Among the thousands of restaurants in New York City, Le Bernardin stands out. It has more awards than any other restaurant in the Big Apple and sets the standard for seafood.
New York is taking off again. Bankers and office workers are once again roaming through Midtown during their lunch break and populating the surrounding eateries. There are still not as many as before the pandemic, but the vibrant, bustling energy of the Big Apple is slowly returning. With that comes the power lunch, where hunger is satisfied and deals are negotiated. And nowhere do the rich and famous of NYC prefer to dine than in the luxurious seafood temple Le Bernardin.
Almost every table is occupied here at lunchtime during the week. The restaurant's countless awards – three Michelin stars and a regular place among the World's 50 Best Restaurants to name a few – and the comparatively moderate prices definitely help. And of course the chef's name. "When I cook dishes, the inspiration for them very often comes from memories of my childhood, travelling, tasting and discovering different cultures," says Le Bernardin co-owner and chef Eric Ripert. "People don't come here just to eat well, but to make memories. We have many people who come to us year after year to celebrate milestones in their lives." Ripert then tops these off with menus that are full of personal experiences: "Whether I'm dealing with farmers or culinary experts, tracking down new products or discovering techniques, it all feeds into my work." Ripert's dishes also like to combine elements of global cuisine, especially from Asia, with traditional French cooking techniques.
Ripert is known for dividing his menus into cooking levels – "almost raw", "barely touched" and "lightly cooked". "Almost raw" is, for example, oysters or lightly smoked sea trout tartare, Meyer lemon jelly and black pepper crisp as well as vodka crème fraîche. "Barely touched" could be poached lobster with grape-fennel salad & verjus sabayon or warm octopus with squid ink fiideos in chorizo emulsion and "lightly cooked" a baked striped bass with a baby leek mousseline.
The three-course lunch menu is available in the dining room of Le Bernardin for $120 – if you also want fine Osetra caviar, it costs up to $190 extra. In the lounge, guests can have lunch à la carte or order the three-course City Harvest Menu for $90 -– a good opportunity to try out one of the finest restaurants in the world without spending hundreds of dollars.
Ripert donates five dollars for each guest to City Harvest, an organisation that donates food to the hungry in New York City and of which he is vice-chairman. The Tasting Menus in the evening are available for $230 for the vegetarian version and $295 for the Chef's Tasting Menu.
The restaurant was founded by siblings Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze in 1972 in Paris under the name Les Moines de St. Bernardin. Fish, "fresh, simple and prepared with respect", was the motto back then. Shortly after receiving their third Michelin star, the duo exported the idea to New York in 1986. When Gilbert Le Coze died unexpectedly in 1994, his sister Maguy began working with Eric Ripert, a friend of her brother. In 1996, he became co-owner of the seafood temple. Things have changed since then, Ripert muses: "Just like in fashion, culinary tastes change. There is a big difference between the dishes of the nouvelle cuisine era and today. Fine dining has evolved, it's less formal than it used to be."
The restaurant is almost as famous for its wine service as it is for its seafood. For Ripert, good wine and food pairings are essential for "holistic dining experience". This experience is ensured at Le Bernardin by its wine director Aldo Sohm. The Austrian is one of the most renowned sommeliers in the world and still works in the restaurant with a tastevin to reveal the true colour and clarity of a wine. "Every time we open a bottle for a guest, we use it to test the wine in front of the guest," Sohm explains. And he describes another special feature: "The dishes are created in the kitchen, then I come and choose the matching wine. And after 14 days, I adjust the wine selection just as the chefs do with the dishes. Because the temperature and humidity are constantly changing – I'm a bit of a freak." Sohm even does the wine cellar inventory himself.
The cellar contains around 15,000 bottles, including many vintage gems. Fifteen percent of the wines come from Austria – a considerable amount for a top French restaurant in New York. Sohm smiles: "It simply has a different effect when Eric Ripert recommends an Austrian wine with a meal than when I do." So "wine ambassador" Sohm takes care of the supplies and lets the boss do the rest. Teamwork à la Le Bernardin.
Info:
Le Bernardin
155 W 51ST Street, New York, NY 10019
+1 212 5541515, le-bernardin.com
Having grown up in an inn in Brittany, siblings Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze decided to open a fish restaurant in Paris in the 1970s, named after the chanson Les Moines de St. Bernardin (The Monks of St. Bernard). After receiving their third Michelin star, the siblings exported their idea to New York in 1986. Since then, the restaurant has not only maintained its standard, but has built on it under the leadership of Eric Ripert and collected more awards.
