A famous West Village French restaurant will soon be serving its final appetizer — escargot — as its owner retires after more than 40 years in business, Side Dish has learned.
La Ripaille, which has attracted celebrities and Francophiles since the 1980s, long before the neighborhood began to trend, is for sale along with the building it houses at 605 Hudson Street, chef-owner Alain Laurent said in an exclusive interview.
“The time has come to pass the baton,” explained the 70-year-old Frenchman. “Running a restaurant for 44 years is exhausting.”
Over the years, famous people have signed Laurent's famous guest book.
Leo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Sylvester Stallone, soccer legend Pele, Baseball great Derek Jeter, pop star Madonna and author Salmon Rushdie have all packed into the quaint restaurant, which has 14 tables that seat about 40 people at a time.
The name La Ripaille comes from the old French expression “faire ripaille,” meaning a feast, and diners were in for a feast, including Laurent's original creation, broccoli mousse.
Other outstanding dishes on the menu include traditional cassoulet, Laurent-style escargots removed from their shells and served with basil, cream, tomato and butter, cognac-flambéed wild mushrooms in puff pastry, lobster ravioli, ginger-flavored sea bass and, of course, filet mignon poivre and frites.
But the day-to-day grind of running a busy restaurant took a toll on Laurent and his family, he said.
“I was at the restaurant six, seven days a week, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day – every holiday, and now I want to build a different future with my wife, my kids and my family. [seven-month old] “My grandson,” said Laurent.
“We were hoping our kids would take over, but they saw the sacrifices that came with it and said they would never take over.”
Laurent began his career as a banker, but after his brother moved to New York to follow his then-girlfriend, Laurent came along to visit, and, with a love of French cuisine, he began working in French restaurants, first as a busboy and then as a waiter.
“I was so excited,” Laurent said, “and then I thought, if I can work for someone else, I can do it for myself. I was with my brother. We started looking for a house, and when I found this house, I said, 'This is it!'”
When Laurent first opened La Rapaille, the West Village was a different place; the nearby Meatpacking District was rundown and overrun with prostitutes.
The restaurant slowly gained a following through word of mouth, then reviews, the first in New York magazine, and the restaurant's popularity grew from there.
He bought the five-story building that houses the restaurant and 10 rental units above it in 1986 for $900,000.
Laurent is currently listing the 10,124-square-foot property for sale for $17 million, brokers said.
Laurent's neighbor is billionaire Mets owner and hedge fund mogul Steve Cohen, who lived in the three-story apartment next door at 607 Hudson Street until he sold it for $30 million in 2019. (It resold in 2021 for $33.5 million.)
Bravo's Andy Cohen lives nearby and is often spotted lunching at La Rapaille with his best friend Sarah Jessica Parker.
Whoever buys the building will get a mixed-use building in a prime location in the West Village, facing Abington Square, near Google headquarters, Hudson River Park, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
“We think it will be a great members' club,” said Laurie Cooper, co-listing broker with Daniella Rivoir and Michael Cooper of Douglas Elliman.
