Le Bilboquet Owner Philippe Delgrange Receives L’Alliance New York’s 10th Art de Vivre Award

It was Le Bilboquet’s 40th birthday—a year early. Or rather, one of many grand celebrations for its co-founder and frontman, Philippe Delgrange.

On June 2, 2025, Delgrange received the 10^th Art de Vivre Award and joined the ranks of legendary French tastemakers in New York: publishers Martine and Prosper Assouline, hairstylist Frédéric Fekkaï, fashion designer Anne Fontaine, perfumer Frédéric Malle, and media icon Carine Roitfeld—each a symbol of French style and culture.

“If there’s one Frenchman who truly embodies the American Dream—the dream of ‘a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone,’” said L’Alliance New York President Tatyana Franck, quoting James Truslow Adams, “it’s Philippe Delgrange.”

The French Delgrange is to today’s New York what Sirio Maccioni—the Italian mastermind behind Le Cirque—was to a previous era: a dandy whose flair and charisma helped define the city’s dining and social landscape.

Delgrange crossed the Atlantic at just 18, after apprenticing in France under a special youth work permit signed by Général de Gaulle. He cut his teeth at the infamous Atrium Club, trained on Park Avenue with French nightlife icon Régine, and welcomed New York’s brightest stars at Le Relais. Then one day, in 1986, he opened a tiny 32-seat restaurant on East 63rd Street between Madison and Park Avenues. He called it Le Bilboquet.

“The truth is,” Delgrange confided over dinner, “it was not just that the restaurant only sat 32—it’s how small the toilets were!” The iconic French restaurateur added, “Bilboquet was, at first, a restaurant without a kitchen; the food was prepared a few floors above in a private apartment.”

“Do you know what Bilboquet means?” Franck asked her guests during cocktails in L’Alliance’s Skyroom. “It’s the name of a 16th-century French cup-and-ball game.” Like the toy, mastering Le Bilboquet once seemed an almost impossible feat.

Yet for New Yorkers, Le Bilboquet—brought to life with the support of a few famous partners, including guitarist and singer Eric Clapton—quickly became something else entirely: the city’s most sought-after restaurant, where top models and movie stars danced on tables, and a riotously glamorous family of friends came together, night after night, brunch after brunch.

“Le Bilboquet is not just a place to eat,” Franck added. “It’s a place to be.”

When Delgrange bid farewell to the original Bilboquet in 2012, Clapton encouraged him to start again; Ron Perelman and Steven Witkoff joined as partners, and what followed was a rebirth—just three blocks south, on 60th Street, inside L’Alliance New York’s building.

There, Le Bilboquet found new maturity—and a path to expansion. Locations flourished in Palm Beach, Sag Harbor, Atlanta, Dallas, and Denver. In Manhattan, Delgrange opened Fleming on 62nd Street and Café Bilboquet next door to L’Alliance’s main entrance.

“Le Bilboquet is where French movie icon Isabelle Huppert and stand-up comedian Gad Elmaleh might sit next to Robert De Niro or Anne Hathaway,” Franck said. Getting a table at Le Bilboquet means you’ve earned a seat at the table of elegance, joy, and friendship. Thanks to Le Bilboquet, our American students now pronounce—with perfect French flair—vin rosé, salade d’avocats, sole meunière, and crêpe Suzette.”

And vice versa: Bilboquet diners have become regulars at L’Alliance, drawn by its vibrant cultural offerings—exhibitions (most recently Covering The New Yorker, and now Mutants of the Valley, by artist Fabrice Hyber), performances, and the festivals Crossing The Line, Animation First, and Comic Arts Fest. The unlikely union of Le Bilboquet and L’Alliance have created a Francophone haven on 60^th street for all New Yorkers.

Delgrange’s longtime friends—including pastry star François Payard, D’Artagnan’s Ariane Daguin, Greenwich’s Le Pingouin Antoine Bleck, le Charlot’s Bruno Gelormini, L’Alliance board members Helena Skarstedt, Nabil Chartouni, Eric Le Goff, Jeffrey Rosen, and its new chairwoman Amandine Freidheim—gathered for dinner that evening. All are fierce devotees of Delgrange’s singular charm—and his uncanny ability to make New York’s most celebrated figures feel right at home.

At a luncheon, not so long ago, I savored “the” Cajun Chicken next to Jimmy Kimmel. Another night, I spotted Sting sat at the most desired table, the round one on the left, in the back of the front room. I also remember Bono sipping a coffee, and rumor has it Leonardo Di Caprio once held the door open for several diners who did not recognize him.

Only Delgrange could turn a Manhattan block—enclosed between Madison and Park Avenue—into a moveable feast. 

So much so that, to close her speech with a splash of humor—and a pinch of salt—Franck made a small request of Delgrange: a new Bilboquet in Montclair, New Jersey, where L’Alliance has just opened a preschool as part of its regional development.

“Philippe, just think about it,” she smiled. “One more Bilbo—or a Café Bilboquet. Juste un de plus.”

In the pictures above:
Top on the right: Tatyana Franck, Philippe Delgrange, Amandine and Stephen Freidheim
Second top right: Dobi Trendafilova and Jean-Baptiste Parvais
Third right: Bruno Gelormini, Philippe Delgrange, William Abadie
Top left: Helena Skarstedt
Helena Chazal de Kytspotter, Prince Amyn Aga Khan, Tatyana Franck, Amandine Freidheim, Nabil Chartourni
Fifth right: Dean and Amira Amro
Fifth left – top: Tatyana Franck and Jeffrey Rosen
Fifth left – bottom: Tatyana Franck and Nikhil Shiroor
Bottom picture: Noah Bogen, Jessica Bogen, Philippe and Vanessa Delgrange, and Sacha Benchimol
All pictures (c) Leila Abazine image | L’Alliance New York