Le Cirque is a French

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

that has had several locations throughout the New York City borough of Manhattan for more than forty years. It is currently closed, with its future status unknown.

New York City history

Le Cirque was established in 1974 by

Sirio Maccioni Sirio Maccioni (5 April 1932 – 20 April 2020) was an Italian restaurateur and author known for opening Le Cirque. Biography Maccioni got his start at Oscar's Delmonico, Delmonico's. Owner Oscar Tucci once stated, "Sirio and with Tony May w ...

and continued to be run by the family through its closure in 2018. It opened at the Mayfair Regent Hotel at 58 East 65th Street in March 1974. From 1986 to 1992,

Daniel Boulud Daniel Boulud (born 25 March 1955 in Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu) is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Toronto, Montréal, Singapore, the Bahamas, the Berkshires and Dubai. He is best known f ...

was executive

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

and in 1995, it was awarded the

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

for Outstanding Restaurant. Boulud was succeeded in 1992 by Sylvain Portay, and later Sottha Kuhn, Pierre Schaedelin, Christophe Bellanca (2007–2008) Craig Hopson (beginning in 2008), and Olivier Reginensi. In 1993, the tasting menu cost $90. The restaurant at the Mayfair closed in 1996 and reopened as Le Cirque 2000 at the Palace Hotel in 1997 where it remained a hotspot through 2002. In 2006, the restaurant moved to a location in the

Bloomberg Tower 731 Lexington Avenue is a mixed-use glass skyscraper on Lexington Avenue, on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Opened in 2004, it houses the headquarters of Bloomberg L.P. and as a result, is sometimes referred to informally as ...

building at One Beacon Court (151 East 58th Street) and operated as Le Cirque New York at One Beacon Court. It comprised and was designed by interior designer

Adam Tihany Adam D. Tihany (born Transylvania in 1948) is a hospitality designer based in New York. He founded multidisciplinary design firm Tihany Design in 1978, and is considered the originator of the title "restaurant designer". His firm has designed ho ...

and architect Costas Kondylis. The family's efforts to transition the restaurant were featured in the documentary film '' Le Cirque: A Table In Heaven'' directed by Andrew Rossi. Le Cirque New York closed on January 1, 2018, due to rising rent costs and other operational challenges, but operated private events on a boat in 2019. Its future plans are unknown as of 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

's impact on the restaurant industry and the 2020 death of founder Sirio Maccioni.

Other locations

As of 2019, there were Le Cirques in Las Vegas and three Indian locations: New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. The Las Vegas location at the Bellagio Hotel served as a second flagship location and had one

Michelin Star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

and an

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

Five-Diamond rating. Their lower-end sister brand Circo has a location in Abu Dhabi, but the Dallas location closed.

References

External links

Le Cirque Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cirque French-American culture in New York City French restaurants in New York City Defunct French restaurants in the United States Restaurants in Manhattan Defunct restaurants in New York City Restaurants established in 1974 Restaurants disestablished in 2018 James Beard Foundation Award winners 1974 establishments in New York City Fine dining