FISH,FISH,FISH!!! & more FISH! I selected the 7 course tasting menu with wine pairing. When wine pairings are done well, after tasting the food and sipping the wine there should be an indescribable burst of flavor in your mouth. Each bite and sip should bring out different notes and scents in the wine causing you to YURN for more. Shockingly La Bernardin failed to leave me wanting anything,except to leave. Each dish was boring with no flair or unique flavor. The paired wine was just as unimpressive. La Bernardin's dining room is a vast open space with banquet style seating similar to a wedding hall. Lacking an intimate romantic feel. The walls,bar and ceiling are all covered in wood giving off an unflattering orange glow to all the clientele (not a good look ladies). I realize La Bernardin is known for its seafood and If you enjoy safe fish dishes in a stuffy conservative setting then La Bernadin is for you. However his carnivorous foodie needs her meat!

Perhaps the finest meal my wife and I have ever had. Each dish of the chef's tasting menu was a brilliant combination of texture and taste. The paired wines were exceptional and well thought out to enhance and showcase the incredible flavor of each dish. Portions were adequate and proportionate to the remarkably rich dishes. Service was excellent and would highly recommend this for a special occasion as the prices are as expected not for everyday dining.

'Avec Eric' is really not such a bad TV show, but if there's any possibility of withholding pleasure stimuli for chefs who wanna be TV stars by making them struggle to run an actual decent restaurant, Rippert should be drafted into the experimental protocol.

My wife and I have made it a hobby to try as many restaurants in Manhattan as we can, given the city's wide variety of choices. For her round birthday, I wanted to surprise my wife with a truly special place, and I had read and heard a lot about Le Bernardin, so I gave it a shot.
To sum it up: it was a huge disappointment for both of us. The atmosphere is exceptionally stiff, the average age in the (very well populated) dining room was about 60 (I am not exaggerating), and the whole experience felt like dining in a museum. We went for the 4-course menu: the food was very good. That said, food tends to be very good in 95% of Manhattan's upscale restaurants, so that's sort of a given and not really a great differentiator anymore. The price was pretty steep ($300 including tip, and we did not have any alcohol): but again, that's what can be expected....for a great dining experience, which this was clearly not. To be perfectly candid: Le Bernardin feels like the kind of place that upper middle-class people frequent when they think they are rich. For example, I don't think you would find a lot of celebrities in a place like the Bernardin. But you will likely find a lot of people there who think they are, or should be celebrities.
The staff was not exactly unfriendly, but again, they made you feel like they were there to teach the plebs some "etiquette" -- which to me, is an utterly ridiculous, old-fashioned, and almost touristy concept.
If you want to spend a few hundred bucks and have a great evening, go to Megu, Kittichai, Tao, Nobu or one of the upscale steakhouses in the city. Spending a lot of money on food in Manhattan is easy, but the results can be vastly different.

This restaurant is very good

Eric, Eric, Eric...You throw down so hard it makes eating anything else taste like animal feed. Every plate is magic. The service makes you feel like batman. The Wine is an opulently debauch dream. For all of you who don't like wearing blazers or think the plates are too small I'm sure there is room at red lobster. If your reading this don't think, just go right now. Ever second you have not tasted the food is a moment wasted.

Definitely worth trying

I haven't been to Le Bernardin recently but I've been wanting to go back for the past 2 years. It's the kind of place that sticks with you, from the taste to the atmosphere to the staff. It's just a wonderful place. The only down fall is that I can't afford to eat here even once a year! But if you can put down a few hundred for a special occasion or person I would recommend going to Le Bernardin as much as you can...and bring me something back!

Went for lunch and it was delightful. Had 3 apps, 2 entrees, 3 desserts.

Nicely plated, a couple dishes didnt really wow me for a 4 star restaurant though. I guess I just expected a lot more. The desserts which I had been told by someone else in the food industry, was their best part was eh. I liked 1 out 3. It was the chocolate peanut that was great. citrus-praline sorbet was outstanding. They combined 2 flavors I'm not hot on and made it fabulous.
Chocolate hickory was too much chocolate and not enough hickory. 3rd one I cant recall.

The 6$ capp wasnt good at all for that price. It was literally 80% foam. +there were coffee grounds. I did not finish that. All in all, good for a $240 lunch.

Ill go back for dinner and try again.

My mistake I guess but I was wearing Polo Black cardigan and had to cover it up with Cheap JCP 99.99 sport coat which did not help to enjoy the dining experience. We did a tasting menu paired with wines. The food was very good but plates were very small. The service was very attentive. Decor was old and sort of glam 80's. My only question is why did I leave hungry after spending well over $600 for two?