Philippe Chow, the pricey New York staple for Beijing duck and dumplings since 2005, will officially close its original Upper East Side location this weekend. But a flashy new flagship restaurant will soon rise in a different Manhattan neighborhood.
After 20 years on the Upper East Side, Philippe Chow will start a fresh new chapter in a newly designed space in the heart of Midtown East. The address for Philippe Chow Fifth Avenue, 10 East 52nd Street, which was kept under wraps until today, sits right under Central Park off Fifth Avenue.
Philippe Chow had no choice, really, but to leave its current digs. That’s because its new UES landlord Extell Development Co. plans to raze its “Billionaire’s Row” block to make way for a posh skyscraper overlooking Central Park. Upon closing on the tony site last December, Extell exercised its 120-day option to terminate Chow’s lease effective Monday, March 24. It remained open beyond that, however, and Extell quickly filed a lawsuit against Chow’s parent company, Merchant Hospitality, for alleged back rent owed and fines. CEO Abraham Merchant sent the following statement to Eater on June 17: “We have reached an amicable agreement with the landlord and all outstanding litigations have been resolved.”
Its last day on the Upper East Side (33 East 60th Street) is set for Sunday, July 13. The scheduled September 2025 opening of its shiny new Midtown East flagship intentionally coincides with Philippe Chow’s 20th anniversary. Its other NY location — Philippe Chow Downtown, situated in the heart of the Meatpacking District at the Dream Hotel (355 West 16th Street) — remains open as usual.
Designed by 3877.Design, the newly announced Fifth Avenue flagship will span two stories and include a long, lavish bar, soaring vaulted ceilings, private dining rooms, a wine cellar, and elevator access. The 7,000-square-foot reboot will seat 220 people, which is 20 more than the original. Look for all the same luxe favorites during lunch and dinner, including that famed duck carved tableside, chicken satay, and salt-and-pepper lobster.
Beijing-born chef Philippe Chow’s namesake restaurant is on an expansion tear as of late. A D.C. debut in 2023 was followed by Kuwait City in 2024, and Nashville is scheduled to open in August. The first location on the UES, outfitted with gold walls and sparkly chandeliers, continues to attract a celebrity clientele two decades in. Recent sit-down sightings include rapper Gucci Mane and New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns Jr.