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Latest comment: 10 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion
I looked into this quite carefully this morning when someone gave me a barnstar for the article I started about this place. The problem is that the premises has had both spellings at different times under different ownership. To see this most clearly, it is best to look at contemporary photographs. Written transcriptions can't be trusted because it's not clear which incarnation they are getting their evidence from or how careful they are being. The history seems to be:
1. The original place was called La Gioconda. Different photographs of it can be seen here and here. Note that these photos are not quite the same as the Central Sound sign on the left is not present in the first. But, in both cases, the signage for La Gioconda is there and spelt with an O on both the protruding illuminated sign and the lettering over the door. And, of course, this is the correct Italian spelling.
2. In the 1990s, the place was renamed the Barino. I first learnt of this name in Glinert's The London Compendium and a photo of it at this time can be seen here.
3. Then in 2008, the place was made over as the Giaconda Dining Room — a fine-dining restaurant rather than a cafe. This was run by an Australian chef, Paul Merrony, and perhaps his Italian spelling was weak because photos clearly indicate that the signage had an A rather than an O now. See here, for example. There was then a name change to Giaconda Dining Rooms when they expanded and then they changed the name back to La Giaconda again but spelling it with an A this time. See here and here for this incarnation.
4. The place has now gone out of business and is being gutted and so I don't suppose there's much evidence on the ground now - there was no signage when I was there the other day. The blue plaque above has the A spelling but that's been done recently and was applied for by Merrony so can't be considered good evidence for the original. A footnote has been placed on the caption to clarify this.
