[2] It was famous for its Alsatian onion tart and a sauteed foie gras with dark chocolate sauce and bitter orange marmalade.

[4] Lutèce was opened in 1961 by founder Andre Surmain, who brought young chef André Soltner to run the kitchen.

[9] Lutèce closed on February 14, 2004, after a period of declining revenues attributed to having alienated its longtime customers with a change in menu following the restaurant's sale, and more general industry changes such as a decrease in lunchtime expense account diners and the effects on New York City's tourism industry following the September 11, 2001, attacks.

[10] Julia Child[11] and a 1987 panel of food critics for Playboy magazine[12] each proclaimed Lutèce the best restaurant in the United States, a rank it held in the Zagat's survey for six consecutive years in the 1980s.

[10] The restaurant's reputation has led to it being used as a touchstone in film and television work made or set during the period when it was open.