Great films capture our imaginations, establish witty catch-phrases that never get old and seer our minds with unforgettable images. Think the ‘spaghetti scene’ from Lady and the Tramp, Jack Nicholson chopping down the door in ‘The Shining’, or the opening credits in ‘Star Wars. What about ‘You can’t handle the truth!’, ‘Open the pod bay doors, please, HAL ‘, or ‘I’ll be back ‘. There are so many great moments that it’s hard to whittle them down, so we thought we’d combine 2 of our great loves – delicious food and classic movies, with this list of the Top 5 Famous Restaurants from Classic Movies!
Hawthorne Grill – Pulp Fiction 13763 S. Hawthorne Blvd, Hawthorne, Los Angeles, CA 90250 (Now Demolished).
Opened in 1956 under the name ‘Holly’s’, by the time Quentin Tarantino chose to film Pulp Fiction’s intro and outro scenes here, the restaurant was known as Hawthorne Grill and had been closed for 4 years. The success of Pulp Fiction inspired resident Chris Garnreiter to reopen the grill in 1995, but unfortunately, he went bankrupt a year later, and the building was demolished in 1999. Still, we’ll always have the memories, the brilliant dialogue and one of the best scenes in movie history.
The Dresden Room – Swingers 1760 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA.
The Dresden Room in Los Angeles is a local icon and one of the coolest places in the city to grab a meal, and its legend has only grown after it featured in the cult classic ‘Swingers’. The highlight of the scene was an old couple performing a hipster version of ‘Stayin’ Alive’ – they are Marty & Elayne, and they still perform classic covers for patrons every night of the week except Sundays!
Katz’s Delicatessen – When Harry Met Sally 205 East Houston Street, New York, NY.
Unarguably the best deli in New York City, Katz’s Delicatessen has been open since 1888 (!!!) and is famous for its thick Pastrami sandwiches, delicious hot-dogs and that scene from ‘When Harry Met Sally’, where Meg Ryan’s ‘Sally’ shows Billy Crystal’s ‘Harry’ that you can’t believe everything you hear… The famous scene is commemorated in Kat’z Deli with a big sign that hangs above the table they sat in, reading, “Where Harry met Sally…hope you have what she had!”.
Lenny’s Pizza – Saturday Night Fever 594 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY.
John Travolta’s ‘Tony Manero’ in the Disco classic Saturday Night Fever is known for his alpha-dog strut, his dance moves and for eating 2 slices of Lenny’s Pizza – one on top of the other, like a boss. Since the movie’s release in 1977, eating one slice of pizza at a time doesn’t do the job.
Cicada – Pretty Woman 617 South Olive Street, Los Angeles, CA.
Known as Rex II Ristorante at the time of filming, the site now named Cicada Restaurant is still going strong, and aside from its upmarket cuisine, it’s known around the world as the place where Edward (Richard Gere) and Vivian (Julia Roberts) began to fall in love. The part where she tries to eat Escargot is a classic (‘Slippery little suckers… ‘), although we think we’ll stick to a Margherita pizza, thanks, no offense to the French.
Those are some absolute classics, but we’re sure there are plenty more – what are some of your favorite restaurant scenes from classic movies? Let us know in the comments; we’d love to check them out!!