Delmonico’s Revives the Ladies’ Luncheon, Honoring a Pivotal Moment in Women’s Dining History

Some restaurant stories live on through signature dishes. Others endure because they quietly changed public life. At Delmonico’s, the latter is back in focus this spring as the landmark New York restaurant introduces a limited-time Ladies’ Luncheon Menu that revisits one of the most consequential moments in its long history.

Available now through April 20, 2026, the $49 three-course menu commemorates the day Delmonico’s became the first restaurant to welcome women dining publicly without men, a moment that helped reshape women’s visibility in civic and social life. The timing coincides with Women’s History Month, though the story reaches back to a much earlier turning point: April 20, 1868.

That spring day, journalist Jane Cunningham Croly organized what became known as the inaugural Ladies’ Luncheon after she had been excluded from a men-only event. Delmonico’s hosted the gathering, and in doing so made international headlines.

The significance extended well beyond a single meal. The luncheon marked the first time women publicly dined without men at a restaurant, opening space for greater independence in public life and helping lay groundwork for the emergence of professional women’s clubs. It remains a major chapter in women’s history, though not one that is often given the same attention as other milestones of the period.

By returning to that story now, Delmonico’s is using food as a way to reconnect diners with a moment that changed who was seen, and welcomed, at the table.

The Ladies’ Luncheon Menu features three courses and includes newer dishes such as Potato Leek Soup, Yellowfin Tuna Tartare, Roasted Organic Chicken, and Prime Flat Iron Steak Frites.

This year’s edition also carries a philanthropic component. Proceeds from the Ladies’ Luncheon menu will benefit the Joyful Heart Foundation, the national organization founded by Mariska Hargitay. The foundation’s mission is to transform society’s response to assault, domestic violence, and child abuse by building a world that prioritizes survivors’ healing.

That decision gives the menu a stronger contemporary resonance. The story being honored may begin in the 19th century, but the effort to support women’s safety, dignity, and agency remains very much present tense.

Founded in 1837, Delmonico’s occupies a singular place in American dining history. The restaurant is known not only for its longevity, but for a long list of firsts that helped shape the country’s restaurant culture. It was the first restaurant to publish a cookbook, the first to use tablecloths, and it predates the Statue of Liberty. Its culinary legacy includes dishes such as Eggs Benedict, Lobster Newberg, Chicken à la Keene, and the Delmonico Steak.

Following its post-COVID reopening, the restaurant marked its return with events hosted by Candace Bushnell and Julia Haart. This year, as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, Delmonico’s is taking a more reflective approach, turning attention toward storytelling, legacy, and giving back.