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Maison Bertaux is a French pâtisserie in Greek Street, Soho, London. The shop began in 1871, making it the oldest pâtisserie in London. The current owners are sisters Michelle and Tania Wade.
Maison Bertaux
Maison Bertaux was founded in 1871 by a French communard from Paris named Mr Bertaux. It is situated at 28 Greek Street, Soho, London, next door to the Coach and Horses pub; Maison Bertaux is the oldest pâtisserie shop in London. Since 1988, the owners of Maison Bertaux are sisters Michelle and Tania Wade; Michelle has been at the pâtisserie since she was 17 years old. When they took over ownership of the shop, the shop only served one type of tea; it now serves twenty varieties. In 2000, the pâtisserie delivered a traditional wedding cake to a Birmingham wedding party. The pâtisserie contains a piano with a copy of The Art of French Baking on top of it, and three of the mirrors in the shop contain the inscriptions Liberté, égalité, fraternité. To celebrate Bastille Day, the shop creates a Tableau vivant. The shop is situated near to the former location of Central Saint Martins art school, and also has an art gallery situated on the upper floor, which is owned by the Wade sisters. In 2013, the gallery hosted an exhibition of Harry Hill's paintings of celebrities including Bruce Forsyth, Ken Livingstone and Anthea Turner. The upper floor is also used as auditorium with capacity 20.
Visitors to the pâtisserie have included Derek Jarman, Steve McQueen, Howard Hodgkin, Grayson Perry, Nicole Kidman and Bob Geldof. The pâtisserie also made Lily Allen's wedding cake, and hosted Alexander McQueen's 25th birthday party.