Le Bernardin is one of the best seafood restaurants in the United States, period. Since day one the focus has been on the delicacies which come from the sea and you will find a wide diversity of many different sea creatures on your plate. The restaurant has been around for many years without any consistency flaws – it just continues year after year as one of the best.

Le Bernardin started its journey already in 1972 in Paris when Maguy and her brother Gilbert le Coze founded a restaurant together. In 1986 they moved to New York and soon became established as one of the top restaurants in the city. Eric Ripert became Chef de Cuisine at Le Bernardin in 1991 and he became the new Chef in 1994 when Gilbert le Coze died far too early at age 48 of a heart attack. Maguy le Coze and Eric Ripert became business partners and today they run Le Bernardin together.

Chef Eric Ripert was born in Antibes in 1965, but moved to Andorra as a young child. He was 15 when he attended culinary school in French Perpignan and only 17 when he started his apprenticeship at La Tour D’Argent. Eric Ripert worked at the legendary Restaurant Jamin which was Joël Robuchon’s flagship restaurant in Paris, until 1993 and he also worked for a while for David Bouley before he started to work with Maguy and Gilbert le Coze. Today Eric Ripert has become a celebrity chef with several appearances on television, published cooking books and also runs several restaurants in addition to Le Bernardin.

You can actually order some meat dishes upon request and you can have a fantastic Wagyu beef dish depending on season, but Le Bernardin is not the restaurant to visit if you are looking for meat – it is mainly about seafood. And you can eat it with good conscience since the restaurant belongs to responsible sourced seafood without compromising the future of any species. Just choose between the three different “Almost Raw”, “Barely Touched” and “Lightly Cooked” alternatives from the menu to pick out the best of the best like black bass, tuna and monkfish or simply choose the “Chef’s Tasting Menu” for a culinary trip to remember and cherish.

Written by Andy & Johan