Le Pavillon (Daniel Boulud restaurant)

The idea for a new Boulud restaurant at One Vanderbilt began around 2017, when the skyscraper's developer approached Boulud about opening a restaurant there. Le Pavillon opened on May 19, 2021, the same day New York allowed restaurants to open at full capacity after 14 months of restricted dining during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2] At its opening, its executive chefs were Daniel Boulud, Michael Balboni, and William Nacev.[3][4]

The restaurant's initial opening was set to have limited reservations; its full opening was to take place on May 28.[4]

Le Pavillon is an 11,000 sq ft (1,000 m²) restaurant.[1] It is located on the second floor of the One Vanderbilt skyscraper, and has its own dedicated entrance.[3] The restaurant faces Grand Central Terminal, which lies just across a pedestrian plaza, and the Chrysler Building, about a block to the east.[5]

The restaurant is focused towards local and seasonal products of farms and the sea, with only three dishes including meat or poultry on the first menu.[3][4] Le Pavillon's dinner menu is a three-course, prix-fixe menu with a cost of $125, including "Oysters Vanderbilt", a play on Oysters Rockefeller.[1] Its wine list has 650 bottles, assembled by Boulud's wine director Daniel Johnnes.[4]

The restaurant space is a glassy multi-story room, with ceilings up to 57 ft (17 m).[5] The room features a wall of trees and plants, including 20-foot olive trees; about half of the restaurant space is dedicated to flora. The 120-seat dining room has banquettes and chairs with neutral colors. The tables are left uncovered for lunch service and have pale linen tablecloths for dinner service.[3] The restaurant's design was led by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld, along with the architecture firm KPF.[1] Weinfeld is known for adding natural elements to his works, and designed the restaurant as a mix of New York skyscraper elements and elements of Central Park.[5]

The restaurant also includes a bar and lounge area with seating for 46 guests, with an à la carte menu.[1] The bar has a hand-blown glass chandelier designed by sculptor Andy Paiko.[5] Additionally, the restaurant has a "garden table", for guests to have special food and wine experiences led by guest chefs and winemakers.[5]

Le Pavillon is named for an earlier Midtown Manhattan restaurant, also named Le Pavillon. That restaurant first opened as part of the 1939 New York World's Fair, and formally opened in Midtown in 1941, where it was known to define French cuisine in the U.S. until owner Henri Soulé's death in 1966. The name for the new restaurant also reflects its French meaning as a pavilion, a park space to provide entertainment for visitors.[1]

The restaurant received a significant amount of press at its opening. The New York Post titled it "the most important new restaurant in New York City's history",[6] while Town & Country called it the city's "most ambitious restaurant opening in years", and a sign that the city's dining scene is returning following the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.[1] The restaurant was awarded one Michelin star in 2022.[7]

• Official website