BIENVENUE CHEZ JEAN CLAUDE
A bistro with a New York soul.
FRENCH AT HEART
A familiar table.
A lasting pleasure.
Jean Claude began as a small French bistro at 137 Sullivan Street in SoHo in the early 1990s. After moving to New York from Algeria, Kamel Moumeni joined the restaurant as a waiter. In 1995, he became its owner.
In 2012, he brought Jean Claude uptown to Second Avenue, where it became known as Jean Claude II. When redevelopment displaced that restaurant, a new chapter followed at First Avenue and East 59th Street in 2024.
Explore the menusTHE PEOPLE BEHIND THE BISTRO
A family touch.
A neighborhood bond.
Sutton Place carries a personal touch: the restaurant was designed by Moumeni’s wife, Seleha, with French Impressionist reproductions commissioned from Parisian-born artist Olivier Rabbath. The room’s design is part of the family’s contribution to Jean Claude.
The next chapter grew out of conversations with regulars. In a September 2026 interview, Moumeni explained that former Upper East Side customers had encouraged him to return farther uptown — the inspiration for the York Avenue location.
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