Café des Artistes
Restaurant in Manhattan, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Café des Artistes was a fine restaurant at 1 West 67th Street in Manhattan. New York City. Its final owner was George Lang, who closed the restaurant in early August 2009.[1]
| Café des Artistes | |
|---|---|
Front entrance to Café des Artistes in October 2008 | |
 Interactive map of Café des Artistes | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1917 |
| Closed | 2009 |
| Food type | French |
| Location | 1 West 67 Street, New York, New York, 10023 |
History
The restaurant first opened in 1917,[2] at street level of the Hotel des Artistes tower. Café des Artistes was designed for the residents of the Hotel des Artistes, since the apartments lacked kitchens.[3] Late in 1985, there was a fire in the kitchen, but the restaurant was able to reopen.[4]
In early September 2009, two years into the Great Recession, Lang announced that the café was closing; shortly thereafter, Lang filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, claiming debts of nearly $500,000, some of which was owed to a union benefit trust.[5] At the time, he also faced a lawsuit from the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Welfare Fund.[5]
In 2011, a new restaurant, the Leopard at des Artistes, opened in the location. According to the New York Times, it caters to those in New York society who derive "fame from power rather than the other way around".[6] Leopard at des Artistes closed in February 2026.[7]
Murals
The restaurant's famous murals, retained in the new restaurant's 2011 renovation,[6] were painted by Howard Chandler Christy. Christy was a tenant of the building, Hotel des Artistes, until his death in 1952.[8][3] There are six panels of wood nymphs, the first of which were completed in 1934. Other Christy works on display include paintings such as The Parrot Girl, The Swing Girl, Ponce De Leon, Fall, Spring, and the Fountain of Youth.[2]
In popular culture
- 1981: It is the setting for the film My Dinner with Andre. Actual filming took place in the then-unoccupied Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia.
