13 Restaurants That Were Once Frequented By Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway's life story reads like a ridiculously exaggerated and definitely fictional story created by a fan-fic writer who threw everything at the page, including the kitchen sink. From growing up in Chicago to being a World War I ambulance driver, then a reporter who traveled the world and was on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War, it's wild stuff. Somewhere along the way, he found time to write some of the greatest fictional works in American history, which is enough to make anyone feel their accomplishments seem insignificant.
Along the way, Hemingway became renowned for his appetite: for adventure, for fame (and privacy), and for the finest foods and drinks in the world. No matter where he lived at any given time, Hemingway had his favorite haunts. Many you can still visit today, and many also pay tribute to this most illustrious of regulars.
In "A Moveable Feast," Hemingway wrote about how a restaurant, bar, or cafe is about much more than just food: They're places where people can go to be a part of something much bigger, older, and more all-encompassing than themselves, and sometimes, they become a part of history.
The following article includes a brief reference to suicide.
Restaurant Botín
Ernest Hemingway's love for Spain was made clear in books like "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Death in the Afternoon," and he really did spend a considerable amount of time in the country. That started in the 1930s, and while he was there, Hemingway was a regular at one particular Spanish restaurant: Restaurant Botín.
Even without Hemingway's connection, the restaurant itself is ridiculously cool. The building dates back to around 1590, and it became a restaurant in 1725. That doesn't just make it old; it's the oldest in the world, and it's still serving up some equally old signature dishes: Suckling pig and lamb are made in the same way they have been for generations, using some of the finest ingredients in the area.
Hemingway had his own table, and yes, he wrote there. A lot. Botín gets name-checked in "Death in the Afternoon" and "The Sun Also Rises," but for Hemingway, it was about more than a beautiful, old restaurant in a beautiful city, serving up a favorite meal. He was good friends with the owners — whose descendants will run the restaurant — and learned how to cook paella (badly) in the kitchens.
+34 91 366 42 17
Calle Cuchilleros 17, 28005, Madrid, Spain
La Closerie des Lilas
Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" is the odd novel that has such an impact that it defined an entire generation — the Lost Generation. It's set in post-World War I Europe, and you might argue that it's so good because it was written by someone who had seen the war up close and personal and because it was largely penned in one of his favorite restaurants.
La Closerie des Lilas remains nearly unchanged from the time that Hemingway was there, still featuring both a restaurant and piano bar, still serving traditional French cuisine, and still featuring the beautiful lilacs that it's named for. The menu includes dishes like Imperial Caviar of Sologne, Iberico ham, wild boar, and duck foie gras. Hemingway himself even has a beef dish named after him; a pan-fried beef filet.
There was nothing secret about the cafe, and as it was also the place for the era's other most famous poets, artists, and writers, the clientele included names like Pablo Picasso and Charles Baudelaire. Hemingway's close connection to the restaurant isn't just immortalized with his work, but there's an engraved plaque there, too.
+01 40 51 34 50
171 Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75006, Paris, France
Michel's Christiania
After decades of traveling, Ernest Hemingway and his wife settled in Ketchum, Idaho, and here's a heartbreaking fact: Hemingway's favorite meal was also one of his lasts. He died by suicide in 1961, not long after he enjoyed a Caesar salad, New York strip steak with a baked potato, and a glass of Bordeaux (believed to be Châteauneuf-du-Pape) at a local restaurant that was such a usual favorite that he and his wife and their own preferred table, a corner booth.
A certified Angus New York steak with red wine sauce and pomme frites is still on the menu at Michel's Christiania, along with delicacies like braised lamb shank, filet mignon, and house-smoked salmon. Hemingway's association with Idaho wasn't a late-in-life thing, either: He'd fallen in love with it when he first visited the Sun Valley Lodge in 1939, and worked on some of his most famous books there.
The table where Hemingway often ate is still there, and the restaurant itself is a mixture of beautiful, French-centric decadence and Idaho wilderness, from the chandeliers to the views of Bald Mountain. Customer reviews laud it for an extensive wine list and a menu where everything is a solid win.
(208) 726-3388
303 Walnut Ave, Ketchum, ID 83340
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Brasserie Lipp
Sure, it might seem like a dream come true to head off to France as a journalist, but it's worth noting that Ernest Hemingway did make some major concessions. If running water is a convenience you can't live without, well, don't get too envious just yet. It was the 1920s when Hemingway was there, after all, and certainly wasn't all bad. While in Paris, Hemingway frequented a number of establishments, including Brasserie Lipp.
This was a lunchtime favorite, and we also know what his preferred order was: beer, potatoes, and herring. And yes, you can still order them today. As of this writing, it's an appetizer that costs about $13. Not your thing? You could also opt for a nearly $200 appetizer of 50 grams of Oscietra caviar. Main courses include things like duck leg confit, beef tartare, seafood sauerkraut, and a dish that's described as a specialty, which is stuffed and grilled pig's foot.
+01 45 48 53 91
151 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006, Paris, France
La Venencia
Good luck finding a lot of information on La Venencia. Even the official website only confirms that the place is still open and reinforces the idea that they don't like having photos taken. If it sounds like your kind of place, you're in good company as Ernest Hemingway used to be a regular there.
Hemingway was in Spain by the end of the 1930s, and at the time, La Venencia would have been fairly new. Today, though, it's a delightfully well-preserved time capsule that's changed little from what it was in 1922, and if you love nothing more than trying a variety of sherry wines, this is your place. Love tapas, too? You'll be served a plate of this traditional Spanish dish with each and every drink that you order.
But seriously, don't take photos. And honestly, there's something refreshing about that, a policy that might seem out of place in today's world but that will absolutely encourage you to lose yourself in the old-world charm in the same way that customers have been for generations.
+34 91 429 62 61
Calle Echegaray 7, 28014, Madrid, Spain
Polidor
In "A Moveable Feast," Hemingway wrote: "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." He was speaking from experience, having lived there in the 1920s and recalling the time in a work that was published posthumously. One of the restaurants mentioned is Polidor, which opened in 1845 and quickly became a favorite of students, artists, and creatives. James Joyce was another regular, and it's also featured in "Midnight in Paris."
It was so wildly popular in part because it was affordable, and one of the brilliant things about this place is that if you were to go visit today, you'd be walking into a restaurant that's largely the same as it was a century ago. Perhaps best of all, it's a great place for someone who might want to walk in Hemingway's footsteps but not pay a fortune for fancy dishes. The menu includes specials that change based on what's sourced from local markets, along with staples like roasted eggplant, cod with olives, beef tartar, and pasta. Feeling like sampling some snails? You can do that here, too.
+33 1 43 26 95 34
41 Rue Monsieur Le Prince, 75006, Paris, France
El Floridita
It's a sure sign that you've made it when you start getting drinks named after you. Check out the menu of Havana's El Floridita, and you'll find a few Ernest Hemingway-themed items. First, there's the Papa Hemingway, a delicious-sounding mix of Havana Club, grapefruit juice, and maraschino. Then, there's The Old Man and the Sea, a fish, ship, lobster, and tropical fruit sandwich. That's not a bad tribute at all!
The bar has gone through several incarnations and it's had several names, and it was christened "El Floridita" the same year that Constantino Ribalaigua Vert started working here — he'd eventually invent the daiquiri. Hemingway showed up the following year and loved the idea. We have good news: You can drink your next daiquiri like Hemingway with just a few tweaks; it involves grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur.
Legend says that the seeds of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" were planted after multiple daiquiris, and equally legendary — but also completely true — is the fact that he rubbed elbows with everyone from Ava Gardner to Spencer Tracy in the 25+ years he frequented the establishment. Today, he's been memorialized with a bronze statue that stands at the bar.
+53 7 867 1300
Obispo 557 Esquina a Monserrate esq. a Monserrate, Havana Vieja, Havana, 10100, Cuba
Harry's Bar
Ernest Hemingway was a regular at Venice's legendary Harry's Bar, and there's a great story here that kind of captures just what a wild life he had. He knew all the other regulars there, but one of the people he was commonly seen hanging out with was Princess Aspasia of Greece, the common-born wife of Greece's King Alexander I. She had ended up in Italy after the king died from a bite from their pet monkey. Oh, to be a fly on the wall.
Hemingway reportedly had so much fun in Venice that he was having trouble getting any actual writing done, and we can see why. Harry's Bar is renowned for attracting exactly the sort of people that would get Hemingway in trouble, from artists and thinkers to other writers and scores of noble patrons.
Harry's Bar has officially been declared a National Landmark, and it's not only serving up some serious cocktails, but the menu is still filled with traditional dishes like Parma ham, soups, cuttlefish, calf's liver and kidneys, and scampi. You'd expect nothing less from the birthplace of the Bellini cocktail.
+39 041 52 85 777
San Marco 1323, Venezia, Italy, 30124
Cerveceria Alemana
In the year before Ernest Hemingway's death, Life magazine ran an article in which he talked about Cerveceria Alemana. He called it "a good cafe and beer place," and when it was founded in 1904, that's what it was — a place to drink beer. It was almost immediately a hit: In 1905, it was reported that they went through more than 90,000 liters of beer in nine months, and they also started serving sandwiches and sausages. It changed hands in the 1920s and became a favorite of writers, actors, and artists.
Today, there's much more than just beer on the menu. Extensive tapas offerings include a variety of seafood (including octopus, anchovies, squid, mussels, and dogfish), tripe, and sausages. Order cheeses and sandwiches, or choose from a variety of cured meats and salads, and to finish things off, there's definitely cake.
And don't forget the croquettes; deep-fried patties of goodness that have decades' worth of fans. It's the croquettes, in fact, that were at least partially blamed for luring a horse into the establishment back in 1955, in an incident that's still remembered in the restaurant's oft-told histories.
+91 429 70 33
Plaza Santa Ana, 6, 28012, Madrid, Spain
Café Iruña
Ernest Hemingway is known for many things, including a fascination with bullfighting. One of Spain's most famous bull-related events is Pamplona's Running of the Bulls, which attracts more than a million people each year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, one of Hemingway's go-to restaurants is in Pamplona, and still has an area dedicated to the memory of its famous guest.
Café Iruña gets a mention in "The Sun Also Rises," where Hemingway wrote pieces of other works, including "The Old Man and the Sea," and it has a pretty neat history outside of literature as well. It was the first place in Pamplona to be outfitted with electric lighting, and it was a huge deal. People gathered at the unveiling of these futuristic new lights fainted and decried them as the work of the devil, but suspicion can't hold a candle to convenience, and it became a popular meeting place.
Today, the restaurant's social media is filled with delicious-looking desserts, fresh ingredients, tapas plates, sparkling beverages, and all kinds of wines. Hemingway is still there, sort of, immortalized in sculpture form.
+9 48 222 064
Plaza del Castillo, 44, 31001, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
The Gritti Palace/Club del Doge
Venice's Gritti Palace doesn't just have stunning views and an incredible atmosphere; it also has the Ernest Hemingway presidential suite. It's stocked with Hemingway's works and his favorite wines, and it's pretty much a must-visit sort of place for a true Hemingway fan. There's a Hemingway window, the same green chair that he sat in when he stayed there, and in fact, much of the furniture from his era has survived. An autographed copy of the novel he wrote while there, however, hasn't: It was stolen.
The novel in question was "Across the River and Into the Trees," which captured his obsession with an aristocratic woman 31 years his junior. While the work wasn't the smash success that his other works had been, his presence is still felt at the hotel and the attached restaurant, Club del Doge.
The restaurant is the sort of place that speaks of its meals as "experiences" and starts with choices like caviar, lobster, scallops, prawns, and goat. There's also the risotto "Hemingway-style," which is made with scampi prawns, Timut pepper, lemon, and bitters. The recipe is the same one that's been made in the kitchen for more than six decades, and occasionally, guests can attend classes where the restaurant's chef shares the secrets to making it.
+39 041 794611
Campo Santa Maria del Giglio 2467, Venice, Italy 30124
The Carousel Bar and Lounge/Hotel Monteleone
Few American cities have a culinary legacy as unique and storied as that of New Orleans. From the New Orleans-style iced coffee that uses chicory for an extra-flavorful kick to the fact that we can thank the Big Easy for introducing the rest of us to the idea of blackened foods, NOLA is incredible: and Ernest Hemingway thought so, too. He was well-known at the Hotel Monteleone, which currently has a suite that bears his name. The hotel was built in 1886, and what might be its most famous section — the Carousel Bar — was added in 1949.
And yes, Hemingway was well-known here, too. Want to take a spin? There are only 25 seats, so there might be a bit of a wait, but it's well worth it to step into the past and visit an old hangout of not just Hemingway but other literary giants like William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams. It takes about 15 minutes to make a full circle, so don't worry; there's no motion sickness happening here. Sample the hotel's take on classic cocktails like a Manhattan, Paloma, or a French 007, and a Pimm's Cup is precisely what you need to beat the New Orleans heat.
(504) 523-3341
214 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Minetta Tavern
Unfortunately, there aren't many details out there about what went on in the heyday of New York City's Minetta Tavern, and that's a shame. The tavern boasts a list of regulars that included not only Ernest Hemingway but E.E. Cummings, Dylan Thomas, and Ezra Pound. Do we want to know more? Absolutely, but information is scarce.
We do know that the tavern has been remodeled and reopened but kept much the same vibe that it would have had in Hemingway's day. We also can't help but think that he would have approved of the menu, with dishes like grilled oysters, red wine braised escargot, foie gras and bone marrow, plenty of seafood options, burgers, and steaks. There's also a wildly impressive wine list, and if a 40-year-old Balvenie, Japanese whisky, or a 23-year-old Van Winkle is more your thing, they've got that, too.
(212) 475-3850
113 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012