Le Bilboquet

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A New York Institution Comes to Buckhead

Le Bilboquet has a story worth knowing. It began in 1986 when Philippe Delgrange — a Frenchman from Cambrai who arrived in the US in his teens and worked his way through New York's club scene — opened a 38-seat bistro on East 63rd Street in Manhattan with just twenty tables. Over nearly four decades, it grew into one of the most coveted reservations in New York City, with partners that eventually included Ron Perlman and Eric Clapton. The Atlanta location brings that same DNA to The Shops Buckhead Atlanta, where it anchors the upscale retail and dining development as a genuine neighborhood anchor rather than a franchise exercise.

The People Behind the Kitchen and the Room

The Atlanta venture pairs Delgrange with Rick Wahlstedt, a Swedish-born restaurateur who moved to New York during the 1984 World Squash Tour and spent thirty years building some of the city's most enduring dining rooms, including Le Colonial. Leading the kitchen is Regional Executive Chef Cyrille Holota, who trained in Michelin-starred houses in France — including three-star Restaurant Arpège under Alain Passard in Paris — before making his way to Atlanta. Operating Partner Sean Scottini, whose beverage expertise was shaped by stints at Cipriani's Rainbow Room, Gordon Ramsay's London Hotel, and Thomas Keller's Tak Room, oversees the front of house and the wine program, which has earned Le Bilboquet a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

Classic French Cooking, No Detours

The menu is a confident exercise in French bistro fundamentals. The Cajun chicken — on the menu since 1986 — arrives with beurre blanc, crispy pomme frites, and organic mixed greens, and remains the signature dish across every Le Bilboquet location. Alongside it: steak tartare with wagyu beef, moules marinières with PEI mussels in white wine and shallots, a Grande Niçoise with seared tuna, and a raw bar anchored by Beau Soleil oysters and a Royal Seafood Tower. For those who want to go further, caviar service — Osciètre Prestige or Kristal — arrives with blinis and accoutrements. Sunday brunch adds crêpes, brioche French toast, and eggs Florentine to the rotation. The French cooking here is approachable and precise, without apology or unnecessary embellishment.

The Room Itself

The dining room earns its comparisons to a Parisian café honestly. Blue velvet banquettes, a two-color terrazzo floor, a pewter bar counter, ornate floral arrangements, and a rotating collection of paintings and photography by locally and nationally recognized artists fill the interior. Outside, traditional woven rattan bistro chairs line a terrace that functions as a proper sidewalk café. Business casual dress is observed — the room is taken seriously, and so is the experience of being in it.