Profile

The French Laundry is widely touted as the best restaurant in America, and Per Se seems to have been conceived, rather self-consciously, as its august big-city sibling. The rooms, which look out across the treetops of Central Park, feel grand but mildly antiseptic. The main dining room is colored, by the designer Adam Tihany, in muted tones of gray and brown, and decorated, at either end, with towering arrangements of foxtail lilies, and a working fireplace allows for fireside dining. The hyperattentive and hyperinformed wait staff are dressed in starchy dark suits and fat Armani ties, and as they troop silently to and fro in the ghostly evening light, the whole scene looks elegant but solemn and vaguely stagy, like a studious California version of what a first-class New York restaurant should be. There’s nothing stagy or solemn about the food, however, which is beautifully conceived, elegantly presented (on a new Thomas Keller line of dishes by Raynaud), and as varied as the colors of the rainbow. The menu, which changes daily, is a jumble of bite-size tastings, the most modest of which involves five courses, including cheese and dessert. — Adam Platt

Prix-Fixe Menu

Nine-course vegetable tasting; nine-course chef's tasting, $275

Best Meal Under $350
Get the prix-fixe at Per Se. Begin with "Oysters and Pearls," and be sure to save room for the "Coffee and Doughnuts" dessert.

Recommended Dishes

Cappuccino of forest mushrooms; oysters and pearls; chaud-froid; bacon and eggs; macaroni and cheese; snails; scallops; boeuf grillee; creamsicle; coffee and doughnuts

Related Stories

New York Magazine Reviews

• Adam Platt's Full Review (6/28/04)

Best of New York Awards

• Dream Meals (2005)
• Best Foie Gras (2005)
• Sweet Successes (2005)

Featured In

• Where to Eat 2008 (1/7/08)
• Where to Eat 2008: Best Up-and-Coming Chefs (1/7/08)
• Per Se, Per Calorie (5/7/07)
• 101 Best New York Restaurants for 2006 (1/9/06)

Recipes at Per Se

• Creamsicle (2008)
• Haricots-Verts Casserole With Cream of California Cèpe Mushrooms (2005)
• Giblet Gravy (2005)
• Virginia-Ham Croquettes (2005)
• Breast of Four Corners Farm’s Turkey ‘Cuit Sous Vide’ and Roasted Leg ‘en Ballotine’ (2005)
• Sunchoke Soup With Virginia-Ham Croquettes (2005)
• Caramel Popcorn (2005)
• Waldorf-Salad Stuffing (2005)
• Pecan Pie With Whipped Cream (2005)
• Garnet Sweet-Potato Mille-Feuille With White-Truffle Royale and Shaved Truffles From Alba (2005)
• Chips and Dip (2004)
• Vanilla-Bean Ice Cream With Almond Sablé and Chocolate Liquid Crunch (2004)
• Shrimp Cocktail (2004)
• Slow-Baked Bluefin Tuna With Summer Vegetables (2004)