Hippodrome History

Heliot Steak House

Heliot Steak House occupies a unique space in this former theatre, located in the old ‘circle’ level which boasted the best seats in the house. It still does.

As you can see there are no pillars supporting the floor above. This is because the building’s architect, renowned theatre designer Frank Matcham, used a sophisticated cantilever mechanism allowing you, and the former theatre audience, unobscured views of the magnificent auditorium below.

The steakhouse is named after the German lion tamer Claire Heliot who famously appeared at the Hippodrome in 1901.

(Madame Claire Heliot feeding raw beef to her lions at the Hippodrome – By Percy F.S Spence in The Sphere, 1901).

The high point of her act was carrying her ten-year-old, 159 kilogramme (351 lb) lion Sicchi on her back and shoulders and feeding her pride of 10 lions raw steak. She was the talk of London.

Heliot Steak House is now considered one of the city’s very best steak restaurants and is the winner of numerous ‘best steak in the West End’ awards for executive chef Ioannis Grammenos, general manager Salvatore Russo and their fantastic team.

Executive Chef Ioannis Grammenos (left) and General manager Salvatore Russo (right)

More Hippodrome History

Heliot Steak House

Heliot Steak House occupies a unique space in this former theatre, located in the old ‘circle’ level which boasted the best seats in the house. It still does. As you can see there are no pillars supporting the floor above. This is because the building’s architect, renowned theatre designer Frank Matcham, used a sophisticated cantilever mechanism allowing you, and the former theatre audience, unobscured views of the magnificent auditorium below.

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Lola’s Underground Casino

It’s fascinating to think the space you are now in was once a pool filled with 100,000 gallons of water. Look around you at the elliptical shape of the room. The Hippodrome’s ‘aquatic entertainments’ were a never-before-seen addition to London’s entertainment scene and proved massively popular with the audiences of the day. The theatre’s aquatic theme even extended to the Grand Cabin Saloon, a ship’s bar with walls covered in oak panelling with portals and hung with lifebelts.

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Talk of the Town

In 1958 theatre impresarios Bernard Delfont and his partner Charles Forte converted the Hippodrome into a dinner theatre that created London entertainment history as the “Talk of the Town”. Producer and director Robert Nesbitt and the architect George Pine hoped to combine the intimacy of a restaurant with a live theatre experience. Their restructuring work included installing a false ceiling across the entire auditorium.

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