Daniel Boulud Opens His First Steakhouse La Tête d’Or
Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud, known for French fine dining, has always wanted to open a steakhouse. With La Tête d’Or, the newest restaurant under the chef’s Dinex Group, Boulud is offering his take on the classic American culinary genre.
“I always joke that five years ago I became American, and so that made it even more legitimate for me to do [a steakhouse],” he says. “But it’s still with the French touch. It’s an American French steakhouse.”
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The restaurant is named for a park in Boulud’s hometown of Lyon, France, and the menu features classic steakhouse dishes filtered through Boulud’s refined approach.
“I really wanted to have the foundation of a classic steakhouse, with a celebration of seafood,” says Boulud of his approach to the menu, which features extensive raw bar options. The main draw at La Tête d’Or though is the beef, offered in various breeds — Angus, several styles of Wagyu — and cuts, from Porterhouse to French-style C?te de boeuf and filet mignon. Meat is cooked using wood and charcoal-fire grills, and finished with sauces and butters that are selected by guests. There are also several side options and seven options for potatoes, from pommes frites to pomme purée and a baked potato with truffle. “We leave the freedom to the guests to choose what they like,” says Boulud.
The restaurant works with farmers and ranches across North America. “The sourcing of our ingredients is the most important thing, relying on suppliers that have high-quality meat that are raised responsibly,” says Boulud, listing off several of the purveyors. The restaurant also features a Wagyu counter, a 10-seat chef counter that will offer a tasting menu of the premium beef, sourced from different parts of the world.
The menu also features a prime rib trolley option, where American wagyu rib eye is sliced and served tableside. “I grew up in Europe, but I lived in Denmark and I was working in a restaurant called the Baron of Beef in Copenhagen at the Hotel Plaza,” says Boulud, adding that the restaurant was known for its roast beef. “Every night I had to cook that beautiful roast for the carving trolley,” he says, adding that he hopes to introduce the trolley once the restaurant gets lunch service up and running in a few weeks. The restaurant is well positioned for lunch and after-work gatherings, located on the ground floor of the One Madison building in the Flatiron District, just below Madison Square Park.
La Tête d’Or marks a continuation of the chef’s relationship with SL Green, a commercial real estate group that includes One Vanderbilt, home to Dinex Group restaurants Le Pavillon, épicerie Boulud and Joji. Interior design in the space was led by the Rockwell Group, and the warm dining room features wooden accents and velvet banquette seating situated underneath cathedral-style seating.
“I think people appreciate the fact that it’s classic, but with a personal touch to a lot of things,” says Boulud of early response to the restaurant. “What I love about the steakhouse is it’s classic, timeless and simple, but yet it’s complex and it gives a lot of pleasure to people,” adds Boulud. “I love that the steakhouse is also a place where larger groups gather.”
And on the topic of gathering: The restaurant also features a private room that can accommodate up to 40 people, just in time for holiday and end-of-year celebrations.
Launch Gallery: Inside Daniel Boulud's Steakhouse Restaurant La Tête d’Or
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