Daniel Boulud has opened and operated a lot of restaurants over the course of his long career, including the eponymous Daniel, which has served fine French fare to New Yorkers since 1993. But over all those years, spanning multiple concepts in locations from New York and Miami to Singapore and Dubai, he’d never opened a steakhouse.
That changed on November 19 with the debut of La Tête d’Or. The new restaurant is in Manhattan’s Flatiron District and inhabits some prime real estate in the newly redesigned One Madison office tower across from Madison Square Park.
La Tête d’Or is a partnership between Boulud’s Dinex Group and S.L. Green, the developer of One Madison and a partner in other Boulud concepts, Le Pavillon and Jōji. The restaurant features a 120-seat dining room, a bar and lounge, and two private dining rooms. Designer David Rockwell outfitted the high-ceilinged space with velvet banquettes and padded walls, enlisting deep blue tones and dark woods.
La Tête d’Or is a new steakhouse in New York City’s Flatiron District. Photo credit: Jason Varney
Boulud’s first steakhouse leans into American classics but doesn’t forget the chef’s French bona fides or his penchant for flavorful sauces.
The menu begins with starters like diver scallop crudo, crab cakes, steak tartare, and wood-fired bone marrow. There’s also traditional caviar service and seafood platters loaded with oysters, little neck clams, razor clams, shrimp, and lobster.
Soups and salads include a riff on classic French onion soup and a French wedge topped with Roquefort dressing, crispy shallots, and smoked beef tongue instead of the usual bacon.
Steaks range from a black Angus filet mignon and New York strip to a 60-day dry-aged porterhouse and Japanese A5 wagyu. Non-steaks include a Colorado lamb chop, yellowfin tuna steak, and Dover sole meunière. The restaurant also offers prime rib via tableside trolly service.
A variety of sauces and butters are available to top steaks, plus add-ons like crab, lobster tail, and foie gras.
Prime rib arrives via trolley and is carved tableside. Photo credit: Evan Sung
“My cuisine is always rooted in tradition, with the use of the finest seasonal ingredients, and a steakhouse is the ideal showcase for these elements,” said Boulud in a statement. “It is quite a simple, universal pleasure, an excellent steak and a great sauce, but it needs to be executed with precision, and it needs to have soul. It is a joy to work at the wood-fire grill, with the highest quality meats, and produce my own version of the steakhouse classics.”
The wine list is extensive, with a focus on reds from Bordeaux, Napa Valley, and Tuscany, and whites from Champagne and Burgundy. The bar is also pouring a menu of classic and original cocktails.
Patrons who want to check out the restaurant without committing to a full meal can sit at the bar, have a couple of drinks, and order from a menu of bar bites, like sweetbread nuggets, truffle fries, and marinated olives. La Tête d’Or follows the relaunch of Café Boulud almost exactly one year ago, after it suffered a pandemic-fated closure. Chef Boulud oversees an extensive roster in New York, including several full-service restaurants and bistros, a to-go sushi spot, and a few eat-in/take-out markets.
