Le Bernardin deserves its high ratings. My recent lunch there had perfect food, perfect service and perfect company.
We were seated at the far end of the restaurant in the booth with a view
of the entire room. The service personal attended to us, placing stools next to me and the other woman for our handbags, handing us the menus, pouring the requested sparkling water and then serving crisp toast with a bowl filled with salmon rilletes.
The four of us — after a bit of negotiations — agreed on one of the tasting menus, asking if we could make a substitution. We wanted to exchange the lacquered lobster tail with an herb spring roll for the wild black bass. Phew! No problem.
With almost no more decisions to be made — as we ordered the wine selections along with the tasting menu — we could simply enjoy the company and talk business. One more decision: choosing between the nine freshly 
baked Eric Kayser (Maison Kayser) breads: rosemary olive focaccia, seven grain, quinoa flaxseed, French baquette, raisin walnut, pumpernickel, buckwheat, tomato fennel or sesame basil, served with — of course — soft butter. I asked for four, each with perfect crust and texture.
Aldo Sohm, our sommelier, stopped at the table explaining that he re-selected our wines for our newly designed tasting menu. Once we swapped the striped bass for the lobster, he wanted to be sure our libations included a champagne and a red. And he cajoled — once he made that change, like a house of cards — he needed to adjust 
them all.
We were glad he did, and we were so glad he took care of our table. With each wine, he told why he selected it to accompany each course, and also shared stories about the wine, the wine makers, the vineyards and even his visits to many of them. What a treat. By the end of the lunch, we each felt we had a new friend.
Our first course was flash marinated hamachi in gochujang and sake vinaigrette, garnished with thin crispy rice and chewy dried persimmons served with crisp Sauvignon Blanc, “Les Deux Tours,” Ladoucette Loire, France 2014.
The next wine, the dry but rich and toasty Savagnin, Domaine Frederic Lornet, Arbois, France, 2013 was a perfect match for the barely cooked scallop in a brown butter dashi.
Aldo served us a Riesling, Feinherb, Von Hovel, Saar, Germany 2014 with our king crab, bay scallop and lobster tagliatelle with black truffles in a truffle 
emulsion; champagne — Krug, Brut, Grande Cuvee, France NV — with the lacquered lobster tail and herb spring roll in a lemongrass consomme; and a Gevrey-Chambertin, Louis Boillot, Burgundy, France, 2013 with the barely cooked wild salmon in a broth topped with snow peas and shiitake and matsutake mushrooms.
Dessert began with a coconut yuzu sorbet on clementine snow served with Moscato d’Asti, “Vigna Senza Nome,” Bralda Giacomo Bologna, Piedmont, Italy 2013; followed by a warm chocolate cake with caramelized figs and spiced chocolate ice cream topped with Peruvian chocolate served with Vin Cult de Provence, Mas de Cadenet, France NV.
And as a final treat, we were served a lemon macaron, matcha chocolate bonbon, clementine chew and a cherry financier. Was utterly divine, deserving of every one of the four NYTimes and three Michelin stars.
– bonnie
Le Bernardin
Midtown West
155 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019
(212) 554-1515
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