We were invited this week to the media launch at the Hard Rock Cafe the day before it officially opened. Lynne has very fond memories of the London Hard Rock, the first one, as when it opened in 1971, she was working at Universal Pictures, which was next door at No 1 Piccadilly. Yes there were long queues to get in and yes you did see lots of celebrities when you eventually got in. Loads of Rock and Roll memorabilia on the walls. And they always had very good hamburgers. We were keen to see if and how the concept has changed in 46 years!
We were invited this week to the media launch at
the Hard Rock Café, the day before it officially opened. Lynne has very fond
memories of the London Hard Rock, the first one as, when it opened in 1971, she
was working at Universal Pictures, which was next door at No 1 Piccadilly. Yes,
there were long queues to get in and yes, you did see lots of celebrities when
you eventually got in. Loads of Rock ‘n Roll memorabilia on the walls. And they
always had very good hamburgers. We were keen to see if and how the concept has
changed in 46 years!
It is hard to miss, near Pick n
Pay and right across the road from the beach, with great views. However parking
in trendy and popular Camps Bay is always an issue, we suggest you use the
parking garage
The barman, who makes a mean
cocktail. All the staff wear a selection of the collectable Hard Rock badges,
some are available for sale in the small store at the front of the Café. We
were given glasses of an MCC on arrival
Like the lamps made from cymbals?
And the wall of records
Lots of precious memorabilia on
the walls. We have to confess that we have not heard of all of the rock stars
these come from. Josh Smith is an American Blues guitarist
Vinyl wall
Lynne chatting to the designer
Hala Khalaf, who flies around the world for each opening. She is the
Memorabilia curator for Hard Rock Café International. Next stops for her are
Cairo and Phnom Penh in Cambodia. They have venues in 74 countries: 178 Cafés,
24 hotels and 10 casinos. The owners and operators of the HRI parent company are
The Seminole Tribe of Florida
The hard hats and reflective
'aprons' we wore for our tour of the restaurant. They were still busy installing
some of the memorabilia
The Shop at the front of the
restaurant
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The downstairs interior
Beer on tap - sadly all SAB. Let's
hope they discover some of the more popular and artisanal beers
Hala tells us the history of
the Hard Rock and a bit more about how she sources and places the memorabilia. They
own the world's largest collection of music memorabilia and cater for all ages,
so some is from the Rock ‘n Roll era and others are from the decades since
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There is also a spacious
upstairs room with another long bar
With quirky lights and more
memorabilia. The most valuable piece is the drum kit on the wall which belonged
to journeyman drummer Brent Fitz while touring with Slash. There are also boots
owned by Bob Dylan, a Les Paul Guitar, A Paul Reed Smith guitar used in a Madonna
2001 Drowned World Tour, a microphone stand created for and used by Rihanna and
many more. You have to go and see for yourself
Nice views from the upstairs
windows and balcony
The said drum kit
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The barmen
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It was another stormy day and
the waves were crashing on the beach outside
Downstairs and time for some
samples of the food they will be serving. Prawn cocktails
Chicken "tenders"
with a good barbeque sauce
Deep fried cauliflower with a
spicy dip
Onion rings
John had a beer
Then came the sliders (mini
burgers). These were the classic hamburgers, dressed simply with caramelised
onion and a melting cheese. They are still good.
Pulled pork on a bun, nice and smoky
with a good sauce
The Long Island Tea
A blue Pina Colada. Lynne
tasted one and it was rather too sweet for her and had the disconcerting
flavour of bubblegum. It looked like a Blue Lagoon
Burgers with chicken fillet
Very friendly waiting staff
With lovely smiles. Yes, I will
have another...
This was supper
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Time for dessert. An Oreo
Cheesecake
Or wicked chocolate brownies. No
nuts but later they came out sprinkled with nuts.
The barman made Lynne a lovely
sour cocktail with vodka
We loved Hala's earrings. The
Hard Rock Café is now open and we wonder whom their market will be.
The many overseas tourists will know the concept already
The many overseas tourists will know the concept already
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
