Per Se

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When it debuted in 2004, Thomas Keller’s Per Se was the belle of the city’s restaurant ball. There was nothing stagy or solemn about the food, which felt beautifully conceived, elegantly presented, and as varied as the colors of the rainbows. Diners were wowed by dishes like Keller’s oysters and pearls — caviar and warm oysters topping savory tapioca pudding. But that spirit of inventiveness has, over time, waned. If the room always felt mildly antiseptic, then maybe the food has started to as well, at least among the fine-dining cognoscenti for whom the restaurant has lost some of its relevance. The main dining room’s prix fixe meal is still long and exhaustively intricate — there’s a shorter, less expensive but still pricey version in the salon — and remains an exercise in luxury. Think Imperial Ossetra caviar with ginger panna cotta for $60 more, lobster with morels, a supplement of charcoal-grilled Wagyu for a cool $100, and so on. It’s just a question of whether this is an exercise still worth committing to, or if it’s fallen out of favor like a fitness fad.

Prix-Fixe Menu

Ten-course vegetable tasting; Ten-course chef's tasting, $325.

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

Oysters and pearls; Atlantic fluke tartare; scallops; coffee and doughnut

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)