For nearly a century the Russian Tea Room has been a gathering place for those in the entertainment industry.

When the Russian Tea Room opened in 1927 by former members of the Russian Imperial Ballet, it was mostly a cafe and chocolate store,  serving tea and catering to Russian artists, particularly the ballet.

The Russian Tea Room clientele originally consisted of largely musical personalities, theatrical, film, publishers, journalist and fashion designers.

Over the years the celebrated restaurant was a haunt for the rich and famous.

The restaurant attracted agents, performers and power-brokers in the cluster of entertainment businesses like:

William Faulkner, Vladimir Horowitz, Julio Iglesias, Harrison Ford, Woody Allen, Rowan Atkinson, Lauren Bacall, Leonard Bernstein,  Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Arthur Miller, Liza Minnelli, Marilyn Monroe, Mel Brooks, Richard Burton, Nicholas Cage, Michael Douglas, Clark Gable, Henry Kissinger, Ringo Starr, Salvador Dali, Barbra Streisand and Elizabeth Taylor.

Madonna briefly worked in the cloak room until she was fired for inappropriate dress. 

The restaurant’s popularity slowly declined as older patrons died. 

Films like the Turning Point, Manhattan, Tootsie, When Harry Met Sally, Big,  the Sweet Smell of Success, New York Stories, Unfaithfully Yours and the Extra Man were shot there.  

The Russian Tea Room was long advertised “as just 6 minutes and 23 seconds from Lincoln Center and slightly to the left of Carnegie Hall” because of its proximity to both venues.

Warner Leroy who owned Tavern on the Green bought the restaurant in 1995 for $6.5 million.

At that time the Russian Tea Room typically served 2,647 lbs of caviar, 43,860 lbs of lamb, 15,867 lbs of sour cream and 5,884 liters of vodka per year.

One of the most expensive dishes on the menu is the Iranian caviar which cost $350 an ounce.

Other famous dishes still served here include beef stroganoff and chicken kiev.