Maison Dorée

The Maison Dorée, which translates as the "gilded house," was one of the most famous restaurants in Parisian history, located on the Boulevard des Italiens. The history of the site goes back to the days of the Directory, when the future Madame Tallien, known as "Our Lady of Thermidor," lived in the building there. Later, the site housed the Café Hardy, which under Napoleon was notorious for its excellent truffle omelets and for serving the most expensive meal in the city. After the Hamel brothers acquired it, the building was rebuilt by Victor Lemaire in 1839 and opened in 1841 under the name Restaurant de la Cité. Thanks to its luxurious décor of paintings, mirrors, and abundant gilded ornament on the balconies and railings, the public quickly renamed the place the Maison Dorée.

The restaurant was divided into two areas: one for the general public on the boulevard and a more exclusive section on the Rue Laffitte, which had private dining rooms. Particularly sought after was private room number six, which was reserved for the nobility and the wealthy upper middle class. The impressive wine cellar drew numerous connoisseurs, among them the future King Edward VII and the art collector Richard Seymour-Conway. The literary world was also closely tied to the place; Honoré de Balzac had his novel's hero Lucien de Rubempré dine there, and Marcel Proust set a central scene of his "In Search of Lost Time" on the premises. The chef Casimir Moisson is also credited with having created Tournedos Rossini there for the composer Gioachino Rossini.

Besides the restaurant, the building's upper floor housed the editorial offices of various newspapers, including Alexandre Dumas's paper Le Mousquetaire. A historic highlight was the last Impressionist exhibition in 1886, which took place in this building. After the restaurant closed in 1902, the building was converted into offices and shops. In the 1970s, the Banque Nationale de Paris bought the property and had it renovated. Under the architect Pierre Dufau, this resulted in a controversial project that kept the historic façade but integrated a completely new interior, which is considered an early example of so-called façadism.