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Cafés and Restaurants
[edit]À la Carte Restaurant
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The À la Carte Restaurant was a luxurious restaurant open exclusively to first-class passengers. The restaurant, which was the preferred alternative to the main Dining Saloon, gave passengers the option of enjoying lavish meals at an additional cost. Unlike the main Dining Saloon, the restaurant gave passengers the freedom to eat whenever they liked (between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.) and did not limit them to a fixed menu[a 1]. The restaurant was not managed by the White Star Line; Luigi Gatti ran it as a concession and his staff were not part of the regular crew[a 2].
The restaurant was decorated in the Louis XVI style and lit by picture windows. Axminster carpets covered the floors and small tables, which accommodated from two to eight people, were set with porcelain plates and lit by crystal lamps[1]. The À la Carte Restaurant provided the most intimate atmosphere on board. In fact, half of the tables in the restaurant catered for two people, whereas very few of these tables were offered in the main Dining Saloon[a 3].
The passengers often referred to the restaurant as the Ritz. Mrs Walter Douglas, a first-class passenger who survived the shipwreck, gave her account of the À la Carte Restaurant: "It was the last word in luxury. The tables were gay with pink roses and white daisies […] the stringed orchestra playing music from Puccini and Tchaikovski. The food was superb: caviar, lobster, quail from Egypt, plover's eggs, and hothouse grapes and fresh peaches."[1]. On the night of the sinking, the Wideners, a wealthy couple from Philadelphia, hosted a dinner party at the restaurant in honour of Captain Smith[2].
The restaurant had its own reception room located next to the aft Grand Staircase on B Deck. The first-class Reception Room was decorated in the Georgian style: armchairs and settees[2] were covered in carmine-coloured silk; and a space was reserved for the orchestra. This room allowed passengers to gather together prior to and after their meals[a 4].
Gathering Places
[edit]Smoking Room
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The first-class passengers could enjoy a Georgian-styled smoking room, found in the back of the A Deck. In keeping with social conventions of the time, the room was exclusive to men[3]. In order to recreate the same atmosphere of a gentlemen’s club, the room was decorated with dark mahogany panelling inlaid with mother-of-pearl, numerous stained-glass windows, and alcoves[a 5].
The floor was laid with blue and red linoleum tiles. In the center of the far-back wall was a Norman Wilkinson painting, Plymouth Harbour, which hung over the fireplace. This was the only real fireplace on board, whereas the others used electricity[a 6]. The furniture was upholstered in leather, of an unknown colour (probably green or burgundy[a 7].
The room was accessible by the aft Grand Staircase, and to the right of the fireplace was a revolving door which lead to the Verandah Café. The room was U-shaped in order to permit the smoke from the fireplace to be vented out. This area also included bathrooms[a 8].
The smoking room was the preferred spot of gamblers who crossed the Atlantic. Professional card sharks also travelled on board under aliases, and the Commissioner could only warn passengers of this plague: indeed, passengers would play at their own risk. At least four professional players travelled on board the Titanic[4]. Cigars and drinks could be made available upon request of the passengers, and were provided by the stewards of the adjacent bar[a 9].
Reception Hall
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The first-class Dining Saloon of the Titanic was connected to a large reception hall, measuring 460 m2, that was located at the foot of the fore Grand Staircase on D Deck. A detailed candelabra[a 10] rested on the middle railing at the base of the stairs. The hall was just as close to two halls (one on each side of the ship) that were intended to greet part of the first-class passengers upon boarding. It was decorated in the Jacobean style and its walls were white and embellished with mouldings; the floor was covered in a thick, colourful carpet[a 11]. An imposing Aubusson tapestry, La Chasse du duc de Guise[5], hung in front of the staircase. On the wall close to the tapestry were letters indicating the name of the deck[a 12].
The hall was equipped with a large number of wicker chairs and tables, and could hold up to 600 people. In fact, it was recorded on the inaugural voyage of the Olympic, whose reception hall was slightly smaller, the room quickly filled up after dinner[a 11]. On the starboard side, there was an area reserved for a quintet and it held a Steinway grand piano[a 13].
The hall was open to passengers before and after meals. Here, the orchestra played from 4 to 5 p.m. while tea was served, then after dinner, from 8 to 9:15 p.m. Stewards handed out liquor and cigars until 11 p.m., at which time the hall closed. Generally, there were many spectators in the hall while the orchestra played. Then, the passengers returned to the other rooms in the ship.
Cite error: There are <ref group=a> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=a}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Mark Chimside 2004, p. 51
- ^ Gérard Piouffre 2009, p. 132
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Brewster,Coulter_29was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Gérard Piouffre 2009, p. 115
- ^ Philippe Masson 1998, p. 30