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Le Bernardin Restaurant Review

The AXA Equitable Building
155 W. 51st St. (Sixth & Seventh Aves.) Send to Phone
New YorkNY 10019
212-554-1515 | Make Restaurant Reservations | Menu
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Le Bernardin’s attention to detail, stability and quest for perfection still elicits a culinary crusade. Le Bernardin Restaurant is one of our 2012 | Top 10 NY Wine List Restaurants | Top 10 NY French Restaurants | Top 10 NY Romantic Restaurants | Top 10 NY Seafood Restaurants | Top 10 NY Food Rating Restaurants | Top 10 NY Special Occasion Restaurants |  Watch our exclusive interview with chef Eric Ripert on GAYOT.com's YouTube Channel.

Cuisine

Open

Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner Mon.-Sat.

Features

Wine

Great Wine List

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Dining room at Le Bernardin, New York, NYSince the brother-and-sister team of the late Gilbert and Maguy Le Coze opened the restaurant in 1986, Le Bernardin has highlighted the New York dining scene --- enlightening diners with what was then, and still is, a revolutionary approach to seafood. A renovation of the dining room brought a 24-foot triptych painting on one wall, among other fresh touches. Tasting menus start at $145 and jump to a steep $330 with wine pairings. Dinner might begin with, among other refinements, "barely touched" butter poached lobster tail, fork tender, with spiced celeriac and an Earl Grey-citrus sauce. Chef Eric Ripert works his Neptune-like charms with steamed halibut borscht-style accompanied by golden beets and horseradish crème fraîche. For a quicker (and more affordable) experience, try the casual lounge, which offers a $70 three-course meal for lunch; some of the dishes also appear on the dinner menu. For dessert, consider the cheese course of four pieces from a number of selections. When chocolate arrives, it’s in the form of a chocolate-olive oil crémeux with toasted bread, brown butter and almonds. There's a disconnect between the proper and reserved manner practiced by front of the house staff and the brisk and bustling scene of the modern dining room.

User Ratings & Reviews for Le Bernardin
Average rating    4
Reviews 1 - 1 of 11
if you come back again, again, ...
by zweito on 11/24/2009
 
The problem with chef Eric is that he doesn't have any competition in this town, therefore he's gotten stale with his cooking over the years. The 4-course I just had was an amuse bouche: Kumamoto was brine-less with underwhelming toppings. The escolar came with a nice red wine that contrasted with the fish. The striped bass was served with a perigord sauce that tasted like a crossover with soy sauce and the dessert made me realize again that I can only have food like this here - for the good and the bad of it.
 
Reviews 1 - 1 of 11
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