La Côte Basque

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title: "La Côte Basque" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1959-establishments-in-new-york-city", "2004-disestablishments-in-new-york-(state)", "defunct-french-restaurants-in-manhattan", "midtown-manhattan", "restaurants-disestablished-in-2004", "restaurants-established-in-1959"] description: "Former restaurant in New York City" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Côte_Basque" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former restaurant in New York City ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox restaurant"]

Field	Value
name	La Côte Basque
title
mapframe
pushpin_map
established
closed
street_address	60 West 55th Street
city	New York
state	New York
postcode	10019
country	United States
coordinates
other_information
website
::

| embed = | name = La Côte Basque | title = | logo = | logo_width = | logo_alt = | image = | image_width = | image_alt = | image_caption = | mapframe = | pushpin_map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | map_size = | established = | closed = | current_owner = | previous_owner = | manager = | head_chef = | chef = | pastry_chef = | food_type = | dress_code = | rating = | street_address = 60 West 55th Street | city = New York | county = | state = New York | postcode = 10019 | country = United States | coordinates = | seating_capacity = | reservations = | other_locations = | other_information = | website = La Côte Basque was a New York City restaurant. It opened in the late 1950s and operated until it closed on March 7, 2004. In business for 45 years, upon its closing The New York Times called it a "former high-society temple of French cuisine at 60 West 55th Street."

History

Henri Soulé opened the restaurant in the late 1950s. Jean-Jacques Rachou became the owner and chef in 1979. At that time the restaurant was located a block to the east, moving to the West 55th Street location in 1995. It was "known as much for its elegantly arrayed tables, set against a backdrop of handsome French seaside murals, as for its food. Mr. Rachou said he spent more than $2,200 a week on flowers and more than $3,000 on linen."

Truman Capote's unfinished novel Answered Prayers includes a catty luncheon among thinly disguised socialites in the chapter "La Côte Basque 1965", first published in Esquire magazine in 1975. A scene from the film Light Sleeper features Willem Dafoe and Susan Sarandon eating lunch in the restaurant.

Famous patrons included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Babe Paley, Nan Kempner, and Frank Sinatra.

The restaurant was prominently featured throughout the 2024 series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.

References

References

1. (February 13, 2004). "Eat and Be Merry; On Saturday 2 Classics Die". [[The New York Times]].
2. (January 24, 2016). "The story that destroyed Truman Capote — and high society". New York Post.
3. (November 1975). "La Côte Basque, 1965". [[Esquire (magazine).
4. "On the Set of New York".
5. Berger, Joseph. (September 18, 2003). "Côte Basque, a Society Temple, Is Closing". [[The New York Times]].
6. (2024-02-01). "Inside La Côte Basque, the Ultimate See-and-Be-Seen Restaurant for New York City’s Ladies Who Lunched".
7. (2024-01-27). "‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans’ Is Basically a Walking Tour of a Forgotten New York".

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