Savoy Café

Savoy Café

Have a dance in a café inspired by the French coffeehouse scene

In 1927 a ten-day study trip to France was organized for representatives of restaurant and coffeehouse owners from Moravia and Silesia, focusing on modern café, restaurant and hotel-related architecture. It inspired architect Jindřich Kumpošt in his technical solution of two famous cafés.
The use of iron and ferro-concrete framework allowed him to tear down the outer walls, to lower or remove ground-floor ceilings and to enlarge the windows considerably. In addition to the unique design of the cloakroom, the café had a heating system automatically reacting to temperature changes that was very modern in its time. Similar technical solution was used somewhat later in the Tugendhat Villa. The café’s ground floor was inlaid with travertine and connected with the first floor by a double staircase with onyx facing. The premises of the café included the gallery – there was, among others, a playroom for the gentlemen. In the 1950s the space stopped serving its original purpose. The operation of the café was not resumed until an extensive renovation, which ended in 2008, but thanks to it you can take a look at the onyx staircase even today. The café has a swing dance hall and it regularly hosts smaller concerts.