Caffè Roma serves in the diary as more than a place to eat: it is a dependable stop where the search for a quiet meal repeatedly intersects with celebrity and professional life. Its scenes move from a crowded dinner for Prince Albert to a gathering around Ric Ocasek and a birthday evening that brought music and advertising into the same room.

A quick meal amid a crowded social scene

After attending Grace Jones’s birthday party at Stringfellow’s, the diarist and companions left hungry because there had been no dinner. They went to Caffè Roma hoping for something quick and quiet, but arrived in the middle of a large dinner for Prince Albert. Bob Colacello, Cecilia Peck, and Cornelia Guest were among the people there, and around a hundred others offered greetings. The meal remained simple: the diarist removed the cheese and ate pizza. The contrast between the hoped-for quiet stop and the roomful of people captures the restaurant’s recurring role as a place where an informal visit could become a public social occasion.

Dinner with Ric Ocasek

On another visit, Caffè Roma was the dinner setting for a group assembled by Vincent Fremont: Ric Ocasek, his girlfriend Paulina, Ocasek’s manager Elliot Roberts, and Sylvia, who represented a Japanese designer. Paulina’s mother did not join them, having gone out with the Indian road manager. The evening also exposed a constraint in Ocasek and Paulina’s relationship: Ocasek would not be photographed with her because he was still married. The restaurant thus hosted not just a meal but a meeting where personal arrangements and public image shaped who could appear together.

A birthday dinner and a Polaroid

On a later birthday evening, the diarist arrived at Caffè Roma at eight and found Stephen Sprouse, Debbie Harry, and Chris Stein. Paige Powell had been organizing an advertising dinner for that night, and the diarist had worried it might be a birthday dinner disguised as business; the stated requirement was that at least four advertisers be present. Debbie Harry left early to work on a new record. A representative of Polaroid Corporation was also there, prompting the diarist to warn that the company’s failure to advertise could mean its name would no longer be used. The representative answered by giving a Polaroid photograph of a sunset, which he said was meaningful to him. In this small exchange, Caffè Roma becomes a meeting point for friendship, work, and the commercial negotiations surrounding public recognition.