La Cigale | |
---|---|
Restaurant information | |
Established | 1895 |
Owner(s) | Private party |
Food type | Brasserie |
Dress code | Casual |
Street address | 4 Place Graslin |
City | Nantes |
Postal/ZIP Code | 44000 |
Country | France |
Reservations | No |
Website | lacigale.com |
La Cigale is a brasserie located in Nantes, France, on the same city square as the Théâtre Graslin. The locale has been classified as a historic monument since 1964.[1]
The restaurant was designed by the architect and ceramicist Émile Libaudière in the exaggerated Art nouveau style of the era.[2] On 1 April 1895, the brasserie was opened for business by its first owner, Mrs. Calado.
From the beginning the restaurant attracted a bourgeois clientele that mixed with artists from the nearby theater. The surrealists Jacques Prévert and André Breton were regular patrons.[3] Scenes from several films have been shot there, including Jacques Demy's 1961 film Lola,[4] Debout les crabes, la mer monte ! by Jean-Jacques Grand-Jouan (1983),[5] and Jacquot de Nantes by Agnès Varda (1991).[6]
In 1964, the brasserie was turned into a fast-food restaurant, but the decor remained unchanged due to the protections afforded by its status as a historical monument. During the 1970s, the restaurant was neglected and eventually abandoned. However, a new owner restored it back to its original brasserie form in 1982.[2]