Going to Le Bernardin in a few weeks

If you can afford it, it will be one of the best culinary experiences of your life. I did it years ago and the Dover Sole dish I had was one of the best dishes I’ve had in my life. I would probably say it’s the best meal from top to bottom I’ve ever had and the wine pairings are amazing.

I had lunch there. Completely amazing. 3 courses for about $100. Had Dover sole which had a slight upcharge from normal prix fixe.

How casual is casual?

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Best I had was some khakis and button down shirt.

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It's less than ideal, but buying a dark colored blazer would get you in the door and to your table.

Think I wore button down shirt with some slacks. It’s not overly stuffy in there but you will see people in blazers and suits

I've eaten there many times. It's one of my favorite restaurants anywhere, and I don't really even like seafood. It's one of the more complete dining experiences I've ever had in that it is consistently on point in all facets of the experience: the food, the service, the room, the wine service, etc. I've never had anything that wasn't exceptional, even things that on the menu seemed like things I wouldn't like. I used to be in NYC several times a month for work and I would eat in the lounge for lunch and it was/is one of the best dining deals anywhere. There aren't many Michelin three star restaurants where you can walk in and have three courses for ~$50, with full access to the entire restaurant menu.

Basically, if you're going to splurge, this is the place to do it. Enjoy and please come back and share your experience.

So, my wife (no pics) and I traveled to NY for the Saints game this past weekend and had dinner at Le Benardin on Saturday night. This was, by far, the best meal and service that I have experienced in my life. The dinning room is incredible and the servers, dressed in black, look like shadows performing a coordinated ballet of personal service. For each course, we were first met with the sommelier, who would describe the wine, vineyard, and grapes, and why this wine pairs so well with the upcoming dish.

First, the amuse bouche. Honestly, I don't remember everything on it, but it was all fantastic. The red thing was compressed watermelon. The white foam was a mushroom soup, the thing in the bottom left was the best, but not sure what it was. On the back there was a roasted cherry tomato with cilantro.



The first course was hamachi-osetra caviar tartare with sea lettuce. The dish was served with Dashi Gelée Sake. This was great. Served cold (you can see ice under the bowl) and had a sharp, upfront acidity and was served with very thin toast to add texture to the dish.



By this time in the evening, the "bread man" showed up to the table. He had an assortment of 5-6 different breads. I tried 4 throughout the evening; baguette, pumpernickel, focaccia, and quinoa. All were great except for the quinoa bread. The focaccia was the best.

The second course was the langoustine. I've heard of this creature before, but had never had it. Wow, this was the second best dish of the night. It was seared and served with foie gras and a balsamic-truffle vinaigrette. The wine pairing was a 2016 riesling from Mosul Germany. Easily the best riesling that I have ever had.



The third course was sea trout with pickled red onion, a citrus-miso emulsion, and a small potato chip. This was served with “Os Pasas,” Luis Anxo Rodriguez Vazquez, Ribeiro, Spain 2015. This dish was very light, but very good. The potato chip provided just the right amount of texture.



The fourth course was the dover sole with almonds. It wasn't bad, but it was the worst dish of the night. It was one dimensional and lacked flavor. However, it was served with Marie-Courtin, “Résonance,” Blanc de Noirs champagne, which may have been the best wine of the night. A mixture of old and new champagnes.



The fifth course of the evening was the monkfish. Again, this is a fish that I had heard of before, being very meaty, but have never had. Wow, this was amazing. It was meaty, hard to describe, but it felt as if I was eating a piece of meat rather than fish. It was accompanied by squid ink fideos and a chorizo sauce. The wine was a 2004 Rosso di Montalcino from Tuscany, Italy.

I should pause for a second and talk about the sauces. Each course is served with a sauce. The first server brings your food to the table and is followed by a second server, with a cup and a spoon, who applies the sauce to your dish at the table.



The 6th course was the best. It was the last savory dish of the night. Lobster with a red wine gumbo sauce and creamy polenta. My wife (again, no pics) and I had a good laugh about the idea of gumbo sauce, but wow, the description was right on. This was my favorite dish of the evening. It was served with one claw and half of a tail. The gumbo sauce tasted so familiar (like gumbo), but didn't have the onion, bell pepper, andouille, etc. that you would expect. My mind was blown! I don't know if the dish would have stood out so much if I hadn't lived in Louisiana all of my life, but this one really stuck with me. The wine was La Dame de Montrose, Saint Estéphe, Bordeaux 2011. I truly don't even remember the wine because the lobster and gumbo sauce won me over. The polenta was very creamy and was served with the gumbo sauce.



The seventh course was what they called a "transition" from savory to sweet. It was a smoked yogurt with maple-macerated blueberries and graham crackers. This one twisted my noodle. It had the tanginess of yogurt, but with a smokey under note. If you smoke meat, then you know the smokey flavor that I am talking about, but here, it was accompanied with a cold yogurt, not hot meat. The blueberries provided a booziness that was pleasant and the gram crackers provided texture. The wine was a Poiré Granit from Normandy, France. By this point in the evening the wines are blending together, but I think this one was good.



The final course was supposed to be a rhubarb marmalade with mascarpone crémeux and Limoncello sorbet. However, and much to my pleasure, they were out so we got to pick our own deserts and got new wine pairings. I don't remember the wines, but the desserts were phenomenal. I got the "Coffee" dessert and it was amazing in both presentation and flavor. If you are a fan of tiramisu, then you would love this. It had similar coffee flavor, but on steroids. It was served with a bourbon foam.



My wife had the "hazelnut". It was also fantastic. My wife describes the chocolate truffle as the best Lindt's truffle that you can imagine. It was filled with a Frangelico mousse and was covered in edible gold. It was served with a small scoop of praline ice cream.



The check came with a small assortment of candies. They were all tasty, bu the the one in the middle, some concoction of chocolate and orange, was the best. The little macaroon was delicious as well.



All in all, this was one of the best experiences of my life and after we spent over $1000 on dinner for two, I felt satiated and could not believe that this place exceeded my high expectations.

I highly recommend this restaurant and suggest that you save and splurge if you are a foodie.

Great report. And gets at the heart of issue everyone always asks when dining at a big Michelin spot: Was it worth it?

I’d imagine for 2-3 hours your and your wife were plied with food and beverage, coddled, and fawned over. You had an experience that is unique. Hell a couples massage can run half of that cost.

Great report and glad it exceeded your expectations.

Awesome review. Wish more people took pics and did reviews like these on this forum.