CAMBRIDGE — By the mid-1950s, “Casablanca” was filling the Brattle Theatre with regularity and had lent its name to an adjoining bar, modeled on the nightclub at the heart of the film, Rick’s Cafe Americain. The Club Casablanca, which opened in Harvard Square in 1955, quickly attracted an eclectic mix of artists and academics, politicians and pop stars.
It was the kind of place Humphrey Bogart himself might have wandered into for a glass of Scotch and some spirited conversation about foreign affairs. Or affairs of the heart.
Comments
Raise your glass and toast the Casablanca as it joins its place in memory with The Idler.
It's really sad what's happened to Harvard Square. We've lost a lot of really cool places. We've gained a lot of really over-priced stores. It used to have character. Now it's a bore.
I went there about 3-4 times over the years and always had a great meal. The ambience was just as enjoyable as the food. Nice memories. Ma'a salam, Abdul.
What a shame! But all good things must end. I just wish I had known sooner that the place was closing - I wanted to have that amazing lamb with mint sauce one last time! Happy retirement to the owner!
Great location for a Gap or Starbucks. Can't wait to have a Latte grande and some cheap China made clothes.