History Scott's (restaurant)

1 history

1.1 nineteenth century
1.2 twentieth century
1.3 twenty-first century

history
nineteenth century

a scott s oyster rooms in or near haymarket existed @ least 1853. in year paul shoreditch of devereaux court (sic), temple, brought before judge trying pass forged £5 note @ establishment. in 1859 man charged assaulting waiter @ scott s oyster rooms in coventry street.

in 1872, charles sonnhammer , emil loibl, owners of london pavilion music hall, established oyster warehouse @ 18 coventry street. stood on corner great windmill street. sonnhammer became sole owner in 1875 following break of partnership loibl in 1874. business changed ownership again in 1876 , once more in 1891 when became known scott s oyster , supper rooms, located @ numbers 18 , 19.

in 1892–94, numbers 18 , 19, number 20, rebuilt in bath stone design of architects treadwell , martin in style described survey of london in 1963 being known @ time french renaissance . survey continued:

wine , coffee bars, lobster-boiling rooms , etc., planned basement, oyster bars , grill-room ground floor, 3 floors of dining-rooms above, , pantries , sculleries on top floor. 2 façades on corner site related, each having gable (one dated 1892, other 1894) , there octagonal oriel-turret @ angle, carved panels containing scallop-shells. bands of carved vegetation still visible on great windmill street front. plinth , stunted columns of polished dark labrador granite, , unpolished kemnay granite first-floor sills have been coloured black , bath stone above appears have been painted.

as of 2015, coventry street building still exists complete decorations of s monogram , shells in stone. part of trocadero centre.

twentieth century

scott s restaurant, mount street, in 2005

in 1914, scott s described hub of west end of london .

during second world war, james bond author ian fleming had idea of taking captured german u-boat officers werner lott , second in command, day out , lunch @ scott s aim of getting them drunk reveal how had managed evade british mines in skagerrak. plan failed not before restaurant filled police officers special branch after head waiter overheard party speaking in german. later, when scott s still in coventry street, fleming made regular spot @ restaurant, right-hand corner table 2 on first floor, favourite of bond.

in 1967, restaurant moved mount street. art dealer robert fraser had flat on third floor above restaurant.

anticipating move, kingsley amis, in first james bond continuation novel colonel sun, has bond lunching in scott s , fearing worst:- bond had heard whole north side of (coventry street) doomed demolition, , counted every meal taken in severe comfortable panelled rooms tiny victory on new hateful london of steel , glass matchbox architecture .

on 12 november 1975, john batey, aged 59, killed when ira bomb exploded in restaurant. fifteen others wounded. in december 1975, ira attacked restaurant again, firing ford cortina drove past. police had noticed ira attacked same location twice, , little other intelligence go on, had flooded london plain clothes officers @ vulnerable sites. inspector john purnell , sergeant phil mcveigh, both unarmed, on spot , able give chase in london taxi despite several shots being fired @ them. terrorists forced abandon car after driving cul-de-sac , continued on foot until reached balcombe street barricaded in council flat 2 hostages in became known balcombe street siege.

in 1988, kingsley amis reviewed restaurant illustrated london news, noting decor luxurious safe side of vulgarity .

twenty-first century

in 2013, financial times reported scott s had been patronized in recent past former president bill clinton, actor tom cruise, , angolan businesswoman isabel dos santos.

in 2013, scott s scene of argument between charles saatchi , wife nigella lawson, led saatchi being cautioned assault metropolitan police.