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

Written by JC Agid

It’s Le Bilboquet’s 40th birthday—a few months early.

On June 2, 2025, the restaurant’s co-founder and frontman, Philippe Delgrange, was awarded the 10th Art de Vivre Award by L’Alliance New York and its president, Tatyana Franck. Delgrange joins the ranks of legendary French tastemakers in New York, including publishers Martine and Prosper Assouline, D’Artagnan founder Ariane Daguin, hairstylist Frédéric Fekkaï fashion designer Anne Fontaine, perfumer Frédéric Malle, or fashion icon Carine Roitfeld—each a symbol of French style and culture abroad.

“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,’ as James Truslow Adams once put it—it’s Philippe Delgrange,” Franck said.

Delgrange crossed the Atlantic to try his luck in New York at just 18, after a few teenage years apprenticing and working in France. 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 Bilboquet.

“The truth is,” Delgrange confided during dinner, “it’s not just that the restaurant could only accommodate 32 people at a time—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.”

Bilboquet seemed like an impossible bet to win—just like the eponymous game.

“Do you know what Bilboquet means?” Franck asked guests during cocktails in L’Alliance’s Skyroom, just before inviting them to dinner at Bilboquet. “It’s the name of a 16th-century French cup-and-ball game,” she said.

But 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.

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

The relationship between Bilboquet and L’Alliance New York began in 2012, after Delgrange oversaw the final service at the original location. Clapton encouraged him to start anew; Ron Perelman and Steven Witkoff joined as partners, and Delgrange reopened just three blocks south, on 60th Street, inside L’Alliance New York’s building. There, 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 across from L’Alliance’s main entrance.

“Le Bilboquet is where French movie icon Isabelle Huppert and stand-up comedian Gad Elmaleh might sit next to Bono, Robert De Niro, or Anne Hathaway. Getting a table at Bilboquet means you’ve earned a seat at the table of elegance, joy, and friendship,” Franck told her guests.

“Thanks to 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 Fabrice Hyber), performances, and festivals that make L’Alliance a uniquely vibrant Francophone epicenter in New York.

To close the evening with a bit 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 expansion.

“Philippe, think about it,” she said. “Just one more Bilbo—or a Café Bilboquet, as you wish. Juste un de plus.”