Ref: by François-Régis Gaudry in On va déguster Paris in November 2022
The Tsar of Chic
Russian by birth, Parisian by heart and adoption, Wiatscheslav Vassiliev, known as Slavik, was one of the most important restaurant decorators of the 20th century.
His style:
A tireless worker, Slavik created genuine works of art in more than 200 shops and restaurants in the capital. Hard to fit his décors into aesthetic boxes: as an erudite creator, eccentric and brilliant, he cultivated in a poetic, playful, and spectacular spirit eclectic inspirations where surrealist influences rubbed shoulders with Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and a touch of industrial style.
His gourmet portrait:
Slavik adored:
> Black plates and glasses.
> Always sitting at three-quarters with his plates and cutlery diagonal to the axis of the table.
> Lunching at a restaurant every day. He connected this to the deprivation and loneliness of his childhood.
> Preparing herrings in oil and punches for his friends.
> Red wine, vodka, prosecco, limoncello, café noisette at the counter.
> Easter cake, the paska he bought at Dominique, rue Vavin (Paris 6th), until his wife, Géraldine Cerf de Dudzeele, learned how to make it. Which allowed him to eat it at every meal for 8 days!
His business sense
Slavik walked Paris so much that he had a sharp knowledge of needs by neighborhood, by clientele. He loved luxurious materials, pushing his creations into the smallest details (receipt, toothpicks…). But above all he thought about profitability: wherever he went, turnover doubled. He optimized the number of customers who could fit at a table, the spacing for servers to pass through. He mastered the dosage of noise: the more there is, the more people, forced to shout, get thirsty!
Décors that have disappeared...
BRASSERIE DU LUTETIA (1979)
23 rue de Sèvres, Paris 6
Pumpkin lamps, large mirrors on steel moldings, Thonet chairs
CHEZ FRANCIS (1980)
7 pl. de l’Alma, Paris 8
Slavik transforms this abandoned restaurant into a Louis XV salon all in woodwork
LE PARIS (1985)
23 rue de Sèvres, Paris 6
In this Lutétia restaurant, subdued lighting enhances customers’ complexions and, never seen at the time, battery-powered lamps are placed on the tables
FORZA I MATTI (1985)
7 bd des Italiens, Paris 9
When Slavik decorates a Venetian restaurant, he installs nothing more nor less than a real gondola in the center.
LE JULES VERNE (1983)
5 av. Gustave-Eiffel, Paris 7
On the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower, Slavik wanted a black décor, because the view is the only décor that matters. The black armchairs on casters echo the crisscrossing of the tower.
LE PETIT MÂCHON (1976)
123 rue de la Convention, Paris 15
To excite the appetite, he paints menus of his own invention on the mirrors: “tender tripe” or “hearty and cheerful dishes.”
ASSIETTE AU BŒUF (1974)
123 av. des Champs-Elysées, Paris 8
In addition to ensuring a turnover of 7.5 customers per seat per day, the décor is impressive: faux red marble wall and giant metal palm trees covered with pineapples glittering with light.
LE BŒUF À 6 PATTES (1984)
N118 rue Francis-Perrin, Gif-sur-Yvette (Essonne)
Why six-legged cattle stuck to the ceiling of this meat restaurant? All we know is that the multiplication of limbs was a recurring fantasy for Slavik.
...and those that have survived
LE LOUCHEBEM (1986)
31 rue Berger, Paris 1st
Street lamps from Milan, installed upside down and christened “the three nipples”
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LE BISTROT DE PARIS (1965)
33 rue de Lille, Paris 7
Oversized chandeliers, walls and ceilings covered with embossed paint and beveled mirrors with gilded frames.
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LE DÔME (1980)
108 bd du Montparnasse, Paris 14
Plunge back into the Paris of the 1980s by gazing at the black-and-white photos of those who frequented this place.
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VICTORIA STATION (1970)
11 bd Montmartre, Paris 2
A train carriage from the 1930s, intact since its first hour.
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MARIUS ET JANETTE (1985)
4 av. George-V, Paris 8
A varnished mahogany boat interior, mirrors in place of portholes, and all the instruments of deep-sea fishing fixed to the walls and ceiling.
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POISSONNERIE DU DÔME (1980)
4 rue Delambre, Paris 14
This shop is adorned with three wooden panels depicting ceramic trompe-l’œil with marine motifs (lobster, sturgeon, monkfish…).
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LE CAPUCINE (1984–1985)
39 bd des Capucines, Paris 12
1 rue Auber, Paris 9th
Sumptuous restaurant and tea room, chandeliers composed of some 3,000 red Murano glass petals. Right next door, L’Entracte and its suspended light fixtures, clusters of Murano glass beads.
L’EUROPÉEN (1976)
21 bis bd Diderot, Paris 12
Near the Gare de Lyon, witness Slavik’s art of assigning new uses to materials: on the ceiling, upside-down crowns in yellow silk and taffeta serving as light fixtures, alongside bouquets
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LE ZEYER (1980)
62 rue d’Alésia, Paris 14
The immense 100 m² dome diffusing a golden light.
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LA CONSIGNE (1981)
71 bd du Montparnasse, Paris 6
Evocative of the Orient Express, beveled mirrors, marquetry, brass light fixtures, lampshades and velvet banquettes.
