NYC Icon Le Cirque Eyes Intimate Upper East Side Space

Legendary French restaurant Le Cirque is very close to signing a space in the 60’s off Madison, just a stone’s throw from its original location.

Co-owner Mauro Maccioni says the family is about to close the deal on this more intimate, 75-seat space that has a small garden out back. The Maccioni family had been moving forward with a space at 36 East 60th St., but Mauro said it became “too expensive.”

“We want to come full circle; we’ve become tired of large places and want to return to a more boutique, clubbier style,” he says. “This will have a more neighborhood feel, like the original Le Cirque.”

Also like the original Le Cirque will be the return some of the classic dishes such as sea bass paupiette, baked potato stuffed with white truffle and foie gras, duck a l’Orange, and chocolate souffle. The family is in the process of interviewing for a chef “with a prominent name.”

Le Cirque first opened at 58 East 65th St. in 1974 — the space which now houses fine dining Daniel — then moved to the Palace Hotel in 1997 and had its last incarnation at 1 Beacon Court in 2006. That space, which had 250 seats, closed on New Year’s Eve of 2017. The restaurant is a bona fide NY institution, pushing out the likes of Daniel Boulud and David Bouley.

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