Daniel Boulud built Le Pavillon as a seafood-and-vegetable French dining room inside a Midtown skyscraper, with olive trees in the room and a Michelin star on the door. It is one of the best French restaurants operating outside France.
One Michelin starMidtown East, New YorkUpdated May 2026
At a glance
Le Pavillon is chef Daniel Boulud's vegetable- and seafood-forward French restaurant at One Vanderbilt in Midtown East, New York, opened in May 2021 and awarded one Michelin star in 2022, which it has retained through the 2025 New York guide. Boulud, who trained under Roger Vergé and Georges Blanc and was named James Beard Outstanding Chef, runs a soaring room planted with olive trees beside the base of the One Vanderbilt tower. The dinner prix fixe runs around $145 for three courses; lunch is gentler at roughly $78 to $95.
Daniel Boulud's one-Michelin-star, seafood-led French room beneath One Vanderbilt — book it for a Midtown client dinner with the Oysters Vanderbilt.
Food10/10
Ambience9/10
Value8/10
Why Le Pavillon belongs on a French-outside-France list
France exports its kitchens, but few of them keep the technique and lose the heaviness. Le Pavillon does. Daniel Boulud, a Lyon-trained chef who has cooked in New York for more than thirty years, designed the menu to be lighter than the classic French canon — vegetables and seafood lead, butter and cream play supporting roles, and the cooking reads as Mediterranean-French rather than Escoffier. That is why it earns a place among the best French rooms outside France: it is recognisably French in discipline and unmistakably contemporary in feel.
The room matters too. Boulud and his team built an 11,000-square-foot dining space at the foot of One Vanderbilt, with a grove of olive trees, a long marble bar and floor-to-ceiling glass. It is grand and theatrical in a way that suits a Midtown business audience, and it played a real part in reopening fine dining in New York after the pandemic when it launched in 2021.
What to order at Le Pavillon
Start with the Oysters Vanderbilt, Boulud's house play on Oysters Rockefeller and the dish most associated with the restaurant. The spaghetti alla chitarra, twirled with Meyer-lemon butter and crowned with Kaluga caviar, is the pasta course the Michelin inspectors single out, and the vegetable-forward plates — roasted cauliflower with Aleppo-pepper muhammara, garden compositions that change with the season — show what the kitchen is really about.
The format is a prix fixe: around $145 for three courses at dinner, with a more affordable lunch from roughly $78 for two courses or $95 for three. The wine list leans French and deep, and the bar at the front, La Fontaine, takes walk-ins for a glass and a plate if the dining room is booked.
How to book Le Pavillon
Le Pavillon takes reservations through Resy and its own site, typically opening tables a few weeks out. Prime dinner slots on weekends go first; a weekday lunch or an earlier seating is easier to secure on shorter notice. For a business meal, the dining room's scale and acoustics suit a conversation, and the One Vanderbilt address sits directly above Grand Central, which makes it convenient for clients arriving from Midtown or the suburbs.
If the dining room is full, the front bar takes walk-ins for à la carte plates and is a credible plan B for the Oysters Vanderbilt and a glass of Champagne. Smart business dress is the right register; the room is dressy without requiring a jacket.
Who it is not for
Le Pavillon is not for a committed carnivore chasing a steakhouse — the menu is deliberately seafood- and vegetable-led, so a guest who wants a 16-ounce ribeye should head to one of Boulud's other rooms or a Midtown chophouse instead. It is also not for an intimate, hushed dinner: the dining room is vast, glamorous and busy, built for occasion rather than quiet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Le Pavillon still open?
Yes. Le Pavillon, Daniel Boulud's French restaurant at One Vanderbilt in Midtown East, is open and operating, and it retains its Michelin star in the current New York guide. It serves lunch and dinner on weekdays and dinner on Saturdays, and is generally closed on Sundays. Reservations are available through Resy and the restaurant's own website.
Does Le Pavillon have a Michelin star?
Yes. Le Pavillon was awarded one Michelin star in 2022, the year after it opened, and has retained the star through the 2025 New York guide. It is chef Daniel Boulud's seafood- and vegetable-focused French room at One Vanderbilt, and the star reflects the precision of the cooking rather than a tasting-menu format — the restaurant runs a prix fixe.
How much does dinner at Le Pavillon cost?
Dinner at Le Pavillon is a prix fixe of around $145 for three courses, before wine, supplements such as caviar, and service. Lunch is more accessible at roughly $78 for two courses or $95 for three. The front bar, La Fontaine, offers à la carte plates at a lower spend, which is a good way to try the kitchen — including the Oysters Vanderbilt — without the full prix fixe.
What is Le Pavillon known for?
Le Pavillon is known for Daniel Boulud's lighter, seafood- and vegetable-led take on French cooking, served in a dramatic 11,000-square-foot room planted with olive trees at the base of the One Vanderbilt skyscraper. Signature dishes include the Oysters Vanderbilt, a play on Oysters Rockefeller, and spaghetti alla chitarra with Meyer-lemon butter and Kaluga caviar. It opened in 2021 and holds one Michelin star.
Is Le Pavillon good for a business dinner?
Yes. Le Pavillon is one of the better Midtown rooms for entertaining a client: it sits directly above Grand Central at One Vanderbilt, the dining room is spacious enough for a private conversation, and Daniel Boulud's name and Michelin star signal that the meeting matters. Book a few weeks ahead for a prime slot, choose smart business dress, and consider the prix fixe to keep the meal on schedule.
