La Côte Basque was a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

restaurant. It opened in the late 1950s and operated until it closed on March 7, 2004. In business for 45 years, upon its closing ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called it a "former high-society temple of

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

at 60 West 55th Street."

History

The restaurant was opened in the late 1950s by

Henri Soulé Henri Soulé (1903, Bayonne, France –1966 New York City) was the proprietor of Le Pavillon and La Côte Basque restaurants in New York City. Soulé also operated The Hedges in Southampton, New York. He is credited with having “trained an en ...

. Jean-Jacques Rachou became the owner and chef in 1979. At that time the restaurant was located a block to the east, moving to the West 55th street location in 1995. It was "known as much for its elegantly arrayed tables, set against a backdrop of handsome French seaside murals, as for its food. Mr. Rachou said he spent more than $2,200 a week on flowers and more than $3,000 on linen."

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

's unfinished novel ''Answered Prayers'' had as its setting a "catty and thinly veiled" version of the La Côte Basque; the chapter "La Côte Basque 1965" was excerpted in '' Esquire'' magazine in 1975. A scene from the film ''

Light Sleeper ''Light Sleeper'' is a 1992 American crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, and Dana Delany. Set in New York City during a sanitation strike, the gritty neo-noir film stars Dafoe as a high ...

'' (1992), directed by Paul Schrader, features

Willem Dafoe Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, t ...

and

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...

eating lunch in the restaurant.On the Set of New York
/ref> Famous patrons included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,

Babe Paley Barbara "Babe" Cushing Mortimer Paley (July 5, 1915 – July 6, 1978) was an American socialite, whose second husband William S. Paley was the founder of CBS. Known by the nickname "Babe" for most of her life, she was named to the Internationa ...

Nan Kempner Nan Kempner (July 24, 1930 – July 3, 2005) was a New York City socialite, reputed for her fashion sense and her philanthropy. Biography Born Nan Field Schlesinger in San Francisco, Kempner was the only child in a wealthy family. Her father, A ...

, Frank Sinatra, Freddie Carucci and Dave Feeback. The restaurant is also mentioned in

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

, when Charlotte's future-mother-in-law Bunny suggests it over Cloche for dinner.

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cote Basque French-American culture in New York City Defunct restaurants in New York City Restaurants established in 1959 Restaurants disestablished in 2004 1959 establishments in New York City 2004 disestablishments in New York (state) Midtown Manhattan Defunct French restaurants in the United States