Amuse-Bouche: I don’t remember what any of the amuse-bouche were, but all 3 bites were solid beginning to the meal.
Bread: The bread here was absolutely wonderful, and only L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon has ever given me better bread. I do wish the bread was served warm though.
TUNA (Layers of Thinly Pounded Yellowfin Tuna; Foie Gras, Toasted Baguette, Chives): Le Bernardin’s signature was truly incredible! Simple, but very high-quality and flavorful ingredients that tasted wonderful together.
SCALLOP-SEA URCHIN (Warm Scallop and Uni; Seaweed-Lemon Marinière Broth): The scallops were lightly cooked, and were perfect. This dish was a perfect balance between the scallop carpaccio, sweet uni, and the briny and acidic sauce was a great pairing.
LOBSTER (Poached Lobster; Grilled Napa Cabbage, Baby Vegetables, Red Wine Sauce Bourguignonne): Lobster is my favorite seafood (excluding caviar) and this was the best lobster I’ve ever had! Perfectly poached with incredible flavor. The red wine sauce was a surprisingly good accompaniment, however I wish it had a bit more red wine flavor, and was thicker. The cabbage/vegetables side was fine, but quite uninspiring.
CITRUS “MADELEINE” (Olive Oil Génoise Sponge, Citrus Mousseline, Citrus Medley): Hands down the joint-best dessert I’ve ever had! A masterpiece in balancing different textures, temperatures, sweetness, acidity, and freshness!
HAZELNUT (Hazelnut-Chocolate Waffle Cone, Milk Chocolate Whipped Ganache): Not as good as the madeleine, but still very good. The chocolate, hazelnut, coffee, and sea salt flavors (in different textures) were amazing together. This dessert was a tad bit too rich for me and needed a bit of freshness/acidity.
“The Egg”: An absolutely delicious final dessert, that perfectly balanced flavors of chocolate, caramel, shiso, and sea salt without being too rich or sweet.
Mignardises: Very lackluster, and most were too sweet with little to no flavor.
Overall, I had a very pleasant experience at Le Bernardin and will definitely be back in the future. Do I think Eric Ripert takes his “the fish is the star of the plate” and “we cook for the palate, not for Instagram” philosophy a bit too far? Yes. The plating on some of the dishes that were being served REALLY needed work IMO and the sides of the dishes (like that of my lobster, plus the octopus and hiramasa of my dining partner) could certainly be a lot more inspiring. However, if you want the best seafood, cooked to perfection, with great sauces, Le Bernardin is your place. While I wouldn’t give Le Bernardin 3\\\* personally, that’s simply because I’d rate them as a strong 2\\\*. I didn’t have anything life changing besides the madeleine, but had absolutely nothing to really complain about.
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