Restaurants

(le-bernardin.com)

Let’s talk for a minute about one of the best French restaurants in the country. New York City’s Le Bernardin is exquisite, formal, and very high-end. Unless you’ve been to The French Laundry out in Napa Valley, Le Bernardin also will likely be the best French seafood meal you’ll have outside of France. This is one of the rare 3 Michelin star restaurants in the United States. More than just great lunch or dinner in an elegant, fancy setting, a meal here is a memorable event.

There’s a very different feel to this high-end French restaurant than the French Laundry, of course; French country (more relaxed) is the California model, where as Le Berardin is pure old-style New York class. You’ll see jeans and shirts at even the fanciest, most high-end restaurants in California; this corresponds with the casual culture. Find an equivalent restaurant in New York City, however, and the diners there will be dressed much more formally. A night out at one of the best French restaurants in the city is an occasion in and of itself, and New Yorkers (and tourists) like to step up for the event. Case in point: Le Bernardin has an actual dress code – with several spare sports coats for guests who forgot to wear theirs.

(le-bernardin.com)

Le Bernardin specializes in seafood, though of course the menu isn’t limited to that. The decor is elegant yet warm, with some light wood paneling – not so much as to make the room feel woodsy – and the service is perfectly crisp and professional. If the waitstaff ever slip up, I’ve yet to see it. Some complain that the entrees here are on the small side, but this is no noisy steakhouse, this is Le Berdardin; every crumb is well thought-out by the chef. The food presentation is almost as important as its taste.

People rave about the chef’s tasting menu. I’ve never had it, so can’t speak for it personally. However, the grilled, salted Bacalao is succulent and amazing, and the Surf and Turf (with Kobe beef) is so delicious it makes the standard fried-fish-and steak at other restaurants seem like another dish entirely. There are a few non-seafood items on the menu, but the Le Bernardin is really renown for its seafood. Try the escolar – that’s a Pacific fish sometimes called white tuna, apparently, and absolutely transcendent. It’s common to see diners at Le Bernardin become completely focused on their meals, to the point of distraction – the seafood is just that good.

The desserts at Le Bernardin are as exquisitely presented as are the main courses, (they are similarly not hugely proportioned). I recommend the fig dessert as something different and special. It is prepared with creamy, sweetened goat cheese and a red wine caramel; it is a new combination of flavors (yes, that’s bacon ice cream on your plate, but it works, believe me). For the more standard desert, try the ice cream or sorbet, all made that day.

One last item of interest: The chef, Eric Ripert, has gone on record to say that he won’t “serve Chilean sea bass, grouper, shark, swordfish or wild bluefin tuna…to help speed the recovery of these endangered species.” I think this is terrific. A chef that truly cares about the quality of his product also cares about its source, and keeping it healthy.

Le Bernardin
155 W. 51st St.
New York, NY
(212) 554-1100