Established 1974 Food type French City New York City | Current owner(s) Sirio Maccioni Dress code Formal | |
Street address 151 East 58th Street in Midtown Manhattan | ||
Le Cirque is a French restaurant located at One Beacon Court, 151 East 58th Street (between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue) in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is owned and operated by LC International LLC, and was founded by Sirio Maccioni.
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History
It opened at the Mayfair Hotel on East 65th Street in 1974. It closed and reopened as Le Cirque 2000 at the Palace Hotel in 1997. The latest installation of Le Cirque opened in 2006 in the Bloomberg Tower building at One Beacon Court (151 East 58th Street). The flagship location is a 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2) restaurant designed by interior designer Adam Tihany and architect Costas Kondylis. The architectural lighting design was completed by Paul Gregory, principal of Focus Lighting Inc. There is a second flagship restaurant at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas that holds one Michelin Star and an AAA Five-Diamond rating. There is a third Le Cirque in Bangalore at The Leela Palace Hotel.
The Maccioni group also owns and operates Le Cirque Beach Club in the Casa de Campo Resort and Osteria del Circo in four locations: Manhattan on 120 W. 55th St., Las Vegas in the Bellagio Hotel, Dominican Republic at the Casa de Campo Resort and in Abu Dhabi at the InterContinental Hotel. Lastly the group owns Sirio Ristorante located inside Aria in Las Vegas and at The Pierre hotel in New York City.
From 1986 to 1992, Daniel Boulud was executive chef. He was succeeded by Sottha Kuhn, Pierre Schaedelin, Christophe Bellanca, Craig Hopson, and Olivier Reginensi.
In July 2009, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the former President of the Philippines was criticized for her supposed outlandish dinner at Le Cirque with the Philippine delegation during her visit to the United States. President Arroyo and her group reportedly had dinner for the cost of $20,000 or P1,000,000 as reported in the New York Post.
The artwork adorning the walls in Le Cirque are created by Tim Flynn.
The family's efforts to transition the restaurant to its current location was featured in the documentary film Le Cirque: A Table In Heaven directed by Andrew Rossi.
In 2012, Le Cirque was included on a list by Huffington Post of ten of the most scathing restaurant reviews. In 2013, Zagats gave it a rating of 25 for food, and 26 for decor.
Awards
In 1995, it was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant.