Le Cirque

The story

An Italian opened one of New York's most celebrated French restaurants. Sirio Maccioni launched Le Cirque in March 1974 at the Mayfair Regent Hotel on East 65th Street, and the family ran it for more than four decades. Daniel Boulud served as executive chef through the late 1980s and early '90s. In 1995 it won the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant. The New York location closed in 2018, though outposts in Dubai and India continue. Its future in the city remains unknown.