Café de Paris

The Café de Paris was a nightclub in London’s West End, on Coventry Street between Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. It opened in 1924 and became a leading theatre club in the 1930s. The building suffered severe damage during the Second World War when a bomb exploded in its basement ballroom on 8 March 1941. The blast killed at least 34 people and injured around 80, including bandleader Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson. The venue closed until 1948 and reopened as a popular nightclub in the following decades. It attracted many famous performers and guests, including Marlene Dietrich, Cole Porter, Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. In the 1950s Noël Coward and Marlene Dietrich performed cabaret seasons there. The club also hosted regular events like Les nuits du Mercredi in the 1980s, attended by David Bowie and Andy Warhol. It appeared in films such as Absolute Beginners and The Krays and was used for music videos and television scenes. Visitors found a stylish club with a dress code that encouraged vintage or cabaret attire. The interior included a dining room and a ballroom where performances took place. The building’s front appeared undamaged after the 1941 bombing, though the basement was destroyed. Today the space is used for film locations and events under a new name.