This was another one that I was really looking forward to and I was so upset that it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. The standout of the night was the wine. Every glass was an absolute delight. We started the evening with a cocktail in the lounge before we went to our table. The cocktails were artful and delicious, and the little trio of bar snacks (popcorn, cheese twists, and candied nuts) were downright addictive. Once we sat down for dinner, we had the sommelier pair each of our courses with wine. All of the glasses we each had were amazing and paired with the food expertly. It was certainly one of those cases in which it was the right move to leave it up to the in-house expert.
The overall feel of the restaurant is a bit on the stuffy side. You walk into the bar/lounge area and the dining room is just on the other side of the hostess stand. The dining room is elegant without being overly grand. But there is still a staid feel to it that doesn’t feel all that comfortable.
The menu choice is between a four course menu, a 7 course tasting menu, or a chef’s tasting menu of 8 courses. We had the four course menu, which allows you choose two appetizers from the almost raw and barely cooked sections, one from the lightly cooked, and then a dessert. The amuse bouche the evening we dined at Le Bernardin was a trio: a little dome of tuna tartare with soy, sea urchin with a soy citrus sauce, and a cup of lobster bisque. The lobster bisque was amazingly delicious and just an absolute standout in this trio. All three of us savored every drop of the rich tomato and lobster flavors. The bread basket was a choice of olive rosemary stick, raisin bread, parker house roll, or sourdough roll. These turned out to all be superb choices, with beautiful texture and flavor.
The appetizers continued what had started as a fabulous dinner. For appetizers, my friends both had the yellowfin tuna, which was thin layers of tuna with foie gras atop a toasted baguette with chives and olive oil. The plating of this was a bit strange and sort of lacked the beauty I would expect. The tuna was wonderfully fresh and the flavors simple and delicious but nothing mind altering. I had the Fluke "Sashimi" with avocado topped with jalapeño-lime broth. The clear winner was the fluke, which melted in your mouth, and the sauce was an awesome tart and hot combination. I loved it and was very happy with my choice.
For our next course, two of us opted to have the butter poached lobster tail with spiced celeriac, earl grey-citrus sauce. The lobster was splendid, but the best part was the heavenly citrus tea sauce, of which I was literally spooning up every last drop. Our other friend had the calamari with fermented black bean sauce, which was a really nice combination of flavors but nowhere near the caliber of the lobster. Sadly, the dishes from these two courses all stood out much more as hits than our entrees did.
For the last savory course, things just didn’t go as well as any of us expected. Each of the entrees was only okay. I had the best of the main courses, which was roasted monkfish with brussels sprouts and pata negra emulsion with a cup of mushroom custard to spoon on top. First off, to say it came with brussels sprouts is a mammoth overstatement since there were only two little leaves on the plate. The fish was cooked to perfection and very flavorful but the flavor was a bit cliqued…nothing earthshattering or worthy of a return trip and frankly spooning the mushroom custard on top was strange despite it adding flavor. One of my friends had the lobster with caramelized endive-pear terrine with whiskey peppercorn sauce. The lobster was not as good as the butter poached lobster appetizer and again was just a bit one dimensional in taste. Our third companion had steamed halibut with a beet sauce and horseradish crème fraiche. This just was so bland and the fish texture just felt over-cooked. Truthfully, there was no excuse for this dish even being on the menu.
For dessert, one friend had the panna cotta with caramelized fig puree and pear quince syrup, which was only okay. My other friend had the salted peanut caramel with milk chocolate and malted milk crunch, which was better but not amazing. I had the winning dessert, banana praline pate feuilletee with caramelized banana and hazelnut praline cream. This was a perfect example of how banana and praline should be combined and lifted my spirits after our disappointing entrees.
The petit fours before we left were a passion fruit macaroon, a caramel chocolate and a little butter cake. The butter cake was really moist and buttery but the other two petit fours were only okay.
Overall, the meal felt a little bit old school, and I suppose that’s exactly what a lot of people go to Le Bernardin and hope to find. The flavors just all felt a little bit been there done that and as if the chef hasn’t thought about updating the flavors or trying to make them better. All three of us agreed that we’d go back for the wine before we returned for the food.
The overall feel of the restaurant is a bit on the stuffy side. You walk into the bar/lounge area and the dining room is just on the other side of the hostess stand. The dining room is elegant without being overly grand. But there is still a staid feel to it that doesn’t feel all that comfortable.
The menu choice is between a four course menu, a 7 course tasting menu, or a chef’s tasting menu of 8 courses. We had the four course menu, which allows you choose two appetizers from the almost raw and barely cooked sections, one from the lightly cooked, and then a dessert. The amuse bouche the evening we dined at Le Bernardin was a trio: a little dome of tuna tartare with soy, sea urchin with a soy citrus sauce, and a cup of lobster bisque. The lobster bisque was amazingly delicious and just an absolute standout in this trio. All three of us savored every drop of the rich tomato and lobster flavors. The bread basket was a choice of olive rosemary stick, raisin bread, parker house roll, or sourdough roll. These turned out to all be superb choices, with beautiful texture and flavor.
The appetizers continued what had started as a fabulous dinner. For appetizers, my friends both had the yellowfin tuna, which was thin layers of tuna with foie gras atop a toasted baguette with chives and olive oil. The plating of this was a bit strange and sort of lacked the beauty I would expect. The tuna was wonderfully fresh and the flavors simple and delicious but nothing mind altering. I had the Fluke "Sashimi" with avocado topped with jalapeño-lime broth. The clear winner was the fluke, which melted in your mouth, and the sauce was an awesome tart and hot combination. I loved it and was very happy with my choice.
For our next course, two of us opted to have the butter poached lobster tail with spiced celeriac, earl grey-citrus sauce. The lobster was splendid, but the best part was the heavenly citrus tea sauce, of which I was literally spooning up every last drop. Our other friend had the calamari with fermented black bean sauce, which was a really nice combination of flavors but nowhere near the caliber of the lobster. Sadly, the dishes from these two courses all stood out much more as hits than our entrees did.
For the last savory course, things just didn’t go as well as any of us expected. Each of the entrees was only okay. I had the best of the main courses, which was roasted monkfish with brussels sprouts and pata negra emulsion with a cup of mushroom custard to spoon on top. First off, to say it came with brussels sprouts is a mammoth overstatement since there were only two little leaves on the plate. The fish was cooked to perfection and very flavorful but the flavor was a bit cliqued…nothing earthshattering or worthy of a return trip and frankly spooning the mushroom custard on top was strange despite it adding flavor. One of my friends had the lobster with caramelized endive-pear terrine with whiskey peppercorn sauce. The lobster was not as good as the butter poached lobster appetizer and again was just a bit one dimensional in taste. Our third companion had steamed halibut with a beet sauce and horseradish crème fraiche. This just was so bland and the fish texture just felt over-cooked. Truthfully, there was no excuse for this dish even being on the menu.
For dessert, one friend had the panna cotta with caramelized fig puree and pear quince syrup, which was only okay. My other friend had the salted peanut caramel with milk chocolate and malted milk crunch, which was better but not amazing. I had the winning dessert, banana praline pate feuilletee with caramelized banana and hazelnut praline cream. This was a perfect example of how banana and praline should be combined and lifted my spirits after our disappointing entrees.
The petit fours before we left were a passion fruit macaroon, a caramel chocolate and a little butter cake. The butter cake was really moist and buttery but the other two petit fours were only okay.
Overall, the meal felt a little bit old school, and I suppose that’s exactly what a lot of people go to Le Bernardin and hope to find. The flavors just all felt a little bit been there done that and as if the chef hasn’t thought about updating the flavors or trying to make them better. All three of us agreed that we’d go back for the wine before we returned for the food.
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