When you’re out for dinner, you never quite know what may have happened or who has eaten within the same walls. You might be eating at the scene of a mafia showdown, where Hitler used to dine or be sitting at the same table where Marilyn Monroe had a first date. These are our favourite restaurants that are hiding surprising secrets.

The star-studded 21 Club, where you’re likely to spot celebrities and CEOs having dinner, has a dark secret. The New York restaurant is a former Prohibition-era speakeasy and after an infamous raid in 1930, camouflaged doors and hidden chutes that threw liquor bottles into the sewer were installed. Quick-release bar shelves and a secret wine cellar also covered the tracks of their illicit activities. These days the historic establishment is known for its American classics: the ‘21 burger’, creamy chicken hash, steak tartare, bananas Foster and New York cheesecake.

Daquise, open since 1947, is a Polish restaurant in South Kensington, London serving dumplings, sweetbreads and borscht. It's also steeped in political history. During the 1980s, it was the unofficial headquarters for exiled Polish president Edward Raczyński. British socialite Christine Keeler also met Russian naval attaché Yevgeny Ivanov here while she was having an affair with John Profumo, a British Secretary of State for War. The scandal, known as 'The Profumo Affair', shook the British government.

The chic Madeline Garden in Pasadena, California is an old-school restaurant that hosts champagne brunches and high teas. However, tables and chairs didn't always fill its rooms. In 1920, it was an architect's studio and in 1943, it became the California Institute of Technology’s workspace for scientists working on nuclear weapons. It’s also rumoured that Albert Einstein had a basement laboratory here.

Rules, one of London's oldest restaurants, was established in 1798 and has a list of impressive clientele. It was Oliver Twist author Charles Dickens’ favourite places to eat. While his poverty-stricken characters ate gruel, Dickens dined in luxury at a table reserved just for him overlooking the boot polish factory where he worked as a boy. Other famous patrons include Graham Greene, Laurence Olivier and Charlie Chaplin. It remains popular with today's actors and politicians. The restaurant serves traditional British food like pies, game and sticky toffee pudding.

Today, Osteria Italiana is an upscale Italian restaurant serving classic dishes like tuna carpaccio, ravioli with ricotta and saltimbocca (veal escalopes). However, the restaurant, established in 1890, was previously called Osteria Bavaria and was Hitler’s favourite restaurant. Osteria Italiana hasn't changed much and still has wood-panelled walls and white tablecloths.

The Rainbow Bar & Grill on Sunset Boulevard is an Italian restaurant serving pizzas, pastas, steaks and seafood. But it's better known for its association with rock legends of the 1970s. It’s been around since the 1920s, under different names, and the likes of Elton John, Alice Cooper, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin have dined within its memorabilia-adorned walls. It's also got a Hollywood connection – when it was Villa Nova, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio had their first date here in March 1952. 

Olives is a small, unassuming takeaway coffee and sandwich place in SoHo, New York, with a starry secret. It was David Bowie’s favourite sandwich shop. His regular order was apparently the grilled chicken on focaccia with watercress, tomatoes and chipotle mayo. Make like the late superstar and stop by for lunch if you’re in the neighbourhood.

Phở Bình is a noodle soup restaurant in Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Established in the late 1960s, the noodle shop was also the former secret headquarters of the Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communists) in Saigon. From here they planned attacks on the US embassy and other targets during the Tet Offensive of 1968. Pictured is Nguyen Van Tri, a former Viet Cong agent who was in charge of logistics for the 1968 Tet Offensive, in front of Phở Bình.

McSorley’s Old Ale House, New York has been welcoming patrons through its doors since 1854 but up until 1970, only men were allowed in. Former president Abraham Lincoln, The Beatles’ John Lennon and other big names in art and literature have sat at the bar and enjoyed a pint of rich ale, but none of them women. Folk singer Woody Guthrie and civil rights attorneys Faith Seidenberg and Karen DeCrow are to thank for overturning the antiquated rule.

Musso & Frank Grill is a Hollywood institution, established in 1919. The waiters still wear red jackets and bow ties, there’s a vintage payphone in the corner (which was the neighbourhood’s first ever phone) and the customers dine in plush booths. A little-known fact is that Charlie Chaplin used to race colleagues to lunch here, down Hollywood Boulevard on horseback, and the loser had to pick up the lunch tab. These days it’s still a hot spot for celebrities and its martini is legendary.

In the heart of London’s East End, The Ten Bells is a cosy candle-lit pub with a sinister past. Look past the city workers and their cocktails to the walls of this Victorian pub, and the clues become visible. You’ll see a tribute to the victims of Jack the Ripper – the unidentified serial killer of Victorian London. Two of them, Annie Chapman and Mary Kelly, were patrons of the pub and The Ten Bells is said to be the last place Annie visited before her brutal death.

Sparks Steakhouse is a classic Midtown Manhattan steakhouse, in business since 1966, where customers flock to enjoy the shrimp cocktail, baked clams, lamb chops and steak. It's one of the longest-running New York steakhouses and one of the last remaining restaurants in an area previously known as 'steak row'. It's also been linked to infamous mob boss John Gotti and the location where mobster Paul “Big Paul” Castellano of the Gambino crime family was assassinated in 1985.

In London’s 790-acre Hampstead Heath lies The Spaniard’s Inn, a pub built in 1585 with a rich and secretive history. It’s thought 18th-century highwayman Dick Turpin was born here and that John Keats composed Ode To A Nightingale in its garden. These days you’ll find pub-goers huddled by the homely fireplace or out in the beer garden, enjoying a pint and some classic British comfort food.

Bar de la Marine is an old French bar on the seafront in the southern port city of Marseille. The romantic restaurant serves pizza, tapas, wine and cocktails, and customers may recognise its interiors. This local spot was used as the filming location for the Portuguese restaurant in Love Actually, where Colin Firth's character declares his love to Aurelia in front of the entire village.

In the heart of New York's Little Italy is Umberto’s Clam House which opened in 1972. It's known for high-quality seafood with raw oysters, baked clams and an excellent lobster ravioli on the menu. But their name is remembered for something else too. In 1972, New York gangster Joe “Crazy Joe” Gallo was shot and killed outside the front of the restaurant. They’ve moved location twice since but the story follows them.

These days, family-run East Harlem institution Rao’s is talked about for its celebrity clientele and long waiting lists. In owner Frank Pellegrino’s own words, “Every table has been booked every night for the past 38 years.” Their incredible Italian food – the famous red sauce, meatballs and lemon chicken – overshadows a secret mafia past. The restaurant was frequented by mobster Louis Barone, who in 2003 shot patron Albert Circelli inside after an argument following Circelli heckling a woman, Rena Strober, who was singing.

In the heart of London's Soho, L’Escargot, opened in 1926, is regularly voted one of the best restaurants in London. Unsurprisingly, they serve classic French food including garlic and parsley snails, lobster bisque, and beef fillet with foie gras and truffle. What's not immediately obvious is its long list of famous customers, including Coco Chanel, Mick Jagger, Elton John and the late Princess Diana.

Delmonico's lays claim to being where lobster newburg and baked alaska were invented, and it was the original fine dining restaurant in the US. Established in 1837, it was the first to have tablecloths, an à la carte menu and desribed as the French word ‘restaurant’. Previously, America only had ‘eating houses’ and taverns. Over the years, famous guests have included former president Theodore Roosevelt, writer Mark Twain, playwright Oscar Wilde, financier J.P. Morgan and former King of England Edward VII.

In London’s Whitechapel, The Blind Beggar is a local watering hole with a dark and murky history. Nowadays, it's packed with city workers and visitors enjoying the regularly updated beer menu with little regard for this East End pub’s past. On the 9 April 1966, it’s where infamous gangster Ronnie Kray shot and killed rival George Cornell.

In a city famous for jazz, Green Mill Lounge is a historic hot spot frequented by Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra back in the day. During the Prohibition era, it was taken over by “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn, part of Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit. However, a little-known fact is that beneath the bar there’s a network of underground tunnels, originally used to transport coal for the boilers but used by the mafia to store illicit booze.

Hotel Café Royal is a five-star hotel in London’s Piccadilly Circus and has long been a go-to place for fine food. From Ziggy’s cocktail bar (in homage to David Bowie who had his retirement party here) and a cake and champagne restaurant, to a sushi and grill bar, they have it all. You may also be surprised to know some of its famous guests include Virginia Woolf, Brigitte Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor and Princess Diana. Winston Churchill’s regular orders were apparently the steaks, stilton and champagne.

Upscale Villa Amalfi in New Jersey is known for its great brunches and stylish venue, but less so its gangster history. It was bought and renovated in the 1980s but previously it was known as Joe’s Elbow Room. It was where Willie Moretti, notorious underboss of the Genovese crime family, was killed by his own friends in 1951. It was said to be a mercy killing as he had become unwell and was losing his mind.

Any restaurant that’s been open over a century is bound to have some secrets and Camille’s, opened in 1914, is no exception. During Prohibition, Camille's was called Marconi’s Roman Garden and served alcohol in plain sight, paying off agents. It was also a local favourite of New England mobster Raymond L.S. Patriarca. Today, the elegant Italian on historic Federal Hill, Providence is more famous for its chicken and aubergine (eggplant) parmesan dishes.

Jim’s Steaks is a Philly cheesesteak and hoagie takeaway chain, first opened in 1939. Loyal locals flock to get their lunchtime sandwich fix but it's suspected there's more than steaks and bread rolls behind the counter. In 2011 and 2012, the South Street branch was raided by police with a narcotics warrant. This has happened four times in the steak shop since 1990.

Lottie’s Pub, established in 1934, is a sports bar on West Cortland Street serving pizzas and pints, with a colourful history. During Prohibition it was a grocery store with a speakeasy in the basement, a hot spot for public officials and gangsters, an illegal gambling shop, and a strip club. In 1973, Lottie Zagorski was arrested and immediately the police station was flooded with calls from politicians and businessmen demanding her release.

Italian restaurant Vitello’s, in the San Fernando Valley, California, has been open since 1964 and is famous for its chicken penne, double-bone pork chops and American Wagyu flat iron steak. In 2001, it was also the scene of a real life murder mystery. After actor Robert Blake had dinner with his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley (it was his favourite restaurant), Bonnie was found dead in the carpark. It was thought to have happened in the time Blake returned to the restaurant because he’d left his handgun inside. In 2005, Blake was acquitted of the murder.

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Dante & Luigi’s is an old-school Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, around since the 1930s. They’re famous for their homemade pasta and popular dishes include osso buco, lamb stew, sweetbreads and lasagna. A lesser-known fact about the restaurant’s history is that it was a popular hangout spot for the Philadelphia mafia. On Halloween 1989, a masked man suspected to be mobster Joey Merlino shot Nicky Scarfo Jr, the son of convicted crime boss “Little Nicky”, eight times. Miraculously he survived.

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This Jewish deli and bakery, popular with locals and A-list celebrities, opened on Fairfax Avenue in the 1940s. It's open 24 hours a day and close to film sets and music studios, so its clientele has always included a who’s who of Hollywood. But not everyone knows that Marilyn Monroe's third husband Arthur Miller introduced her to Canter's and she became a loyal customer.

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The Ritz in London is a luxurious spot but its beginnings are a little more dark and shady. Hotelier César Ritz and chef Auguste Escoffier originally worked for The Savoy, another high-end hotel, but in 1898 were sacked after confessing to stealing £6,400 ($8,260) in wine and spirits. It equates to around £500,000 ($645,245) in today's money. It's suspected they were wining and dining potential guests for their new joint venture – the Ritz. The pair went on to open the Ritz Paris and the Ritz Carlton Hotel, London but soon left the industry and sold the rights to the name.