The Menu is now available to stream on Disney+ and HBO Max. And with this, those who have watched the movie have a lot of questions on their minds.
One of those questions is whether or not chef Julian Slowik (played by Ralph Fiennes)'s Hawthorn is a real restaurant. They also want to know the location of the remote island used as the address for the ultra-exclusive restaurant.
If you are wondering the same thing, we've got the answers you're looking for!
Where Was The Menu Movie Filmed?
Most of the movie was shot in Savannah, Georgia. The cast and crew started filming in September 3, 2021.
Although most of the scenes in the movie takes place inside chef Slowik's ultra-luxurious restaurant, additional filming was done in Georgia.
The filming locations include the following:
- Fort McAllister State Park
- World Trade Center Atlanta
- Skidaway Island Community Gardens
- Hampton Island Retreat
- Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach
- Tybee Island
But according to an interview with Condé Nast Traveler, production designer Ethan Tobman revealed that they were supposed to shoot in Scotland. But due to the ever-changing COVID-19 protocols that had to be followed, the team had to change this location and settle for something local.
"We'd been so excited to film on Scotland's brutal, northern, moss-infested coastline."
Since those plans had to be scraped out, director Mark Mylod had his art department and production team do their best to recreate the atmosphere of Scotland.
Is Hawthorn Island a Real Place?
Unfortunately, Hawthorn Island is not a real place. The island is a made-up location specifically for The Menu. But they did shoot the scenes of the island on Tybee Island in Georgia.
In the same interview, Tobman explained:
"Tybee Island was beautiful -- and it did have a very long path through a very long field, leading to a very old barn. The symmetry of that landscape inspired us."
Aside from The Menu, Tybee Island had been used as the filming location for several other films and TV shows, such as Cape Fear, The Last Song, Gifted, Cobra Kai, and The Girl From Plainville.
The production designer revealed that the exteriors of the restaurant was built on the island. Meanwhile, the indoor scenes were filmed on a set.
"We basically built the façade of the restaurant as well as enough hallway to film actors going through a door and walking into the 'esophagus' of the restaurant -- but they'd walk into a blue screen."
You can check out the behind-the-scenes footage of The Menu's Hawthorn restaurant in this featurette:
The Menu is now available to stream on Disney+ and HBO Max.
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