The third incarnation of Le Cirque will open to the public on May 31 at its new home at One Beacon Court. The restaurant is already booked for the month of June and into July. Between the opening party tomorrow night and the public opening are two weeks of parties hosted by foodies and celebrities including Ruth Reichl of Gourmet magazine, real estate magnate William Zeckendorf Jr., and actor Bill Cosby. Despite the pomp and circumstance, one thing hasn’t changed at the new $16 million space: Owner Sirio Maccioni still answers the phone to take reservations.

The weeks ahead promise to be chaotic, something like a three-ring circus in which the restaurant’s chef, Mr. Maccioni and his family, and a documentary filmmaker will jostle to be in the center ring.

The original eatery gained a reputation as the canteen for the world’s boldface names during its 22 years on East 65th Street – the location is now home to Restaurant Daniel – because of Mr. Maccioni’s particular style of hospitality. “It’s what I can do,” Mr. Maccioni said recently with a shrug, “just make people comfortable.” Those “people” just happened to have included the king of Spain, Oprah Winfrey, President Clinton, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. In 1996, he closed and moved to the Villard House at the Palace Hotel with a new name: Le Cirque 2000. The last party there was New Year’s Eve 2004, and Mr. Maccioni closed the restaurant without offering a hint about the next address.

The new Le Cirque was worth waiting for: The 16,000-square-foot space, designed by Adam Tihany and Costas Kondylis, boasts 27-foot-high glass windows looking over the circular courtyard of the Bloomberg Tower, flooding the restaurant with natural light. Soaring ceilings make room for a two-story wine tower of white metal and glass that holds 2,000 bottles. Alexander Calder’s magical circus installation of bent wire art pieces runs around the room above the gold-and-brown striped banquettes. “We chose colors that are flattering to the ladies, ambers and browns,” Marco Maccioni explained. “My father always says, ‘If you take care of the ladies, the gentlemen will follow.'”

Le Cirque 2000 had two dining rooms that were impossible for Mr. Maccioni to watch at once. The new spot solves that problem with one 100-seat dining room. Each table will boast Greggio and Ricciarelli silverware and Riedel glassware. There’s also an almost 80-seat bar with a menu offering lighter fare, and a second-floor room for private parties.

THE CHEF

Because of all the bold-face names, it’s easy to forget that Le Cirque is a restaurant where people come to eat. “The question most people ask is, ‘Who are the celebrities you’ve cooked for?’ and I don’t really like that,” chef Pierre Schaedelin said. “I’m in the kitchen, I cook to make everyone happy, and, you know, they all pay the same price.”

It’s often said the restaurant serves a cuisine that is neither French nor Italian, but simply Le Cirque. The Alsatian-born chef, with his Michelin-starred experience, brings a decidedly French influence to the menu, which offers a daily plat classique like osso bucco, and Le Cirque classics like sole meuniere and cote de boeuf for two. Mr. Schaedelin will also add some new ingredient-focused dishes, like a study in tomato served three ways: gazpacho, a braised stuffed tomato, and a cool cannelloni with tomato salad. Sitting at the chef’s table in the kitchen, he contemplated the two dozen pieces of paper taped together in front of him: “This is my battle plan.” There are five columns, each representing a long day’s work for his staff of 35. The next two weeks of parties, then two nights of friends and family previews is all the dress rehearsal he will have. On May 31, the house opens for lunch and dinner, seven days a week. “You know, only Sirio does it like that,” he said with a smile.

Mr. Schaedelin is a rarity. How often does a celebrity restaurant have a chef working in the kitchen every day? “There are plenty of people to take care of the dining room,” he said. “That’s not why I’m in this profession. I’m a cook.”

THE FILMMAKER

After tomorrow’s opening gala is buzzed about in newspapers and gossip columns, it will be seen in a documentary about Mr. Maccioni called “A Table in Heaven.” Filmmaker Andrew Rossi has been following the Maccioni clan with camera in hand since 2004. “At this point in his life, Sirio’s trying to rebuild the legend of Le Cirque to hand off to his boys to make sure it lives on,” Mr. Rossi said.

The New Year’s closing of Le Cirque 2000 was the first party he filmed. “This time we’re having a camera on everyone,” Mr. Rossi said. “It’s like planning a Secret Service detail.” There will be six cameras and one still photographer. He says a good cameraman blends into the background and “should not get starstruck.”

“It’s true you forget they are there,” Mauro Maccioni said, “but then you’re in a meeting and you have to talk about someone or something. Maybe you don’t want to, but you have to.” Mr. Schaedelin echoed this: “It doesn’t make a difference. I just cook.”

The $350,000 production should be ready to make the film festival rounds this fall. Mr. Maccioni isn’t worried. “I have a very strong contract,” he said with a smile. “All the audio, it has to be approved.” While Mr. Rossi’s goal is to record objectively, he can’t help but like his subject. “I find him so endearing and funny in his own self-contradictory way. I love every moment.”

THE FAMILY

At the end of Mr. Maccioni’s 2004 autobiography, “Sirio: The Story of My Life and Le Cirque” (Wiley), he writes that his goal is to pass the happiness of his youth on to his children. The last line of the book reads, “I might have won the war.” Sitting on a plastic-covered banquette in the unfinished dining room recently, with sons Mauro, 34, and Marco, 38, beside him, he threw a hand in the air and exclaimed, “And now we start the war all over again!”

He’s now heading into a new battle. The last gala at Le Cirque 2000 would have been the perfect occasion for the maestro to take a final bow. His book had been published, he’d been designated a “living landmark” by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the Villard House was as sumptuous a venue as any king could hope for. Why not retire at the top of his game? “I should have done it 20 years ago! Now it’s too late,” the 74-year-old said, shaking his head. “Why do I want to retire now and go to Italy, where my sons don’t see me?” That’s the reason to continue: This Le Cirque is a family affair.

On opening day, and most days afterward,Mr. Maccioni will stand at the podium welcoming his regular customers. His sons will be next to him, greeting the next generation. “Who knows who that’ll be?” Marco Maccioni asked. “Elle Macpherson? Jessica Alba?” The three talk over each other in English and Italian, telling different versions of the same stories, arguing over whether the menu should be prix fixe (Mauro thinks yes) or a la carte (Sirio and Marco think people want what they want). They discuss the possibility of a dress code, a particular concern of Sirio Maccioni’s in warm weather: “How can I put a guy in a sweaty T-shirt next to a beautiful lady?” They are excited, charming, and a little nervous. “Of course I’m worried, I’m damn worried!” Mr. Maccioni said. “But this is not for me. I have no ego – she is my ego,” he said, pointing to his 9-month-old granddaughter, Stella, smiling from her stroller. Since she’s perhaps the most charming Maccioni of them all, there’s talk of putting her at the podium, too.