In the summer of 2025, acclaimed French chef Daniel Boulud shocked New York City when he announced the abrupt closure of three restaurants—Bar Boulud, Boulud Sud and Épicerie Boulud—all on the same corner across from Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The three spaces were to be merged to debut a brasserie, with plans to open that fall.
Things took longer than expected, but Brasserie Boulud opens today, October 8. This week, head sommelier Josh MacGregor’s most-used word has been “Thursday.”
“We were on the patio, and I probably had to tell 500 people passing by that we’re finally opening Thursday,” MacGregor told Wine Spectator.
The restaurant marks the return of Boulud’s signature Lyonnaise hospitality back to the neighborhood. The new merged space—with a footprint of more than 7,500 square feet—was designed by Rockwell Group, with checkered flooring, luxe red leather banquettes and a large central bar. Paintings of ballerinas, jazz singers and other performers line the walls as a nod to the neighborhood. The wine list, led by MacGregor, currently features more than 850 wines, largely transferred from Boulud Sud’s Best of Award of Excellence–winning cellar. (MacGregor was the head sommelier for the restaurant when it closed.)
The Brasserie Boulud menu features sections dedicated to charcuterie, sausages and other French classics. (Bill Milne)
In recent years, brasseries have proliferated across New York City—from Hudson Yards to the West Village. With such a large space, Boulud looked to outfit a menu to serve nearly anyone—tourists to neighborhood regulars, large parties to Martini-sippers sitting at the bar. “A brasserie signifies the scale of the restaurant, the scale of the menu, the scale of the offerings,” Boulud told Wine Spectator. “It’s part bourgeois cuisine, part regional cuisine. There is a certain affordability in a restaurant like that—it’s a restaurant that people can easily come back to or be in large groups.”
This August, while Wine Spectator was visiting his Grand Award winner, Daniel, on the Upper East Side, Boulud pulled out a copy of the Brasserie Boulud menu. This project was inspired by a bona fide brasserie, Brasserie Georges, the chef went to as a child in Lyon. “I always wished I had a Brasserie Georges in New York,” says Boulud.
As he scanned down the expansive menu—with sections dedicated to house-made charcuteries, sausages and brasserie standbys—Boulud grinned ear-to-ear describing each dish: from œufs mayonnaise with duck prosciutto to pâté en croûte, steak frites to pied de cochon (a whole pig’s trotter). “There’ll be enough choice that no one will be offended that I’m serving pied de cochon,” says Boulud. The kitchen’s day-to-day operations will be led by executive chef Christina d’Angelo.
In the wine cellar, head sommelier MacGregor doubles down on the heart of France by focusing on the regions surrounding Lyon: Burgundy, the Rhône and greater Southern France. “My wine list philosophy is that Lyon is the center of the universe,” says MacGregor, who started his career in wine at now-closed Grand Award winner Tribeca Grill.
Rockwell Group merged the three former restaurants into one 7,500-square-foot brasserie. (Jason Varney)
The cellar features an extensive selection of vintage Beaujolais, with pages dedicated to library selections of producers Jean Foillard and M. Lapierre dating back to 2009. “With old Beaujolais, when it’s good, it’s good—especially if you love savory wines,” says MacGregor. “There’s strawberry and cherry fruit still there, but you get all this savory spice and meatiness.”
MacGregor spoke to Wine Spectator about highlights on the wine list, the wine and food pairing he will always turn to and the regions wine lovers should look to for value.
What’s one wine people would be surprised to see well-represented in this cellar?
It doesn’t line up with the “philosophy” necessarily, but I love Grüner Veltliner from Austria. Even though it doesn’t necessarily make sense with the French identity, I’m always going to have a small selection of Grüner because it is a sommelier Swiss Army knife for pairings, especially with bitter foods. People talk about Burgundy and the Benedictine and Cistercian monks, but the same Cistercian order was making wines in the Kamptal and the Wachau going back at least to the 12th century.
What are the food and wine pairings everyone should try at Brasserie Boulud?
Northern Rhône Syrah with lamb is always one of my favorite combinations. I’m happy to shout that out to anybody who cares to listen. The Beaujolais with our pâté program will be a hit. I’m really looking forward to pairing meats with the savory reds of Beaujolais and the Rhône Valley.
Which sections of your wine list have really great value?
I love certain Côtes du Rhône-Villages, such as Saint-Maurice, which is especially fascinating for me next to Visan [in the Southern Rhône]. The blend shifts because of the microclimate, and it’s Syrah supported by Grenache instead of the other way around. There are really only two or three producers of it in the U.S. market. I think those are some of the most interesting and compelling wines in the Southern Rhône.
There is such diversity in the category of Côtes du Rhône-Villages. People know the Southern Rhône for Châteauneuf-du-Pape and they have one idea of what those wines are like. But the Southern Rhône is a plunderer’s paradise—you’ve got nearly every soil type imaginable.
Keep up with the latest restaurant news from our award winners: Subscribe to our free Private Guide to Dining newsletter!
Dining and Cooking