What Dinner Is Like at Le Bernardin

2013-10-10T19:05:00.000Z

Adam Goldberg A Life Worth Eating Le Bernardin — One of Eric Ripert's gorgeous courses at Le Bernardin. Photography by Adam Goldberg/A Life Worth Eating

Without question, Le Bernardin serves the best seafood in New York City.

The midtown Manhattan restaurant opened in 1986. Chef Eric Ripert has been at the helm since 1994, and has continuously evolved his menu and the restaurant's décor to surprise both diners and critics alike.

Not only has Ripert's French restaurant consistently earned 4-star reviews from The New York Times' dining critics, it just topped Zagat's list of the best restaurants in New York City for the twelfth year in a row and maintained its 3-star ranking from Michelin in its 2014 guide.

Dinner at Le Bernardin starts at $130 per person for a basic four-course menu. There are also two tasting menus with optional wine pairing for up to $333 per person.

Adam Goldberg, a food lover who takes incredible pictures of his meals for his blog A Life Worth Eating, was lucky enough to eat at Le Bernardin in January 2013. He ordered the $195 chef's tasting menu (and a few supplements), and shared pictures of his recent meal with Business Insider.

Eric Ripert's award-winning restaurant is located in midtown Manhattan, on 51st Street and 7th Avenue.

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What It's Like To Dine At Le Bernardin, The Best Restaurant In New York City

Eric Ripert's award-winning restaurant is located in midtown Manhattan, on 51st Street and 7th Avenue.

The interior was redesigned in the summer of 2012 by Bentel & Bentel, with white tablecloths and rippling aluminum walls.

But let's get to the food. The first course was thinly pounded yellowfin tuna with foie gras, chives, and extra-virgin olive oil.

Ripert's bacalao — a grilled, salted cod — was served with soy-glazed baby turnips and miso-dashi vinaigrette.

Next up was charred octopus "a la plancha" with green olive and black garlic emulsion and a sun-dried tomato sauce vierge, a famous type of French sauce.

It was served with a choice of bread, including this delicious pretzel roll.

The fourth course of the prix fixe was sautéed langoustine, truffle, and chanterelle with aged balsamic vinaigrette, which was one of New York Times food critic Pete Wells' favorite courses.

The "surf and turf" fifth course was roasted bone marrow with sea urchin and bacon crisp — an unexpected combination that melded together perfectly.

Next, a waiter came by and poured a black truffle pot-au-feu — a type of French beef stew — onto the barely-cooked salmon course.

The seventh dish was a take on baked lobster goulash, a kind of Hungarian stew.

It was served with a side of light potato gnocchi.

The eighth course of the evening was wild striped bass with Bhutanese red rice and green papaya salad soaked in a ginger-red wine sauce.

Next came the orange purée with a sponge cake soaked in earl grey tea called génoise, and then topped with a blood orange sorbet.

The second dessert on the prix fixe was the "chocolate popcorn," made with Madagascan chocolate ganache, candied peanuts, and popcorn-flavored ice cream.

And finally a chestnut cream, Meyer lemon, and rum-vanilla sorbet masterpiece to finish.

Before the check came, the waiter brought out petits fours — these three are called "pear financier," a type of moist, Parisian tea cake.

They might be small, but they're packed with flavor.

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