At Café Boulud, chef Daniel Boulud celebrates the dual culinary legacies of his childhood in Lyon, France, and his contributions to Manhattan's dining culture. It is named after the chef's grandparents' restaurant, which was run on the family's French farm more than 100 years ago and inspired Boulud's culinary career. The chef has lived in New York since 1982 and helped establish Manhattan's fine-dining scene, with institutions like the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Daniel and Four-Star Boulud Sud.
He opened the original Café Boulud in 1998, and it quickly became an Upper East Side mainstay, beloved for its signature four-category format menu and its welcoming neighborhood atmosphere. After a four-year hiatus, Café Boulud made a welcome return to the city in 2023 with a new Jeffrey Beers-designed interior and a location just blocks from the original. Former regulars will be pleased to learn that the menu and tradition of French elegance continue in the latest incarnation of Café Boulud.
- Jeffrey Beers International designed the sophisticated Manhattan restaurant. Cavernous ceilings and ample windows conjure a feeling of spaciousness, and details such as black-and-white tile floors and green velvet banquets add elevated comfort. A rotating gallery of MoMA-worthy 20th-century artwork by Miró, Matisse and Calder adorns the walls.
- Chef Boulud's menu displays impressive technical elements of classical French cuisine, but it also features seasonal ingredients and a modern style to keep the offerings interesting and diverse.
- Sommelier Victoria Taylor's curation of wines shares chef Boulud's passion for his home country but goes beyond the expected Burgundy and Bordeaux to include lesser-known French winemakers using sustainable and organic methods.
- Don’t miss bar en paupiette, black sea bass wrapped in crispy potatoes with leek fondue and Barolo wine sauce. The chef first crafted the signature dish when he helmed the kitchen at New York’s famed Le Cirque in the mid-1980s, and it remains a standout.
- Although the location might have changed, the impressive talent inside the kitchen did not. Executive chef Romain Paumier flawlessly executes chef Boulud's visionary dinner menu. Executive pastry chef Katalina Diaz, previously the pastry executive sous chef at Daniel, bakes pastries to perfection.
- Café Boulud's menu is broken into four categories: La Tradition, La Saison, Le Potager and Le Voyage. As its name implies, the La Tradition section focuses on time-honored French fare such as foie gras and roasted chicken breast.
- The La Saison section changes with the seasons. For example, winter menu highlights might include pan-seared scallops and an herbaceous veal stew.
- The kitchen sources all ingredients for the dishes in the vegetarian Le Potager section from local farmer's markets, a tribute to the chef's grandparents' farm.
- Le Voyage's Thai cuisine adds unexpected but welcome international flavor with dishes such as crab soup and pan-roasted sea bream served with fragrant ginger basmati rice.
- Desserts also follow the four categories. Indulge in molten chocolate cake with salted caramel and mint-lemongrass ice cream from La Tradition; a dark chocolate crémeux from La Saison; a mango tarte Tatin from Le Potager; or nam kang sai (Thai shaved ice) under Le Voyage. Or opt for a cheese degustation.
Bar
Brunch
Business casual
Dinner
Gluten-free options
Kid friendly
Lunch
Private dining
Reservations recommended 
Self-parking
Vegetarian options
