1936 On the Continent

gaily—and lunch too; Kettner’s in Soho.
    But if you don’t want to spend as much as this then Soho should be your Mecca. Frith Street, Greek Street and New Compton Street are stuffed with French, Italian, German, Indian—all nationalities of restaurants—where you
can
spend as little as one and six or two shillings and come out feeling satisfied. Try, for instance, the Ristorante del Commercio in Frith Street or Grimaro’s in New Compton Street, or the Rendezvous or the Chantecler or the Escargot.
The Corner Houses
    Then, of course, there is always Lyons with their vast Corner Houses in Coventry Street and the Strand, their restaurants and grill rooms in the Strand Palace, Cumberland and Regent Palace Hotels. In these you’re sure of your fare; the menu is vast in its choice, and the prices are more than moderate.
    That, I think, should be enough about dining, and with these hints as a start, you should soon be finding more for yourself. London is gradually dining later and later and, broadly speaking, the smarter the rendezvous the later the hour. When I go to a theatre I never dine first, and this habit is growing. One dresses late, with a sandwichand a cocktail, and eats at supper afterwards. What I’ve said about dining applies equally to supping, but the choice is even more extensive. All the principal hotels run cabaret shows: of them the most regularly good are the Savoy, the Dorchester, Grosvenor House, and Quaglino’s, the Ritz and the Cafe de Paris.
Restaurant Shows
    Suppose, however, that you want to dine or sup and watch a full stage show the while, then try the London Casino, where for the price of a first-class dinner, a sumptuous show is included but, if the display of the female form divine in the “almost altogether” shocks you, don’t!
    If you are a snob—and who is not at heart?—and like a good stare at celebrities, then the place to sup, dressed or undressed, is the Savoy Grill, especially on such occasions as a big first night. Here from 11.30 p.m. onwards you can eat
à la carte
and snoop to your heart’s content at film stars, actors, actresses, producers, directors, titled gossip writers, authors, artists, and the finance behind them.
    Now what about the theatres? I can’t obviously give you specific advice, but I can perhaps help a little with some general hints. You
must
dress in the stalls, and should in the dress circle. If you’re a man the following tips may save you bother. Hats and coats are a nuisance, dispense with them altogether if you can, but if you cannot the cloakroom in most theatres is more nuisance than it’s worth. It takes so long to get one’s things at the end. Have a supply of sixpences ready for programmes, and buy them
before
you get into your seat. Above all, both sexes, please get there in good time. A late comer at the theatre is the personification of selfishness. Most of the shows start about 8.30 p.m., but do please make sure in advance and, if you must dine before, leave plenty of time not only for dinner but for the traffic blocks in getting to the theatre.
    It is difficult, if not impossible, to say in advance what type of show you’ll find in what theatre; it’s safer therefore not to attempt it. A little concentration on any newspaper’s amusement list will be a much better guide. If you book seats at the theatre’s own box-office they are a little cheaper than from the agencies, but when the theatre itself has no seatsthe agents often have. Our oldest theatres are the Haymarket and Drury Lane. Our newest the Cambridge, the Phoenix, the Saville and the Duchess.
    At the. Old Vic, across the river in Lambeth, you will usually find Shakespeare or classics playing at popular prices, but exceptionally well produced, and often with big stars in the cast. This “people’s theatre” is the training ground for stars, an honour which it shares where opera and ballet are concerned, with Sadler’s Wells. This theatre, rebuilt and completely modernised a few years ago, maintains a remarkably high standard in its productions. Opera in English interchanges with ballets, old and new. If you like either you are safe at Sadler’s Wells, and the prices are most moderate.
Music-Halls
    Then there are the music-halls, always said to be about to disappear, but always, as far as I can see, bobbing up as lively as ever and packed from ceiling to floor. Of the lot the Palladium is the most refined, but that’s not saying much. Who, after all, goes to