Just as the current Russian Tea Room in New York is not the actual place it once was, something similar has happened in Cannes.
Tetou was a legendary restaurant on the beach in Golfe Juan, the seaside part of Antibes. For decades celebrities camped out there to pay — in cash only — $186 apiece for a bowl of bouillabaisse. Paparazzi surrounded the entrance and exit. If you could get in at all, it was a memorable experience.
Alas, Tetou was demolished a few years ago when the town demanded their beach rights back. In an instant, it was gone, along with the vaunted history. It was the equivalent of the end of New York spots like the RTR, 21 Club, Le Cirque, and the Four Seasons.
But now a French chain has licensed the name and is attempting to revive the glamour. But not in Antibes. Instead, the new Tetou is on the fringes of Cannes, sort of if Le Cirque were reimagined but in Canarsie.
The pop up will be the home of the new extremely diminished Vanity Fair Cannes party this Saturday. No more Hotel du Cap Eden Roc for the flailing Conde Nast publication. It would be like if Vogue moved the Met Gala to the home of the actual Mets, at CitiField.
How the mighty have fallen! The likelihood is that guests will have their drivers wait while they take red carpet photos, then go off to more desirable locations. And what guests will those be, anyway? Cannes is so desperate for American stars they’re welcoming Vin Diesel and John Travolta. Not exactly the days of Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, and forget about Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve!
Oh well, as they say, The party is over.
As for the new Tetou, the company that bought it is talking about an “international expansion.” You know what that means — locations in Las Vegas and in Hudson Yards.
PS The Hotel du Cap, one of the world’s greatest locations, is still hosting one major party. Next Tuesday, the famed former editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter, is welcoming the stars with CAA agent Bryan Lourd, and Dario Amodei, head of AI giant Anthropic. I’m hearing that’s the hot ticket.
