Inside La Casa del Habano Pall Mall, Dominique London’s “crown jewel”

Dominique Gyselinck considers this LCDH located in London’s West End to be his “most beautiful boutique”. It opened on March 25th.

On the ground floor, the accessories corner and the large walk-in humidor (© Dominique London)

 

No fewer than four opening parties have taken place since the official opening of La Casa del Habano (LCDH) Pall Mall on March 25. It shows the influence Dominique London has acquired in the cigar world over the past twenty-five years.

After the shareholders and business partners, and then the key players in the London cigar scene, “L’Amateur de Cigare” was invited to the press cocktail party on Tuesday, March 31 – which didn’t prevent us from running into Rocky Patel himself.

The boutique, which Dominique Gyselinck, founder of Dominique London, describes as her “crown jewel,” sits proudly on Pall Mall, one of the most prestigious thoroughfares in the British capital, directly opposite the Royal Automobile Club and a stone’s throw from St. James’s Street, nicknamed “Cigar Street.”

The smoking lounge can accommodate about a dozen people (© Dominique London)

On the ground floor of this boutique located at the foot of a fancy building frequented, it is said, by movie stars, the visitor can, if he wishes, linger in the corner devoted to accessories (Elie Bleu, ST Dupont…) or go directly to the spacious walk-in humidor designed by the Italian house DeArt where the standard references of the Cuban catalogue are stored.

 

Rare and vintage cigars

Then, in the basement, before entering the smoking lounge which can accommodate a dozen people, one’s gaze is drawn to a second, smaller humidor filled with rare and vintage cigars. Alongside the Ramon Allones Casino ER Monaco and a new regional edition reserved for South Africa, the cigar sommelier is keen to show us a desk humidor filled with Habanos cigars and signed by both Steven Spielberg and Fidel Castro.

In the basement, the second humidor is dedicated to vintage cigars and rare pieces (© Dominique London)

“We wanted a revisited Art Nouveau style using high-end materials: parquet flooring, green marble, Chinese lacquer, raw cedar—like the cedar used in cigar boxes,” Dominique Gyselinck told L’Amateur. “The space must inspire both serenity and dynamism because we are a young company. I believe that cigar shops don’t have to be dark places.”

With more than thirty locations in seven countries, Dominique London boasts the largest network of cigar shops in Europe. In less than two months, the company will open its 33rd establishment in Luxembourg.

 

Laurent Mimouni, special correspondent in London (United Kingdom)

 

La Casa del Habano Pall Mall
26 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5EW
Open 7 days a week, from 10am to 9pm