| La Cigale | |
| Established: | 1895 |
| Current-Owner: | Private party |
| Food-Type: | Brasserie |
| Dress-Code: | Casual |
| Street-Address: | 4 Place Graslin |
| City: | Nantes |
| Zip: | 44000 |
| Country: | France |
| Reservations: | No |
| Website: | lacigale.com |
La Cigale is a brasserie located in Nantes, France, on the same city square as the Théâtre Graslin. The locale has been classified as a historic monument since 1964.[1]
The restaurant was designed by the architect and ceramicist Émile Libaudière in the exaggerated Art nouveau style of the era.[2] On 1 April 1895, the brasserie was opened for business by its first owner, Mrs. Calado.
From the beginning the restaurant attracted a bourgeois clientele that mixed with artists from the nearby theater. The surrealists Jacques Prévert and André Breton were regular patrons.[3] Scenes from several films have been shot there, including Jacques Demy's 1961 film Lola,[4] Debout les crabes, la mer monte ! by Jean-Jacques Grand-Jouan (1983),[5] and Jacquot de Nantes by Agnès Varda (1991).[6]
In 1964, the brasserie was turned into a fast-food restaurant, but the decor remained unchanged due to the protections afforded by its status as a historical monument. During the 1970s, the restaurant was neglected and eventually abandoned. However, a new owner restored it back to its original brasserie form in 1982.[2]