Forum of the Twelve Caesars

“The Noblest Caesar Salad Of Them All.”

Forum of the Twelve Caesars
October 1957–1975
“Ancient Roman”/International

Ownership:

Restaurant Associates (Jerome Brody and Joseph Baum, 1957–1975)

Location:

Rockefeller Center, 57 West 48th Street

Television:

Mad Men (AMC; Season 4, Episode 7, “The Suitcase,” September 5, 2010): Scene of a birthday dinner gone awry.

 Publications:

Platt, Adam. “The Forum of the Twelve Caesars in 1957: Where CEOs Cosplayed as Emperors.” In “Who Ate Where: A Social History of the City, Told Entirely Through Its Restaurants.” New York, April 8-21, 2024: 37 (illustrated).

Richman, Alan. “The Four Seasons: The Food.” In The Four Seasons, Auction 26 July 2016. Auction catalogue. Chicago: Wright, 2016: 31.

The Four Seasons, Auction 26 July 2016. Auction catalogue. Chicago: Wright.

Grimes, William. “The Power Lunch Moves On.” New York Times, July 10, 2016: 23. [Published online as “Four Seasons, Lunch Spot for Manhattan’s Prime Movers, Moves On,” July 8, 2016.]

Jaehnig, Kenton. “Manuscripts and Archives: The Forum of the Twelve Caesars: An Interior Design Masterpiece By William Pahlman – 1957-1975.” Hagley Museum website, posted March 1, 2012. [Introduction to The William Pahlman Papers available at the Hagley Museum and Library.]

Matsumoto, Nancy. “The Legacy of Joe Baum.” Edible Manhattan 12 (July/August 2010) [Published online July 14, 2010.]

Maurer, Daniel. “From William Grimes’s Appetite City: 25 Restaurants We Wish Still Existed.” Grub Street (New York), June 17, 2009.

Grimes, William. Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York. New York: North Point Press, 2009: 271, 273-274.

Freedman, Paul H., ed. Food: The History of Taste. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007: 30-32. [Illustrated: first page of a 1957 menu.]

Mariani, John, with Alex Von Bidder. The Four Seasons: A History of America’s Premier Restaurant. New York: Smithmark, 1999: 8 (illustrated), 18-19, 43, 49, 65, 75, 81, 85, 88, 90, 94, 98.

Greene, Gael. Bite: A New York Restaurant Strategy for Hedonists, Masochists, Selective Penny Pinchers and the Upwardly Mobile. New York: W. W. Norton, 1971.

Claiborne, Craig. “Food: On the Rocks at Cocktail Time.” New York Times, October 27, 1964: 32. [Outlines the most popular drinks at various New York restaurants including Forum of the Twelve Caesars and La Caravelle.]

Cannon, Poppy. “Always on Sunday.” Town & Country 116, 4470 (January 1962): 74-75. [Cannon discusses the best NYC restaurants for a Sunday meal, including Lüchow’s and Voisin.]

Notable Guests:

James Beard (Chef)

Dolores Gray (Actress & Singer)

Celeste Holm (Actress)

Walter Slezak (Actor)

[Beard, Gray, Holm, and Slezak are pictured together at a meal in New York Magazine.]

Notes:

The theme of the restaurant centered on the Roman Empire at its height, from 110 BC to 100 AD.

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The restaurant was partially inspired by a set of mural-sized portraits of the twelve Caesars acquired by one of Baum’s interior designers, William Pahlmann. The paintings remain at the location, until recently occupied by A.J. Maxwell’s Steakhouse.

Related Restaurants:

The Hawaiian Room (Restaurant Associates)

Mamma Leone’s (Restaurant Associates)

Menu:

“Homage to the Baby Lamb,” Dinner given by the Wine and Food Society, Inc., New York, Monday, April 15, 1974 (New York Public Library)

1957 (New York Public Library)

Cover photo: “The Forum of the Twelve Caesars.” Menu. (1957). Buttolph Collection of Menus. Rare Book Division, New York Public Library (Digital Collections). Accessed May 9, 2017.