| Brasserie Les Halles | |
|---|---|
 Park Avenue South Location | |
 Interactive map of Brasserie Les Halles | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Food type | French bistro steakhouse |
| Location | 15John Street,Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States |
Brasserie Les Halles was aFrench-brasserie-style restaurant originally located onPark Avenue inManhattan, New York City.[1][2] Other locations were on John Street in Manhattan, inTokyo, Miami, and Washington, D.C.
Author and television hostAnthony Bourdain worked there as executive chef. The restaurant featured prominently in his bookKitchen Confidential.
Les Halles went out of business in August 2017.
The restaurant was opened in 1990 by chefs Jose de Meirelles, Philippe Lajaunie, andJean-Michel Diot and named afterLes Halles, the historic central wholesale marketplace inParis.[3] The restaurant served simple and classic French dishes such asescargot,foie gras, andsteak tartare, which was prepared to order at tableside, and was renowned for itspommes frites. The originalPark Avenue location featured a butcher shop that specialized in French cuts of meat. Author and television hostAnthony Bourdain worked there in the late 1990s as executive chef.[4] The Park Avenue location was featured prominently in the bookKitchen Confidential by Bourdain, who also detailed many of Les Halles' recipes inAnthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. The Downtown New York branch was located at 15 John Street (between Broadway & Nassau Street; in theFinancial District) on the site of the formerJohn Street Theatre, "Birthplace of American Theatre."[5]
TheWashington, D.C. location of Les Halles closed in mid-November 2008 following a fifteen-year run. Owner Philippe Lajaunie cited difficulty obtaining a new lease as the reason.
In its 2013 user poll,Zagat gave its two New York restaurants each a food rating of 21 out of 30.[2]
Executive chef Carlos Llaguno died of cancer at age 38 in February 2015. Bourdain paid tribute to Llaguno onFacebook saying, "Rest In Peace Chef Carlos Llaguno Garcia. A great friend, a great chef, a great person. He will be missed by all who knew him."[4]
ThePark Avenue location of Les Halles closed in March 2016. The Miami location closed as well.[6] Les Halles went out of business in August 2017.[6] In 2018, Les Halles, though closed down, became a memorial to Anthony Bourdain after his suicide.[7]
In March 2022, a new French-style restaurant named La Brasserie opened in the former Les Halles space on Park Avenue. La Brasserie owner Francis Staub, previously the founder ofStaub cookware, expressed his intent to continue the Brasserie Les Halles philosophy. Some iconic dishes by Anthony Bourdain, such as the Steak Frites, are kept on the menu as an homage.[8] La Brasserie was rebranded as 'Chez Francis' in April 2023.[9]
40°44′36.82″N73°59′1.26″W / 40.7435611°N 73.9836833°W /40.7435611; -73.9836833
