The restaurant was opened in 1990 by chefs José de Meirelles, Philippe Lajaunie, and
Jean-Michel Diot and named after
Les Halles, the historic central wholesale marketplace in
Paris. The restaurant served simple and classic French dishes such as
escargot,
foie gras, and
steak tartare, which was prepared to order at tableside, and was renowned for its
pommes frites. The original
Park Avenue location featured a butcher shop that specialized in French cuts of meat. Author and television host
Anthony Bourdain worked there in the late 1990s as executive chef. The
Washington, 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. The
Park Avenue location of Les Halles closed in March 2016. The Miami location closed as well. Les Halles went out of business in August 2017. 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 of
Staub 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. La Brasserie was rebranded as 'Chez Francis' in April 2023. ==See also==