Had the opportunity to visit Le Bernardin last night. Considering I am a seafood lover, and their 4 star review in the NY Times, I had extremely high hopes for evening. Simply, these hopes weren’t met, and Le Bernardin is perhaps my worst 3* experience of all time.
Food: The majority of the dishes I was served throughout the tasting menu were average to below-average. Some notable misses include the Taragi, Lobster and Fluke. There seems to be a seriously lack of inspiration in the kitchen as everything felt like it was appeasing a faceless corporate atmosphere. There wasn’t one ‘standout’ course from the evening but simply a few above average ones. Those included the Scallop-Caviar, Halibut and Citrus ‘Madeline’. Finally, as a side note, compared to other 3* the bread service was disappointing.
Atmosphere: Le Bernardin certainly needs some updating. The carpet and wood paneling along the walls are visibly old and dusty. Regarding the clientele, Le Bernardin is truly a corporate affair. Obviously, a lot of suits and ties, with only a few couples and families mixed in. Additionally, a small point, but the dining room is extremely dark and makes it hard to see the food’s full presentation.
Service: I was very disappointed by the impersonal service at Le Bernardin. My meal was rushed; we ate all 9 courses (plus bread) in 2 hours flat. In general, I felt was though servers had a very corporate and standoffish feel.
Aftermath: After my meal at Le Bernardin I began to feel sick. In fact, 5 hours after the completion of my meal, I got food poisoning and had multiple ‘reversal of fortunes’. Simply, it is unacceptable for a 3* restaurant (charging $310 for a tasting menu) to have such a mistake. This has been my first Michelin Star
food poisoning and hopefully my last.
by Cxmmodore
7 Comments
Pic 1 – Amuse-Bouche: Lobster, Hamachi,
Tomato Gazpacho. A decent opening. Tomato Gazpacho was nice.
Pic 2 – Taragi: Honestly this course was disappointing. The taragi was slimy and chewy, and considering it was sashimi-style there was nothing to elevate it.
Pic 3 – Scallop-Caviar: Best main course of the evening. Hard to go wrong with scallop and caviar in a butter sauce. Excellent dish.
Pic 4 – Lobster. Similar to the Taragi, the Lobster ‘carpaccio’ was slightly disappointing. Not a lot of flavor and the lobster was rubbery.
Pic 5 – Langoustine: This course was average. The langoustine was laughably small, but it was tender, enjoyable, and the accompanied strip of sweet corn was serviceable as well.
Pic 6 – Fluke: A truly disappointing course. The fluke lacked flavor as did its accompanied sauce. Honestly, outside of the small potato, this course was shocking below average.
Pic 7 – Halibut: Outside of the scallop-caviar, the halibut was the next best main course of the evening. It was extremely tender and the sauce bourguingnonne was excellent.
Pic 8 – Cherry: Moving on to the desserts this cherry course was a nice opening. Not too sweet, but a good ‘pre-dessert’ before the main event
Pic 9 – Citrus Madeleine: This course was the closest thing to a standout at Le Bernardin. It was excellent, and was a unique take on a classic dessert item.
Pic 10 – ‘The Egg’: After seeing Alexander the Guests recent video, I needed to try ‘the egg’. It was a nice dessert, extremely rich and creamy, and something I would order again. (FYI – I believe it was $20 extra)
Pic 11 – Petit Fours: A pretty miserable closing. The only decent bite here was the pineapple macaron.
I loved that halibut dish but yeah haven’t tried the others. Sorry about the food poisoning
OP, I agree with all your takes. Le Bernadin once held a very high place in the canon of fine dining but today it feels boring, uninspired and lacks punch. Not sure how they maintain their stars.
OMG E were there too and had the worst time, was going to post later. I would never have known it had even one star if I had gone in blind. The apps were good, the fluke was over cooked, the halibut was meh — and it was OVER IN TWO HOURS!
I had asked here if we could make a Broadway show after going to LB, and people said, no, you don’t want to be worried about time. We did the Chef’s tasting at 5:15 and we could’ve made a Broadway show without breaking a sweat. I had a cocktail and a glass of wine, my son had a Mocktail, I had a latte, he had a glass of milk. Altogether with too, it cost over $900, which is more than I’ve ever spent on a meal for two, more than Disfrutar was a few months ago.
I honestly feel robbed. Just a miserable experience. I should have listed to the wise ones on this sub who said to go elsewhere.
So sorry to hear about your experience.
Yeah Le Bernardin was my first *** and i was also underwhelmed
Yeah LB is not impressive. It was one of the most underwhelming meals of my life, Michelin or otherwise