Why London loves Elena Salvoni

One of the first things Elena Salvoni asks when I arrive at Elena's L'Etoile on Charlotte Street is: "Have you eaten?" Roy Ackerman, her former boss and one of her many admirers, had warned me beforehand: "It doesn't matter what time you arrive, she'll ask you if you've eaten and will find you something."

"It's what my Mum used to say to everyone who walked through the door," explains Salvoni, recalling her 1920s childhood in Clerkenwell, then the heart of London's Italian community. There she learnt the art of hospitality from an early age: "Our house was full of visitors. People were always coming and going but were always made to feel welcome. I think Italians have that warmth."

Salvoni has built her life around perfecting her art. She has been at the heart of the London restaurant scene for 60 years and remains one of the capital's best loved and most respected maître d's. Sought after by restaurant owners for her talent in building up business, she has won numerous awards for her service - including a Catey for Manager of the Year in 1996 - while creating a loyal customer base that seems to follow her everywhere.

Elena's L'Etoile is packed most lunchtimes and evenings, often with former Bianchi's and L'Escargot diners. With its nicotine-coloured walls, net curtains and traditional French menu, it hasn't changed in years - but then it's Elena who's the draw. Most of her customers are regulars, many are celebrities and some have been coming to her restaurants for more than 30 years.

Stars at L'Etoile

The proof is on the walls - every inch covered with signed photographs of Salvoni's famous customers. She stars in many herself - sandwiched between Ella Fitzgerald and her jazz band in one, doing the Charleston with Lew Grade or lined up with the Tiller Girls in another.

John Hurt, Judi Dench, Gene Wilder, Sean Connery, Ginger Rogers, David Puttnam, Albert Finney and Melvyn Bragg all have their portraits on Salvoni's walls. Michael Parkinson's photo is inscribed with the words "I will follow you anywhere". Stephen Fry writes simply: "To my other mother."

Salvoni's following is extraordinary, yet she has no great philosophy on being a maître d' or running a good restaurant. Food is very important, of course, and Joseph Paccini, her first restaurant manager back in the 1940s, taught her a lot about serving a table and "how to be there when a customer needs you".

But on the whole, Salvoni's style is instinctive. "I don't know why my customers come back time and time again. It just comes naturally for me. You have to have a moment to listen to people, you must have humour and you must make people feel welcome. And if you have a problem, you must never never show it."

Less than 5ft tall, Salvoni once said the secret of her success was her height. It meant her seated customers could look her in the eye and feel at ease. But more importantly, she loves her job and never gets bored.

"You feel the atmosphere here today?" she asks. "It's fantastic. I can't explain to you how much pleasure I get from my job. This is what my life is all about. I just love looking after people."

Salvoni's career began in 1942 when she started work as a waitress at Café Bleu in Soho's Old Compton Street to cover for the waiters who were sent away to war.

In those days it was unusual to have women serving front of house, but within a week the café owner had pronounced her a natural and asked her to stay indefinitely. She spent three years working under Paccini before following him to Bianchi's restaurant, also in Soho. There she stayed for 30 years, becoming the restaurant manager and steadily building her reputation.

Early retirement?

She was 60 when she left Bianchi's to retire, but was soon lured back into the business by Nick Lander, who asked her to open and build up the business at L'Escargot. She agreed to do it for one year, Lander negotiated for two and she stayed for 10.

A third attempt to retire - after L'Escargot went into receivership and was sold in the early 1990s - failed when Ackerman, a long-time fan and owner of the Restaurant Partnership, asked her to work for him. She refused at first, but was finally persuaded to run front of house at the Gay Hussar for 18 months until L'Etoile came on to the market. It was then renamed Elena's L'Etoile in her honour.

That was 10 years ago, and there's still little sign of her slowing. At 83, as she buzzes from table to table, chatting, clearing plates and taking orders. She looks a good 10 years younger and has the energy of someone half her age.

She also has a phenomenal memory for faces, works split shifts from Monday to Thursday and beats other staff to the phone every time it rings. And not a soul passes through the door without a hello or goodbye, a hug or a kiss.

No favourites

She says she has no favourites among her clientele, but admits a "soft spot" for West End theatre producer Cameron Macintosh, who happens to be lunching on the next table and who bear-hugs her before he leaves.

"I've known Cameron since he was 17," says Salvoni wistfully. "He used to come into Café Bleu with a whole group of other young people from the theatre. I knew they didn't have much money, so I would put a big basket of bread on their table so they could stuff themselves before ordering. I've watched him grow up."

Salvoni has given up the idea of retiring and admits she can't sit still at home as it is. Husband Aldo would like her to take it easy but concedes that not working at the restaurant would "destroy" her. "I think about it every now and again, but then ask myself, ‘what would I do, twiddle my thumbs?'" she says.

Weekends are spent with her husband, two children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She rarely goes to other restaurants because she feels she would be too critical, and she's glad she never took up offers to open her own place over the years.

"Some people have asked me if I'd like to own my own place, but I've always said no, I want to sleep at night. Who wants problems at my age? I've never been one to run after money and I'm too old now anyway. I haven't got time to spend it. My job is the great richness in my life and that's worth more than anything."

Fact file

Elena's L'Etoile
30 Charlotte Street, London W1P 1HJ
Tel: 020 7636 1496

Owner: The Restaurant Partnership, owned by Regal and Corus hotels
Seats: 80
Covers: 80 lunch; 100 dinner
Staff: 20

By Helen Adkins