Is there a restaurant called "cannibal and cooks"?
Executive summary
There is no record in the supplied reporting of a restaurant named exactly "Cannibal and Cooks"; instead the sources document eateries called "The Cannibal" in multiple cities, a long-running hoax about an alleged Los Angeles "Cannibal Club," and a historical 19th‑century Sacramento eatery connected to an accused cannibal—each different from the specific name asked about [1] [2] [3] [4]. The reporting shows how the word "cannibal" has appeared in real restaurant names and in hoaxes and fiction, but none of the provided documents identify a business with the precise title "Cannibal and Cooks" (reporting limitation: absence in these sources, not a definitive global absence).
1. "No match in the reporting for 'Cannibal and Cooks'"
A careful read of the supplied articles finds multiple uses of the word "Cannibal" tied to food businesses and stories, but no source uses the compound name "Cannibal and Cooks"; the sources include profiles and reviews of a restaurant simply called "The Cannibal" in New York and Los Angeles [1] [5] [2] [6], a historical Sacramento café associated with a 19th‑century figure nicknamed a cannibal [4], a Reuters fact check debunking a fictional "Cannibal Club" in Los Angeles [3], and cultural references in film and commentary [7] [8], yet none of these pieces mention "Cannibal and Cooks" by name—an important caveat being that this conclusion is limited to the provided reporting rather than an exhaustive global business registry search.
2. Real restaurants named "The Cannibal" and what they are
The Cannibal appears as an actual, meat‑focused restaurant and butcher concept that began on the East Coast and expanded to Los Angeles; coverage describes it as a butcher‑shop/beer hybrid that emphasizes nose‑to‑tail cooking and artisanal beer, named in homage to cyclist Eddy Merckx rather than any literal practice of cannibalism [1] [5] [2]. Contemporary listings and reservation services also list The Cannibal Beer & Butcher in Los Angeles, indicating an active restaurant brand under that name [6], while reviews and profiles document menus built around whole‑animal butchery, charcuterie and a large beer program [5] [2].
3. The “Cannibal Club” hoax and how names fuel moral panic
An enduring online hoax claimed an L.A. “Cannibal Club” where celebrities supposedly dined on human flesh; Reuters traced that claim to a fictitious website and concluded the venue never existed, calling it an old hoax and noting the domain registration details used to manufacture credibility [3]. This episode illustrates a pattern where sensational names—especially those invoking cannibalism—are easily weaponized on social media to imply elite wrongdoing, even when the underlying venues are satirical or fabricated [3] [9].
4. Historical precedents that complicate modern questions
Historical reporting from Sacramento recounts an 1851 eatery tied to a man nicknamed the "cannibal of the Capital" and a grisly local episode; that establishment was a real hotel dining room cited in period advertisements and municipal histories, and it shows that names or nicknames connected to cannibalism sometimes have roots in documented local events rather than modern marketing [4]. Such historical examples can seed contemporary myths or be repurposed by storytellers, muddying efforts to verify a specific modern business name like "Cannibal and Cooks."
5. Conclusion, limits and recommended next steps
Based on the supplied sources, there is no evidence that a restaurant called exactly "Cannibal and Cooks" exists; instead the reporting documents real venues called "The Cannibal," a debunked "Cannibal Club" hoax, and historical eateries associated with the label "cannibal" [1] [6] [3] [4]. This assessment is constrained to the given reporting—confirming whether any business anywhere currently uses the precise name "Cannibal and Cooks" would require searching contemporary business registries, social listings and local directories beyond these sources.