into a landmark fine-dining institution in New York City, the 21 Club was a place to see and to be seen until it’s post-Covid closure. Originally a bar for those in the know during America’s prohibition years, it became a favourite venue of the Knickerbocker elite, a society outpost that’s legacy continued long after prohibition came to an end. The 21 Club leaned heavily into the concept of a private members club (it was a members club of sorts during its early years), with its signature jockey club motif. The bar expanded its offer to become one of the city’s finest dining rooms, a steakhouse with classic American cuisine defining its menu. The restaurant became a jewel in the Belmond/LVMH crown.

SMYTHSON

Frank Smythson opened his eponymous stationers in London in 1887 and soon garnered a reputation as a purveyor of the highest quality provisions for London’s smartest families. The house’s bespoke stationery was comprised of the finest materials allowing their customers to convey their extremely high tastes, not to mention their capacity to spare no expense. Smythson’s became a firm favourite of the Royal family and other great households across Europe. The firm expanded their range to include diaries, notebooks, travel accessories and leather goods, particularly bag & handbags, made to the same exacting standards and luxurious brief as their traditional stationery.

A.A. BROWN & SONS

A luxury high-end gunmaker, A.A. Brown & Sons has been producing bespoke arms to order for the most discerning of sportsmen since 1930. A true gunsmiths, the firm produces their own side by side (the Supreme de Luxe model) and an over and under model (the ABAS Series 8), as well as refurbished pieces from various other marques.

BRENNAN’S

Brennan’s is a grand and storied dining room in New Orleans’s French Quarter. Founded in 1946, the restaurant quickly distinguished itself as one of the nation’s finest eateries with a penchant for flair and innovation. The restaurant is the flagship of the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group and continues its fine dining tradition, with gentleman still asked to be appropriately attired (jackets preferred). With it’s colourful, yet charming, decor, Brennan’s is a key feature on the New Orleans landscape and a pinnacle of southern cuisine and modern American fare. Both the dining room and the bar are renowned celebrity spots too with many famous names having graced the establishment’s vibrant and classic restaurant.

WALLY

Founded in 1994 in Monaco by Italian boatbuilder, Luca Bassani, Wally began as a maker of elegant and capable sailing yachts for discerning customers. The brand became renowned for its clean lines, modern designs, embrace of carbon fibre and lightweight materials to create supremely capable and ultra luxurious performance vessels for the superyacht class. The yard expanded their range to include motoryachts and smaller vessels and launches, maintaining their ultramodern, design-oriented ethos. The brand is now under the stewardship of the Ferretti Group and continues to be regarded as the pinnacle of modern yachtcraft.

BUTLERS

Ireland’s most famous chocolatier, Butlers has been producing Dublin Society’s favourite chocolate confections since Marion Butler founded the business that now bares her name. Successfully having established branches across the world, Butlers is a go-to café (their hot chocolate is legendary) in addition to being a widely popular manufacturer of gift-boxed chocolates for any occasion. For the more enthusiastic choclateers, Butlers also host visits to their Dublin factory.