Prolific French chef Daniel Boulud shows no signs of dialing back a breakneck pace of opening restaurants. Following the debut of his French steakhouse La Tête d’Or last November and, before that, the relocated Cafe Boulud, the chef is shuttering his adjacent Upper West Side Bar Boulud (1900 Broadway at 64th Street), Boulud Sud, and Épicerie Boulud to open a brasserie in conjunction with design firm Rockwell Group later this year.
The restaurants will close on June 23 ahead of the redesign. No word yet on the new name. This location of Epicerie Boulud is the only one that will shutter; the other four Manhattan locations will remain open.
“I’m thrilled to share that we’ll be debuting a brand new restaurant at the corner of 64th and Broadway this fall — right across from Lincoln Center!” says Boulud in a statement to Eater. “After years of bustling pre-and post-theater dinners and celebrations, it’s time for something new.” He notes the brasserie will open in time for the holidays.
“So many have been loyal patrons of [these restaurants] for nearly 20 years,” he says, pointing out how much he loves the location, as well as a couple of popular dishes from the restaurants — charcuterie boards, coq au vin, chicken tagine, grapefruit givrés. “I’m deeply grateful to our talented chefs and incredible service team — and our devoted guests— for making this a beloved destination for the Lincoln Center community.”
Bar Boulud has been open since 2008; (currently closed) Boulud Sud in 2011, and Epicerie Boulud which opened that same year. Of Boulud Sud, former Eater critic Ryan Sutton celebrated the “flavor-packed ode to Southern France and the Mediterranean,” back in 2018, and the restaurant landed two stars from the New York Times the year it opened. So did the more casual Bar Boulud a few years earlier in its opening review, in which Frank Bruni highlighted the trend away from fine dining that was encapsulated by the restaurant, calling it a “a terrine machine, a pâté-a-palooza” with a “devotion to wine.”
Boulud has recently focused on opening abroad as well as in Manhattan, having rolled out Julien by Daniel Boulud in the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh, a 10-seat French restaurant serving a 10-course menu, in May. Cafe Boulud also resides in the hotel. The chef has 12 New York restaurant brands in Manhattan and two event spaces. He also has two locations in Florida along with six locations around the world.