Joe Allen (restaurant)
Joe Allen is an American restaurant known as Broadway meeting place for working actors, theater staff and fans. The restaurant is located at 326 W 46th Street, New York, NY 10036. Opened in 1965 by a restaurateur of the same name.[1][2] Joe Allen is known for having its wall lined with posters of Broadway flops such as Laughing Room Only, Moose Murders, and Dance of the Vampires.[3] The restaurant featured in scenes in the films No Way to Treat a Lady (1968) and Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda (2004).
![](../I/Joe_Allen_326_W46_jeh.jpg.webp)
A branch opened in the Les Halles district of Paris in 1972 [4] and UK branch in London's Covent Garden in 1977.[5][6] In 2018 these are in different ownerships [7] but retain the name and, in the case of the London branch, the theatrical atmosphere at a venue 100 metres from its original location. In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the LONDON Joe Allen (under temporary closure due to the pandemic) launched a series of three online variety shows in order to raise funds both for the restaurant and the combined theatrical charities Acting For Others. Entitled An Evening At Joe’s, the hour long shows, viewable on the Joe Allen YouTube channel, featured songs and sketches from West End and Broadway stars including Derek Jacobi, Chita Rivera, Gary Wilmot, Claire Moore, Sally Ann Triplett and Harriet Thorpe.[8]
References
- Richard Alleman New York: The Movie Lover's Guide 2013=0804137781 "Opened in 1965 by a former actor named Joe Allen, this unpretentious brick-walled pub/restaurant has been one of Broadway's top hangouts for working actors for four decades. An egalitarian place, Joe Allen is popular with kids in the chorus as well as with superstars like Elizabeth Taylor, who could usually be found dining on Joe Allen's famous chili after the curtain came down on her Broadway debut run in The Little Foxes in 1981."
- New York Magazine - Dec 13, 1982 - Page 54 "Joe Allen is the hangout not so much of hip Broadway types as theatrical naifs, those to whom an opportunity to work in show biz is a reprieve from everything else."
- Barry Avrich - Moguls, Monsters, and Madmen: An Uncensored Life in Show Business 2016 1770908528 "Between filming the Broadway show, Jackie, Jyll and I went to have dinner at the famed Joe Allen Restaurant on 46th Street. Joe Allen is famous for having its wall lined with posters of Broadway flops including Laughing Room Only."
- Joe Allen Paris website
- Christopher Biggins Biggins - My Story 1784188735 - 2015 "'It' being a new Covent Garden restaurant called Joe Allen – a legendary theatrical haunt for Broadway stars in New York that we had all been desperately hoping to see open over here."
- The Guardian review
- "Meet the Team | Joe Allen Restaurant".
- https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/restaurants/grace-dent-reviews-joe-allen-still-up-to-its-old-tricks-a3717456.html.