Le Bernardin always pleases.

If you are unfamiliar, Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin has received 4-star reviews from the New York Times and has held that rating—the Times’s highest—since it opened in 1986. It as had Michelin’s highest rating, three stars.

We chose our cocktails after chatting with Brandon, our fabulous server and bartender. I had the 51st Street Manhattan made with Michter’s rye, dry vermouth, Amaro Averna, Bénédictine and Angostura bitters ($27) and my dining partner, whose belated birthday we were celebrating, had the Caspian Moon made with saffron-included Blue gin, vermouth, cardamom bitters and rose water ($22).

Our first item from their lounge menu was the plentiful rillette made from fresh poached and smoked salmon, chives and aioli ($28) with toasts. We luckily got some of the fabulous bread service, usually reserved for full menu participants. I asked for some as wait staff served the guests next to us at the bar, who had decided to enjoy the restaurant’s four-course price fixed (Prix Fixe) menu for $208, up from $198 earlier this year.

With these, we each enjoyed a glass of Grüner Veltliner, Federspiel, Alzinger, Wachau, Austria 2022 ($21).

Next, we shared their layers of thinly pounded yellowfin tuna underneath brioche baguette, foie gras mousse in between and finished with chive lemon oil ($50).

Our least favorite, but still good, is the scallop ceviche with preserved lemons in oil and sea beans; the latter gave a pop of the saltiness of the sea ($32).

Our final dish, which my dining partner had just seen on Instagram, was their new lobster roll on brioche with truffle butter sauce (2 minis $54).

When Brandon discovered we were celebrating a birthday, he brought a special dessert!

As you may have guessed, I highly recommend. It is a must-try!

Le Bernardin
Midtown West
155 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019
(212) 554-1515
le-bernardin.com/