Le Pavillon

A handful of dazzling contemporary fine-dining restaurants are recharging the phrase “big night out” in New York—while also bringing a degree of gravity to a scene that can sometimes appear stuck in a revolving door of Instagram trends. These newcomers invite you to dress up, sit down and put your phone away (fine, perhaps after a picture or two). Le Pavillon by Daniel Boulud in the One Vanderbilt skyscraper at Grand Central in Midtown is one of these top new addresses to seek out. Le Pavillon encompasses 11,000 square feet of dining space that has been transformed into a verdant plaza of sensory delights; there is also a luminous bar with great views of the station and the Chrysler Building, and a semi-private Garden Table where unique tasting experiences can be booked. With a seafood-and-vegetable-forward menu, Boulud aims to bring the beauty of classic French fine dining into the present—hence, the notion of a restaurant within “a New York skyscraper living in harmony with nature.” And after all, there will always be a little bit of Paris in New York.