“I think we will make a great connection,” former real estate magnate Jean-François Ott said earlier last year, commenting on the move of the famous Prague restaurant Bellevue to his Pacht Palace.

Bellevue architect Sanjiv Suri himself was pleased with the move. .

Unfortunately, the tandem did not even start and a global pandemic came, which culminated a week ago for Bellevue – Sanjiv Suri decided to close due to the economic situation. Not yet, but for good.

“The coronavirus pandemic, with its consequences, a series of suddenly announced lockdowns, relocation and operating costs, did not allow Bellevue to continue operating,” said Pavel Štěpánek, head of the Zátiší Group restaurant division.

At the same time, Suri did everything in his power – he introduced a really convenient two- and three-course lunch menu, great Sunday brunches, changed his communication style and shouted it at the world. Although the strategic turnaround for Mlýnec and Zátiší succeeded and the Czechs got used to his restaurant during the hard times, in the case of Bellevue it did not work out.

“It was the hardest decision we had to make,” admits Suri. And the thinking allegedly took a long time, because already at the original “temporary” closure of last autumn Bellevue, his Zátiší Group had to say goodbye to other people, although several of them moved to the restaurant V Zátiší.

In any case, the company could not run the sentiment, as evidenced by the numbers. Since the outbreak of the Bellevue pandemic, it has counted losses in the millions, and according to Suri, it would cost 1 to 1.5 million crowns a month to keep an empty restaurant afloat.

Goodbye, beautiful views.