202 replies to this topic

[sethd]

Excellent - do you recall the amount of the supplement?

First, the superb Black Bass tartare is still on the menu. I just returned from lunch at Le Bernardin and had the dish: Wonderful.
The supplemental charge is usually in the 20$ range. I eat at Le Bernardin quite frequently for lunch and often have a extra savory dish.
I also agree that you shouldn't miss desert. The pastry chef is one of the two best in the city. Only Sandro at Adour is as good.

[jdanton]

We had the chef's tasting menu at LB on Friday night. Each dish was really good (save for one that was a bit oversalted). I would have liked a couple of lighter dishes at the beginning, because we were dying at the end.

Pics and further details at my blog..

http://jdoracle.blog...-bernardin.html

[jrichman]

I am sure that the wine list here is amazing - if we choose not to do the wine pairings with the tasting menu, what is the average price for a glass / bottle of wine?

Thanks

[sethd]

I am sure that the wine list here is amazing - if we choose not to do the wine pairings with the tasting menu, what is the average price for a glass / bottle of wine?

Thanks

I highly recommend doing the wine pairings. Aldo Sohm the chief sommelier is a master at pairing wines that mesh superbly with Chef Riperts cuisine. Wines by the glass are between $15 and $40; there is at least 10 chocies each for white, red, and desert wines. The wine list is expensive but not impressively so considering the quaility of the restaurant.

[Robin Meredith]

I am sure that the wine list here is amazing - if we choose not to do the wine pairings with the tasting menu, what is the average price for a glass / bottle of wine?

Thanks

Compared to JG and some other high-end joints there are relatively few entry level bottlings on the list at LB, so if you're not prepared to spend $75+ it's going to be slim pickings. One nice choice is the Vina Godeval Godello, a somewhat distinctive Spanish white that pairs well with the cuisine and if memory serves is priced in the $60-65 range (just about every table in the restaurant was drinking this the last time we were there for lunch).

Edited by Robin Meredith, 02 May 2009 - 07:54 AM.

[Chris Hennes]

My wife and I had a pleasant early dinner at LB last Wednesday, just having the regular prix fixe menu. I had the Kumamoto Oyster Sequence, the Warm Lobster Carpaccio, and the Hiramasa. All were good, but the Hiramasa was truly fantastic, the best I have ever had that fish prepared. The service was not firing on all cylinders, unfortunately: nothing terrible, just a few minor timing missteps. However, I should point out that I must have been giving off a "cheap bastard" vibe (no tie, no wine, no tasting menu): the look on the waiter's face when I ordered a 1973 Armagnac for dessert was pretty funny. So the less-than-perfect service may have been a reflection of that.

[Carlovski]

Well I'd say that receiving (if only slightly) inferior service due to looking 'cheap' isn't a reason for, it's actually evidence of poor service.

[nextguy]

Must have just been an off day for the service. I was there three weeks ago for an early dinner and the staff was charming and attentive. Although towards the end of the meal I excused myself to use the men's room and the waiter failed to pick my napkin off my chair and refold it. How dare he miss that

I always do that by the way at starred restaurants just to see what happens. They didn't miss it when my wife used the ladies room btw.

[Chris Hennes]

I wonder if the service was really a function of the reservation time: it was a 5:30 reservation, and they had already asked me when I confirmed the reservation if they could turn the table at 8 (I said yes). The meal started out quite rushed, and then swung the other direction, becoming a bit ponderous towards the end when there was plenty of time to go. Like I said above, not terribly so, just enough to feel like it could have been better-paced.

ETA: And while I did not get up, my wife's napkin was indeed refolded almost immediately when she did. Thank goodness for that!

Edited by Chris Hennes, 14 June 2010 - 07:06 AM.

[wc4572]

My wife and I were in town to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday, so I chose to do the tasting menu at Le Bernardin. Having never been to a restaurant as nice as this, we weren't sure what to expect and felt a bit out of place as we were the youngest in the room. Our waiter was slightly pushy and rude when we did not get the wine pairing, but was nice enough to substitute a crab dish for the octopus for my wife. The other servers we had were all great. I suppose this was a minor quibble as I found a hair on my salmon before I started eating and there was a scale on my black bass. Usually I wouldn't care about either of these, but for the money we were spending, I wasn't particularly happy with my experience. The salmon was replaced, although again, I thought the waiter was rude about it. I was already nervous from his attitude, so I did not mention the scale. We were given two extra desserts, a passionfruit mousse and pot du creme (I think) served in an organic egg shell. Chef Ripert was present because he came out to talk to two different tables. I don't know if I came on a bad night (a Tuesday) or bad time (5:30 pm), but it was not the best experience for a 3 star place.

[kathryn]

The Egg is a signature off-menu dessert dish:
http://michaellaisko...01/the-egg.html

[Big Joe the Pro]

I've not dined there yet but hope to one day, thanks for the input.

Chef Ripert's book, "On the Line" I think it's called, was interesting I thought.

Have they been able to renew their lease? It was a concern expressed in the book.

[Bobster]

I'm sorry about you and your wife's experience, wc. I'm convinced that it's a place where one should feel honored to be allowed in as opposed to other high quality restaurants that make you feel that *they* are honored to serve you.

[ermintrude]

I'm sorry about you and your wife's experience, wc. I'm convinced that it's a place where one should feel honoured to be allowed in as opposed to other high quality restaurants that make you feel that *they* are honoured to serve you.

What an odd quote, a place where I should feel honoured to be allowed in I don't know any restaurant that I would want to go like that. Even el bulli, I'd feel lucky, privileged if someone had taken me there on their invite then it would be a great honour that they thought of me. A restaurant where "I" feel honoured to be allowed in sorry I I'd rather starve. I am not letting your comment influence me going to this restaurant as it seems so way off, and while they can be intimidating if a real 3* place was like this I can't see it staying 3* for long.

Edited by ermintrude, 25 July 2011 - 05:37 PM.

[Sneakeater]

Very strongly agree with ermintrude.

[rich]

Really like LB, but no one should feel honored to eat at any restaurant. As a paying customer, the honor is within the eye of the beholder.

[Bobster]

All I can say is I've been to Le Bernardin three different times in the last five years and each time I was made to feel like a second class citizen.

The food either came out wrong or cold--or didn't come out at all. The staff appeared to be more interested in other parties in the room (I was solo).

It's certainly different to my other experiences at PerSe, La Grenouille, Jean Georges, Adour, Eleven Madison Park, Annisa, Picholine, Ai Fiori and Marea among others.

[fendi_pilot]

Le Bernadin is a good restaurant. However, a bit like Tom Hanks. Showed some early promise, got famous, commands a high price and overall isn't that interesting to me anymore.

Edited to add : I think we could extend this comparison to the decor as well - both looked their best in the 90's.

Edited by fendi_pilot, 03 August 2011 - 11:45 AM.

[mkayahara]

Edited to add : I think we could extend this comparison to the decor as well - both looked their best in the 90's.

Aren't they currently in the process of updating that?

[oakapple]

Le Bernadin is a good restaurant. However, a bit like Tom Hanks. Showed some early promise, got famous, commands a high price and overall isn't that interesting to me anymore.

"To me" are the most telling words in this post. LeB continues to serve wonderful meals to people who, I feel reasonably sure, aren't merely impressed because they read in a tattered old review that it is purported to be good. It remains, by the standards of this town, extraordinary.

[sct4a]

Le Bernadin is a good restaurant. However, a bit like Tom Hanks. Showed some early promise, got famous, commands a high price and overall isn't that interesting to me anymore.

"To me" are the most telling words in this post. LeB continues to serve wonderful meals to people who, I feel reasonably sure, aren't merely impressed because they read in a tattered old review that it is purported to be good. It remains, by the standards of this town, extraordinary.

This town needs higher standards if LeB is supposed to be considered "extraordinary". I went last night for dinner after having an amazing as always lunch at per se. LeB service was a complete joke with countless mistakes and being quite obvious they couldnt careless about us. Everything from making us wait 20 minutes PAST our reservation time to sit down to bringing wrong dishes, cold dishes, wrong silverware multiple times, not refolding napkins when one of us got up to use the rest room (not a big deal but is noticeable at this level), when we ordered desert we ordered 3 of them each and they brought out all 3 at once two of which were melting while we ate the first one - that of everything seriously pissed me off. It is beyond me how they have more than one star let alone 3 with subpar service like this. While the food was very good I must say I was slightly more impressed with the fish courses I had at per se earlier in the day - perhaps because they actually care unlike LeB. I also must say the countless staff walking around the dining room with those metal necklaces look completely absurd. Charging $17 for house sparkling water and espresso etc was also a bit tacky and nickel and diming when your spending hundreds of dollars per person. The one major plus of LeB was they did not automatically add the tip to the check because they had no chance in hell of us walking out and leaving anything close to a 20% or more tip.

[mkayahara]

Today Le Bernardin pastry chef Michael Laiskonis announced his departure from the restaurant early next year "to pursue new dreams, new ways of expressing [himself] through cooking, and new ways of exchanging ideas." It'll be interesting to see what that means!

Edit: It looks like it means he will be leaving the kitchen to write and teach.

Edited by mkayahara, 26 October 2011 - 05:48 AM.

[Bobster]

So Pete Wells follows his New York Times predecessors with another 4-star review.

I guess I'll try going there one more time...