Bagatelle lies in Bygdøy Allé 3, and has been situated there since 1932. Originally, the building housed a restaurant run by the family Jacques under the name Jacques Bagatelle. The restaurant is still in business but now owned by the "Grand tablesdu monde" and "Grand chefs relais & chateaux" organisations.
Lowry visited the Jacques Bagatelle in 1931 with Nordahl Grieg for a meal when he met the Norwegian writer on his trip to Norway. Lowry refers to this meal in his novel Ultramarine transposing it to the novel's protagonist Dana Hilliot having a meal with his girl friend Janet Travena; "I thought that - after we had dined at Jacques' Bagatelle in the Bygdø Allé, that day we saw the Viking ship..." (Pg. 52). Lowry later told his wife Jan Gabrial in a letter dated Summer 1933; "If you want a quiet & excellent restaurant in Oslo, Jacques Bagatelle in the Bygdø Allé is marvellous a s I remember it.
The restaurant is part of an apartment building constructed in 1891 by architect Carl Aaman .
No comments:
Post a Comment