History
It first opened at the Mayfair Hotel on East 65th Street in 1974. It closed and reopened as Le Cirque 2000 at the Palace Hotel in 1997. The latest installation of Le Cirque opened in 2006 in the Bloomberg Tower building at One Beacon Court (151 East 58th Street). The current flagship location is a 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2) restaurant designed by interior designer Adam Tihany, architect Costas Kondylis. The architectural lighting design was completed by Paul Gregory, principal of Focus Lighting Inc. There is a second flagship restaurant at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas that holds One Michelin Star and a AAA Five-Diamond rating. The Maccioni family also owns and operates Osteria del Circo in two locations: Manhattan on 120 W 55th St and Las Vegas in the Bellagio Hotel as well as Sirio Ristorante inside Aria in Las Vegas.
From 1986 to 1992, Daniel Boulud was executive chef. He was succeeded by Pierre Schaedelin, Christophe Bellanca, and Craig Hopson.
In 2008, Gayot named the restaurant one of its "Top 40 Restaurants in the United States", a status it has maintained to the present day.
In July 2009, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the former President of the Philippines was highly criticized for her supposed outlandish dinner at Le Cirque with the Philippine delegation during her visit to the United States. President Arroyo and her group reportedly had dinner for the cost of $20,000 or P1,000,000 as reported in the New York Post.
The family's efforts to transition the restaurant to its current location was featured in the documentary film Le Cirque: A Table In Heaven directed by Andrew Rossi.
In 2012, Le Cirque was included on a list by Huffington Post of ten of the most scathing restaurant reviews.
Read more about this topic: Le Cirque
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