What is “continental cuisine”?

When I was growing up in Upstate New York 50 years ago, the fanciest restaurants in the area featured “continental cuisine.” What exactly is/was that? From what I can discern, it might pertain to a menu that encompasses a broad variety of (usually heavy) European/European-ish dishes, e.g. Beef Wellington, beef Stroganoff, coq au vin, a pasta primavera, trout almondine, vichyssoise, etc. plus some steaks.

What were/are continental restaurants in Chicago? I myself might point to the much-derided Cité.

Perhaps someone in the near future might open an “continental” restaurant, playing on the nostalgia and so-out-it’s-in factors.

Technically, continental cuisine is anything prepared on the European continent, though it tends toward Greek and Italian (or American renditions of these). Lots of Athenian chicken and veal Parmesan. Lamb chops and steaks are common, but so are club sandwiches and hamburgers. So pretty much anything except Asian. In Buffalo Grove, the Continental Restaurant has all these things but adds some Mexican options and offers a popular Kosher menu. But it primarily sticks with the "European" focus.

For us dinosaurs, it was the Western European style of fine dining. Think Bar Mitzvah circa 60.

Hi,

Back before the war, there was a restaurant in Hotel Metropole in Beograd, Yugoslavia. Their main restaurant featured Continental Cuisine.

I just looked them up to find they still refer to their restaurant as Continental. Unfortunately they do not link to a menu, though they promise the best in local and imported wines.

My recollection was white tablecloth dining with polished waiters. Your dinner arrived in a domed tray that was whipped off to reveal your meal. Lots of shiny oval platters where the waiter would portion your food onto your plate. Of course, not wishing to miss anything, we'd ask them to leave the tray at the table. This would just set the waiter on edge.

If you ordered trout, they would debone it at the table. My Dad would always shock the waiter by declining to have his trout deboned. The waiter would proceed anyway, then the riot would begin at our table. This kind of theater often seems to happen when dining with Dad.

It's funny, I remember more about the service than the food itself.

Regards,
CAthy2

Turn-back-that-Time-Machine to the 80's- Sherman- and see if "The Bakery"-
Chef Louis Szathmáry's acclaimed restaurant on Lincoln Avenue fits your definition of Continental Cuisine.
I'd say so.
As well as did a superb White-Table-Cloth Restaurant in Center City Philadelphia
called The Embassy- a place where, as "a 20-nuttin"- I
1st experienced "Spatzele"- and a white fish I'd never heard of before called "Turbot"- prepared by an Austrian -trained Chef-
while working my way through Industrial Design school out East.

Continental Cusine- to me will always be Euro-centric- (more Northern Europe than Southern)
definitely NOT- Greek or Mediterranean-
and always using the "Classic-French" techniques
as a starting point (sauces, reductions, butchering, etc)

Turn-back-that-Time-Machine to the 80's- Sherman- and see if "The Bakery"-
Chef Louis Szathmáry's acclaimed restaurant on Lincoln Avenue fits your definition of Continental Cuisine.
I'd say so.

'zactly

I've never been, but it was a very much a date night place for my parents back when I was the one being baby-sat and it's still there:

Cafe Le Cave

What immediately comes to mind is a dish like veal or chicken cordon blue, salad with hearts of palm, and cherries jubilee, or profiteroles.

I'm reminded of Calvin Trillin's characterization of restaurants serving "continental cuisine" being "modeled on the continent of Antarctica, where everything starts out frozen.”