Alex Donner's four-piece orchestra performs at La Goulue, 29 East 61st Street, on Friday, May 15, 2026.
Doors open at 7:00pm; dinner begins at 7:30pm; main performance runs 9:15pm to 11:00pm.
Tickets are an $85 prix fixe dinner with no cover charge; reservations through Resy at lagouluerestaurant.com.
Donner draws from the Great American Songbook with an open dance floor; a $85 cancellation fee applies within 48 hours.
La Goulue has operated on the Upper East Side since 1972, serving Dover Sole and steak frites to a crowd that has always known where to find a good room in New York. On Friday, May 15, the Parisian bistro at 29 East 61st Street adds something it rarely offers: live music and a dance floor.
Alex Donner and his four-piece orchestra will perform for a one-night dinner cabaret, the bandleader's first New York appearance following an acclaimed run at La Goulue's Palm Beach location. The format is intimate. The private dining room seats a small room of guests; the program draws from the Great American Songbook and the dance-floor repertoire that has defined Donner's career across two decades of New York and Palm Beach society.
Donner's path into music has always made good copy. A Princeton graduate who walked away from a legal career to become a bandleader, he has since led his orchestra at major charity galas, performed at Cafe Carlyle and the Algonquin Hotel, and built a reputation as one of the more polished presences in society entertainment. He is, in the language of that world, a fixture.
The evening is structured practically. Doors open at 7:00pm. Dinner service begins at 7:30pm. Background music from the ensemble starts at 8:00pm. The main performance runs from 9:15pm until 11:00pm. The prix fixe is $85 per person; beverages, tax, and gratuity are not included. There is no cover charge. A credit card is required at booking, with an $85 cancellation fee for reservations cancelled within 48 hours of the event.
For La Goulue, the evening represents a return to the kind of social programming that defined the restaurant in its earlier decades. The dining room has always functioned as a stage; on May 15, it becomes one in fact.
Reservations are available through Resy at lagouluerestaurant.com. La Goulue is located at 29 East 61st Street in Manhattan.
Inspired by what you read?
Get more stories like this—plus exclusive guides and resident recommendations—delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to our exclusive newsletter
The products and experiences featured on RESIDENT™ are independently selected by our editorial team. We may receive compensation from retailers and partners when readers engage with or make purchases through certain links.