[3][4] Though small and intimate, the restaurant proved influential, and after Mimi Sheraton awarded it three stars in The New York Times six weeks after it opened, it was favored by chefs such as Julia Child, James Beard, and Jacques Pépin.

[5] In 1985 The New York Times stated "La Tulipe has maintained its high altitude over the years ... Mrs. Darr ... stays at the controls and personally prepares every dish to order.

[11] The restaurant advertised its recurring specials as "papillote de red snapper aux légumes fondants", and "langue Valenciennoise";[1][4] the former was a fillet of red snapper baked with vegetables and cream en papillote, and the latter combined smoked beef tongue with chicken‐liver mousse and foie gras de carnard, seasoned with green peppercorns.

[3] In a retrospective, The New York Times wrote that "Ms. Darr served what is known as cooking 'à la bonne femme' — classic but simple French dishes like roast chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, as well as her own innovations, like soft shell crab meunière and an extravagant terrine of what seemed like hundreds of layers of smoked tongue and foie gras mousse.

"[4] The Times added that "Desserts were Ms. Darr’s forte: She was a skilled pastry chef, and her apricot souffle, shaped like a minaret and served table-side with a dollop of whipped cream flavored with kirsch, was a best seller.

[17][18][19] Sara Moulton, who went on to be a popular cookbook author, magazine cooking journalist, and cooking-show host, was chef tournant (filling in as needed on any station in the kitchen) at La Tulipe between 1981 and 1983.