Inside the long, narrow room at Raoul's — with its pressed-tin ceiling, art-covered walls, and vertiginous spiral staircase — time seems to have barely passed. The Prince Street restaurant is celebrating its 50th birthday, and the menu on the slate board remains largely unchanged since Alsatian filmmaker Serge Raoul opened the spot in 1975: artichoke vinaigrette, steak au poivre, foie gras chaud.
Serge passed away last year at age 86. Today his son Karim, also a filmmaker, guards the legacy.
"The restaurant is going through a transition," Karim reflects. "It's representative of the fact that old New York is slowly fading and entering into another era."
The space itself predates even the restaurant. First a horse stable, then a Portuguese dance hall, then a string of Italian restaurants — the room has hosted over 120 years of New York history. Serge was smart enough to never touch it.
"To go through all those iterations and nobody had ever said, 'I think it's time to rip out this tin ceiling' is very rare," Karim notes.
What made Raoul's special wasn't just the room — it was the maître d's who gave it life. Rob Jones, whose portrait still hangs by the coat check, was famous for drag performances descending the spiral staircase. Eddie has been there 47 years. Each brought different crowds, different energy.
"You don't call Raoul's to get a reservation — you call Eddie or you call Corin," explains Karim. "You need a personal connection with the restaurant."
Chloe Sevigny hosted the 50th anniversary party. The artists who once filled the booths may be gone — those lofts now sell for millions — but their grandchildren keep coming. Raoul's endures because it never tried to be anything other than itself.