At Chez Fifi, an Upper East Side bistro set inside a New York townhouse, the ambiance is anchored entirely by the personal history and art collection of its namesakes’ late mother, Firouzeh “Fifi” Foulquier. Operated by brothers David and Joshua Foulquier as part of the We All Gotta Eat group, the venue blends French and Basque culinary influences with decades of family heritage, featuring dining room decor, lighting, and an untouched music playlist that belonged directly to Fifi before her passing in 2018.
The establishment’s walls showcase pieces collected over decades by Fifi, an Iranian refugee who arrived in New York City during the 1970s and settled just blocks from the current restaurant site. Rather than undergoing a conventional interior design process, the bistro was furnished with inherited items according to Joshua Foulquier, who noted that the table candles, banquette pillows, and a box of dinner party CDs found underneath his mother’s bed dictate the nightly atmosphere.
Among the prominent works displayed in the upstairs salon is a painting by New York-based artist Cleve Gray, positioned behind a black-and-white upholstered couch. According to Joshua Foulquier, his mother purchased the piece shortly after arriving in New York straight off a gallery wall where it hung beside a Willem de Kooning of identical size, year, and price ($2,000). Gray studied with all of the great AbEx artists of the Postwar period and maintained friendships with Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Willem de Kooning.
“It really defines my mom in ways that words or photos don’t, in a lot of different ways,” Joshua Foulquier told the Observer. “She never regretted it. We never regretted it. It hung over our dining room table for my whole life, and before that, for her life as a young adult who was a refugee and made it to New York City.”
Artistic Legacy and Family Collections at Chez Fifi
Additional works within the townhouse salon include a Joan Miró lithograph housed inside an oversized vintage frame that Fifi discovered at the Marché aux Puces in Paris. Joshua Foulquier, who is colorblind, described the lithograph’s vibrant palette as a reflection of his mother’s aesthetic preferences, noting her consistent fondness for multicolored roses and vibrant apparel.
Joshua Foulquier studied art business at NYU before entering the hospitality industry and maintains his own collection, primarily consisting of Alexander Calder gouaches. One Calder gouache displayed across from the Miró lithograph was acquired during his youth after he purchased two works listed as fakes at a small auction house in Alabama. A month later, the artist’s grandson, Sandy Calder, contacted him to verify that one of the pieces had hung in the artist’s personal bedroom for 20 years before a patron acquired it during the 1970s.
Other visual elements in the bistro include a Ludwig Bemelmans dog portrait purchased at Doyle auction, which bears a striking resemblance to Baguette, Fifi’s maltipoo. Additionally, a framed original sketch by tattoo artist Daniel Zender depicts Fifi in the artistic style of Henri Matisse, serving as the official logo for Chez Fifi.
Design Philosophy and Community Reception
The spatial arrangement of the art was described by Joshua Foulquier as organic, requiring no formal design logic. According to Joshua Foulquier, the pieces settled naturally into the townhouse rooms to reflect his mother’s warm and welcoming personality.
“She was just warm, welcoming, loving—she would hug you and hold you just a second longer than you expected, and give you that little extra love,” Joshua Foulquier said regarding the inspiration behind the hospitality venue. “That’s my mom, and that’s how I want her to be remembered.”
The bistro continues to operate on the Upper East Side, drawing visitors interested in its combination of inherited familial curation, historic New York art connections, and neighborhood dining.