Café des Artistes

Café des Artistes was a special and fancy restaurant located at 1 West 67th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was known for being a very nice place to eat, where people could enjoy delicious meals in a beautiful setting.

The restaurant had many owners over the years, but its last owner was George Lang. He made the decision to close the restaurant in early August 2009.

The Café des Artistes was not to be confused with a different building in Manhattan or another restaurant with the same name in Puerto Vallarta. It was a special part of New York's history as a fine restaurant.

History

The Café des Artistes restaurant opened in 1917 at the bottom of the Hotel des Artistes tower. It was made for the hotel's residents who did not have kitchens in their apartments. Famous artists like Marcel Duchamp, Norman Rockwell, Isadora Duncan, and Rudolph Valentino dined there. A kitchen fire happened late in 1985, but the restaurant reopened.

In early September 2009, during the Great Recession, the owner announced the café was closing. He later filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and owed nearly $500,000 in debts. In 2011, a new restaurant called the Leopard at des Artistes opened in the same place. It closed in February 2026.

Murals

The restaurant had famous wall paintings, called murals, that were kept when the place was redone in 2011. These murals were painted by an artist named Howard Chandler Christy. Christy lived in the same building, called Hotel des Artistes, until he passed away in 1952. There are six parts showing wood nymphs, with the first ones finished in 1934. Other paintings by Christy on display include The Parrot Girl, The Swing Girl, Ponce De Leon, Fall, Spring, and the Fountain of Youth.

In popular culture

The Café des Artistes has appeared in several films and TV shows over the years. In 1981, it was the setting for the film My Dinner with Andre, though the actual filming happened at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. In 1986, it was featured in the movie 9½ Weeks as a dinner location between two characters. The same year, it appeared in The Money Pit during a luncheon scene. In 1993, a Woody Allen film called Manhattan Murder Mystery used the café for a poker lesson scene. The TV show Friends mentioned the restaurant in a 1994 episode, and in 1996, The First Wives Club used it as a lunch spot. More recently, in 2007, the series Gossip Girl referenced the café, and in 2024, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans suggested it as a lunch location.