Italian brothers and immigrants to London, Giacomo and Battista Monico bought a restaurant in what was then Tichborne Street in London, England, in 1877 and announced the opening of Café Monico.

Renowned for its lively atmosphere, serving coffee, meals, and refreshments in an elegant setting, it became a popular gathering place for poor writers and artists and wealthy members of the aristocracy alike.

In 1885, Tichborne Street was razed to create Shaftesbury Avenue and the brothers found themselves with a property that overlooked Piccadilly Circus in the heart of Westminster and London’s theatreland.

By 1890 they had expanded the restaurant and advertisements announced it had: ‘Grand Café Saloon. Grill Room. Best Ventilated Billiard Saloons in London. Supper after the Theatres. Restaurant Open till Half-past 12’.

This charming menu cover showing 16 elves helping to open a bottle of champagne was for New Year’s Eve 1920-21. The interior menu is written in French and includes a tribute to George V, the King.

There was also a lovely poem reflecting on the passing of another year on the back of the menu entitled The Wheels of Time by Laura Russell.

‘I hear the hurried wheels of Time, Beat in my busy brain, I listen to their endless rhyme and their incessant strain. They dash across the dying day, into the depth of night, and carry everything away, for ever out of sight.’

Café Monico lasted until the 1950s. A resurrected Café Monico opened in 2016, revived by the Soho House chain and featuring chef Rowley Leigh. It lasted until 2021 when it was replaced by a steak house.