Le Bilboquet: Forty Years of Good Company

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EDITOR’S SELECT | PALM BEACH

On Worth Avenue, Philippe Delgrange’s distinctly French approach to hospitality finds a natural home beneath the palms.

The approach is part of the pleasure. Turn off Worth Avenue into Via Encantada, where palms, broad-leafed colocasias and climbing jasmine frame Le Bilboquet’s courtyard. The setting invites a change of pace: an afternoon given over to lunch, a second glass, a conversation with no particular deadline.

As Le Bilboquet marks forty years in 2026, its Palm Beach address offers a fitting expression of the idea that first animated founder Philippe Delgrange’s small Manhattan restaurant: a beautiful room becomes memorable through the people who inhabit it.

A Founder’s Instinct

In 1986, Delgrange opened Le Bilboquet on New York’s Upper East Side with just 35 seats. Its intimate scale helped establish a particular social chemistry. Artists and editors, Europeans and Americans, familiar faces and newcomers gathered in a room where dinner could take on the easy familiarity of a reunion.

Delgrange’s sensibility gave the restaurant its character. The French founder brought a host’s instinct to the business, encouraging conversation between tables, a little spontaneity and the pleasure of lingering. Food provided the occasion; company gave the evening its momentum.

The New York restaurant moved into larger quarters in 2013, and other addresses followed. Yet the appeal remains rooted in that original intimacy. Affectionately known as “Bilbo,” Le Bilboquet has built its identity around the feeling of belonging somewhere—even when far from home.

The Palm Beach Expression

Here, that familiarity takes on a tropical accent.

Inside, mid-century French influences meet maritime details. An oak-and-beechwood bar, topped with pewter imported from France, anchors the room. Outside, the courtyard’s abundant greenery lends the setting a sheltered, residential quality, tucked just beyond one of Palm Beach’s most recognizable shopping streets.

It is an appealing combination for travelers who value atmosphere as much as an address. The restaurant offers a reason to pause between appointments and boutiques, or to make dinner the principal event of the evening.

The house invitation to dress well feels entirely at ease in this setting. Palm Beach has always understood the pleasure of dressing for an occasion, and Le Bilboquet supplies one without requiring a grand celebration.

A Signature Worth Returning For

The menu connects French bistro cooking with South Florida ingredients, fresh catches and daily specials. Alongside those local touches sits a dish inseparable from the restaurant’s identity: the signature Cajun chicken, drawn from Delgrange’s own recipe.

Its enduring place on the menu speaks to the role of familiarity in hospitality. For returning guests, a favorite dish can be as much a part of the experience as a preferred table. For first-time visitors, it offers an introduction to the personality behind the name.

Upstairs, a curved staircase leads to a private dining space, extending the restaurant’s appeal to more intimate gatherings. It is another expression of the same founding impulse: bring people together, give them a handsome setting and allow the occasion to unfold.

The Pleasure of Staying

For our Palm Beach Editor’s Select, Le Bilboquet stands out for the relationship between its setting and its story. The courtyard, French-inflected interiors and convivial spirit give the Worth Avenue address a distinct sense of place, while Delgrange’s influence connects it to four decades of hospitality.