Jammet Restaurant, also called Restaurant Jammet (pronounced [ʁɛstɔʁɑ̃ ʒamɛ]) or The Jammet Hotel and Restaurant, was a French restaurant located in Dublin, Ireland between 1901 and 1967.[1][2][3][4]

Jammet Restaurant
The St Andrew's Street premises c1900-1925
Map
Jammet Restaurant is located in Central Dublin
Jammet Restaurant
Jammet's on a map of Dublin (second location indicated)
Restaurant information
EstablishedMarch 6, 1901 (1901-03-06)
Closed1967
Previous owner(s)Jammet family
Food typeFrench cuisine, haute cuisine
Dress codeFormal
Street address26–27 St Andrew's Street (1901–26)
46 Nassau Street (1926–67)
CityDublin
CountryIreland (Irish Free State, Republic of Ireland)
Coordinates53°20′35″N 6°15′32″W / 53.343065°N 6.258923°W / 53.343065; -6.258923

History

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Menu from Jammet’s, 1937

Jammet opened on 6 March 1901 at 26–27 Saint Andrew's Street, opposite St Andrew's Church.[5] It was established by Michel Jammet, nine years chef to George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan, and his brother François. For a long time it was the only French restaurant in the city.[6]

It was mentioned in James Joyce's Ulysses: (published 1922, set in 1904): a stream-of-consciousness section mentions "that highclass whore in Jammet’s", while Corny Kelleher later mentions "Two commercials that were standing fizz in Jammet’s" (i.e. two travelling salesman that were buying champagne).[7]

Jammet's moved to 46 Nassau Street in 1926.[8] In 1928, Vogue described Jammet’s as “one of Europe’s best restaurants . . . crowded with gourmets and wits”, where the sole and grouse were “divine”.[9]

Jammet and his wife Yvonne (née Auger) ran the French Benevolent Society during the Second World War, and were staunch supporters of the Free French and Charles de Gaulle.[10]

One of the earliest surviving menus is from 1949; it shows an idea of haute cuisine based on the ideas of Auguste Escoffier.[11]

In 1963 Egon Ronay visited, saying "Space, grace, the charm of small red leather armchairs, fin-de-siècle murals and marble oyster counters exude a bygone age. Ritz and Escoffier would feel at home here."[11]

The restaurant closed in 1967.[9]

Visitors

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Virtually every Dublin and visiting celebrity ate at Jammet's at some point. W. B. Yeats, Lennox Robinson, Liam O’Flaherty, Micheál MacLiammóir, Hilton Edwards and Charlie Haughey were regulars. John Lennon, James Cagney, Rita Hayworth, Danny Kaye, Michael Collins, Aly Khan Orson Welles, and Senator John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie also ate there.[9][12][13][14]

References

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  1. ^ "A Tribute to Jammet's of Dublin | The Jack and Jill Children's Foundation". Jackandjill.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  2. ^ "DD012 Jammet's Restaurant | Dublin City Council". Dublincity.ie.
  3. ^ Maxwell, Alison; Harpur, Shay (20 October 2011). Jammet's of Dublin: 1901 to 1967. Lilliput Press. ISBN 9781843512011 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Feigel, Lara (17 January 2013). The Love-charm of Bombs: Restless Lives in the Second World War. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781408833483 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ The Irish Times (Tuesday, March 5, 1901)
  6. ^ "Hotel & Catering Review". Jemma Pub. Limited. 20 October 2005 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Ulysses, by James Joyce". Gutenberg.org.
  8. ^ "Restaurant Jammet | Places | Technological University Dublin". Arrow.dit.ie.
  9. ^ a b c McDonald, Frank. "Jammet's: a Dublin treasure crowded with gourmets and wits". The Irish Times.
  10. ^ "Jammet's Restaurant: French Revolution". Independent.ie.
  11. ^ a b Mac Con Iomaire (2009). "The History of Restaurant Jammet". Doctoral thesis. Dublin Institute of Technology. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Jammet Guestbook..." Peploes.com. 7 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Smuggling £54,000 to Miceal Collins". Mirror. 4 February 1922. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  14. ^ Parson, Michael (15 May 2014). "How Jackie Bouvier almost married an Irish lawyer". Irish Times. Retrieved 10 January 2022.