La Petit Piaf hotel opened restaurant in the heart of Bohemian Quarter in Belgrade

(space in front of the restaurant)

Starting tonight (June 15, 2010), the sound of old music and the scent of Serbian traditional cuisine will be spreading again from the place where the most famous bohemians of Belgrade used to wait for the dawn. By restoring the former annex to famous restaurant Dva Jelena (Two Deers) in Skadarlija (the Belgrade Bohemian Quarter), new owner Albergo has revived the building nearly two centuries old. A restaurant with an open-air section, situated on Serbian Montmartre, lies underneath a spacious wooden roofed balcony, and the whole facility is connected to La Petit Piaf hotel and it will operate as a part of that hotel.

(Photo: eKapija)

- We did our best to keep the spirit of Skadarlija, so that we refurbished only the most critical parts, while the existing architectural solution was not changed significantly. The facility with its open-air section occupies the surface of about 230 square meters and it is big enough for more than 120 guests. We will cherish the ambient where the old music is listened to and the most delicious domestic specialties are served. Guests will be able to enjoy the sounds of tamburitza every day except on Monday, and we also plan to put the restaurant at disposal of those who want to celebrate the happiest day of their lives in Skadarlija. Also, the restaurant will be at the disposal of all guests of La Petit Piaf hotel who, in addition to breakfast, want to pay for an extra meal - Pero Radovanac, CEO of Albergo, which runs the hotel and the new restaurant, told eKapija.

(Photo: eKapija)

Radovanac said that the balcony and open-air section would be open during the summer months, while the restaurant with about 60 seats would be open for guests during the whole year. The author of the project is Jelena Milutinovic from company Concept Design, and the whole job was finished in less than four months. The architectural solution is designed with full respect for the surrounding ambient, especially because all facilities in Skadarlija are placed under the state's protection as the monuments of culture.

It was not a difficult task for Albergo because the company has already had experience in preservation of the old spirit of Belgrade. The house where La Petit Piaf is settled is more than one century old and it had been used as a residential facility prior to 2004 when the hotel was opened.

(Photo: eKapija)

The renovation took about two months, and the hotel initially had only 12 rooms, while another six rooms were opened in November 2006. The whole facility currently has two floors, and its total surface is 1,100 square meters. Suites are, actually, duplexes of about 40 square meters each, while the size of an average room is 20 square meters.

The guests in La Petit Piaf are mainly people from the business world, tourists and the lovers of the "genuine" Belgrade, and what is particularly interesting is that every room in this hotel has both number and name.