Our story

In 1979, after graduating from culinary school in the Bordeaux region of France, Pascal Bonhomme was invited to New York City to join chef Claude Bailles in his restaurant Claude's. Pascal worked at Claude's for a number of years before joining Sally Darr as Chef du Cuisine at her restaurant La Tulipe a classic award-winning French restaurant considered in its day to have been one of New York's finest.

After ten years at La Tulipe, Pascal moved on to the famed Lafayette, at the Drake Hotel, a 4 star French restaurant where he became Chef du Cuisine following the departure of Chef Jean Georges Vongerichten. Missing the personal touch of a small, intimate bistro, Pascal eventually left and made his way uptown to the Carnegie Hill Area where he worked in a local French restaurant. As luck - or the fates - would have it, just doors away was a small neighborhood café called Carnegie Hill Café, owned by Lottie Baglan. Lottie's café became a refuge for Pascal, where he could relax and have a quiet lunch. Pascal and Lottie fell in love, married, and in 1996 the Carnegie Hill Café became Pascalou.
Pascalou has remained a small, but quaint neighborhood bistro with a casual and elegant feel, serving a variety of dishes mixing French with Italian and Mediterranean.
While Pascal offers some classic French dishes such as; Cassoulet, Duck Confit, Beef Bouiguignon, Escargots & Sweet breads, he is widely known for his soufflés, Cheese, Chocolate and Grand Marnier. His menu also boast dishes of other regions such as Lamb Tagine, Thai Beef and Chicken Mole.
After 16 years, Pascal is still passionately committed to bringing new and exciting dishes to his menu.