La Grenouille (“The Frog”) Closes Its Doors on E. 52nd St.

La Grenouille–which is French for “The Frog”–has closed, after more than 60 years of business and a fair serving of family drama. The E. 52nd St. haute cuisine restaurant, which many upscale patrons fondly referred to by its English-language translation, persisted from 1962 until mid-September.

It had just reopened in January, after either a gas leak or a Department of Buildings order briefly shuttered it in 2023. The three-story building that it occupied was put on the market for $15 million that same month, although the restaurant then claimed that it would stay put.

Philippe Masson, the restaurant’s final owner (and son of its original proprietors, Charles and Gisèle Masson), signed a third-person statement about its now-official closure on Instagram. The note explains that he will be “moving on to explore new terrain and pursue other dreams.”

“La Grenouille has long been a New York institution, famed for its flower displays, gilded luxury, and luminary clientele,” the post reads. “In a world where formal dining has repeatedly gone in and out of fashion, the starched white tablecloths, scarlet banquettes, and fine cuisine of La Grenouille has remained constant.”

The elder Massons memorably opened La Grenouille during a snowstorm. The restaurant intended to compete with Manhattan’s then-staples of French high dining, such as W. 55th St.’s La Caravelle and E. 54th St.’s Le Cygne. It became especially known for its famous regulars, which partially included: Salvador Dali, Elizabeth Taylor, Truman Capote, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Yves Saint Laurent, Frank Sinatra, and Henry Kissinger.

Indeed, the restaurant’s parting Instagram post wastes no time in listing some of these very same celebrities, which it describes as “loyal patrons” that “added to the glamour and exuberance that was always in the air at La Grenouille.”

“The Frog” was also famous for being expensive. In 2017, the food blog Eater reported that “after tax and tip, dinner for two at La Grenouille now starts at $443. Add wine, and a meal will easily scratch at $600.”

Its final menu–still frozen in place on its website–featured main courses such as grilled steak, with succotash and mustard sauce ($55). For those that avoided meat, a cheese or mushroom soufflé went for $37. A chilled shrimp cocktail appetizer had cost $32.

Despite La Grenouille’s reputation as a magnet for stars and the wealthy, food critics were still entranced by it as recently as 2009, when New York Times critic Sam Sifton provided a three-Michelin-star review.

“The crowd is amazing. There are city patricians, upscale travelers, romantics celebrating anniversaries, cads with escort-service friends, priests drinking Burgundy and spooning soup past their dog collars. There is jewelry everywhere, evidence of plastic surgery,” Sifton gushed.

Behind the scenes, La Grenouille underwent a period of family upheaval. Charles Masson Sr. passed away in 1974, leaving the business to Philippe’s brother Charles. This was an arrangement that Gisèle, who still had sway as the restaurant’s co-founder, wasn’t always fond of.

The younger Charles held the reins until 1993, when Philippe began a roughly seven-year period as general manager. Although Charles Jr. regained control of the restaurant at the turn of the century, Philippe was reportedly asked by his mother—who had retired to Brittany, France—to return in 2014, shortly before her death. Charles Jr., who reportedly viewed his ouster as a coup of sorts, never returned. In fact, he sued Philippe and accused him of “outright fraud.”

Charles Jr.’s personal website now notes that he is a painter and illustrator, although he briefly opened a seeming competitor to La Grenouille called La Chevalier. Philippe, meanwhile, entertained a side gig as a lounge singer at “The Frog” in recent years.

The remaining E. 52nd St. building, which had a long history as carriage house, dates to 1871. Distinctive for its bold blue paint and ginger-bread styling, it reportedly also housed the artist Bernard Lamotte’s studio in the 1940s. This was said to be a popular gathering place for movie stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Marlene Dietrich, perhaps prefiguring the popularity of La Grenouille with latter-day celebs.