Casa Monteoru on Calea Victoriei in Bucharest

Opening soon on Calea Victoriei

Grand Cafe Bucharest

A new cafe and dining room inside the old Monteoru Palace, bringing breakfast, coffee, dinner, and late conversation to one of Bucharest's most beautiful addresses.

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115

Calea Victoriei

1874

Monteoru House completed

Now

A grand cafe for Bucharest

History

A house with more than one life.

Casa Monteoru began as a private residence, became one of Calea Victoriei's great interiors, passed through the upheavals of the twentieth century, and returned to public cultural life.

1874

Built for Alecu Niculescu

The house is completed on Calea Victoriei, then one of Bucharest's defining addresses for private residences and urban society.

1883

Grigore C. Monteoru takes ownership

The property is bought by Grigore Constantinescu-Monteoru, a liberal politician, landowner, and founder of the Sarata Monteoru resort.

1887

A radical transformation begins

Architect Nicolae Cutarida files plans for new openings, floors, railings, wallpapers, stoves, and the main staircase. Ion Mincu is also tied to the restoration.

1889

The French eclectic interior is finished

The rooms receive painted stucco ceilings, rare wood paneling, a monumental stair, French silk wall coverings, and Paris-made furniture.

1898

The garden gains new sculpture

Additional statues by Ion Georgescu and Ion Valbudea join the sculptures Monteoru brought from Greece, marking agriculture and Romanian industry.

1917

War leaves absences

The two later garden statues disappear during the First World War years, becoming part of the house's interrupted story.

1923

The Polish Legation takes residence

After the First World War, the house briefly serves as the Polish Legation before returning to the Monteoru-Catargi family.

1945

The postwar transfer begins

Elena Lascar Catargi, Grigore Monteoru's daughter, is reported to have ceded the property under pressure in the postwar Soviet context.

1949

The house is nationalized

In the communist period, the property leaves the family's possession and is absorbed into the new state system.

1952

The Writers' Union moves in

After nationalization, Casa Monteoru becomes the headquarters of the Romanian Writers' Union and remains a literary address for decades.

2013

The heirs regain the building

Court decisions return the property to the rightful heirs, and the Writers' Union leaves Casa Monteoru.

Now