Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘One Day,’ Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew are forever bound to one another after bumping into each other on graduation night. This chance meeting becomes the turning point in their lives, as they see each other at their best and their worst while processing their feelings for each other, which only complicates things more with each year. While the show focuses on their romance, it also takes the audience through their professional journeys, which also go through a significant arc. For Dexter, things change quite a lot, and in the end, we watch him open a quaint cafe. SPOILERS AHEAD
Dexter’s Belleville Cafe in One Day is a Fictional Place
If, after seeing ‘One Day,’ you were gripped by the desire to visit the cafe Dexter runs in London, then you’ll be disappointed to know that it’s not a real cafe. The cafe is a fictional location created to serve the plot of ‘One Day,’ which is based on the novel of the same name by David Nicholls. The cafe, with the beautiful blue exterior, which we see in the Netflix series, is actually Maison Bleue on Calabria Road, which closed down in December 2022. The place was utilized by the crew of ‘One Day’ to film scenes with Dexter’s Belleville Cafe.
Filming for the Netflix remake of ‘One Day’ is starting at Maison Bleue – there’s a huge influx of crew and equipment on Calabria Road and Corsica Street at the moment. https://t.co/f5DY7ydiCN pic.twitter.com/mwXsTWuka7
— Highbury Fields (@FieldsHighbury) January 16, 2023
While there may not be a real Dexter Mayhew cafe in London, there was a Belleville Cafe on Westbourne Grove, with a French vibe and food that matched Dexter’s vision for his cafe. It is also closed now. There is another place named Belle Ville on Forest Hill Road, but it is a Mediterranean restaurant with a completely different vibe and menu.
Belleville becomes an important location in ‘One Day’ because, for Dexter, it feels like the thing he’d been looking for all these years. Despite having the money and the resources at his disposal, Dexter always feels adrift when it comes to building a career. Even when he starts working in the media and becomes slightly famous, it is not exactly fulfilling for him. If anything, that line of work turns disastrous for him, especially during the difficult years of his life. He alienates the people he loves and falls into alcohol and drugs, completely derailing himself.
With Belleville, Dexter feels that he finally has something that he’d actually like to do without suffering anyone’s resentment, especially his own. It is also a sign of his fledgling life and career, especially since he and Emma get together and decide to build a life with each other. It also shows to his family and friends that he is turning things around and is getting the much-needed stability that had been missing from his life for such a long time.
Read More: One Day: Are Largin It and Get In!! Real TV Shows?
