Known as one of the finest restaurants in the Country, Per Se is a 3 Star Michelin Restaurant and was a must for us during a recent visit to New York City. The location on Columbus Circle afforded spectacular views of Central Park!

Per Se Restaurant is owned by Chef Thomas Keller chiefly known for his French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, California. Per Se is supposed to be his interpretation of the West Coast icon. The experience was fabulous and we wanted to share what you can expect when dining at one of Manhattan’s elite landmarks.

Join us as we walk you through a 9 course journey from one of America’s beloved Chefs.

Arrival

The entrance to Per Se was located in the Time Warner Center on the top floor. Outside it’s doors were orchids and an inviting lounging area for guests.

We were warmly greeted and seated at our table with a view! On our reservation, I made such a request and thrilled they honored it. The Central Park view on Columbus Circle with the NYC skyline was fantastic, especially for several long hours of dining. Our reservation was at 5:30pm and enjoyed watching the sunset throughout dinner.

I love these detailed restaurants that think of every detail. Even my purse had a seat. Convenience is bliss.

In the main dining room, there’s only 2 tasting menus you can order. You can opt for either the Vegetarian or Regular Chef’s Tasting Menu. We chose the Regular and ordered the supplemented items as well. The supplemented items offered in various courses are an upgrade and have additional costs. Each guest has the option to supplement and it is not mandatory. One of us always supplemented in order to try everything on the menu.

Since we do not drink alcohol, they made us amazing house-made cocktails instead. They started us off with a bottle of Prisecco Apple Cider from Germany. It lasted awhile and then they brought other mocktails to compliment the meal.

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We love the Blueberry Ginger Mocktail so much, the server gave us the recipe and gave us great tips. To temper the spiciness of ginger, leave the skin on when you juice it. It tasted super fresh and delicious. I can imagine it would pair well with vodka if prefer to make it a cocktail.

The tasting began with an amuse bouche as usual for a 3 Star Michelin restaurant. An amuse bouche is a 1 or 2 bite hors d’œuvre right before your tasting menu begins.

Journey Through the 9 Course Tasting Menu

After the amuse bouche, the 9 course tasting menu begins. The first course I had the Oysters and Pearls and my hubby opted for the upgrade to the Royal Ossetra Caviar.

1st Course

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2nd Course

The second course was delightful. Hubby had the Peach Salad and I upgraded to the foi gras. I was impressed by the international salts that complimented my dish. My favorite salt was the red one from Hawaii, although See Gris or Gray Salt from France was a close second.

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3rd Course

Next came the Charcoal-Grilled Montauk Mackeral. We really like d the Italian parsley oil in this dish that kept the fish from tasting dry.

4th Course

I’m a big fan of scallops and was happy to see it was the 4th course served to us. I’m used to seeing whole round scallops, but this presentation of a partial large scallop was beautiful. It tasted just as nice too.

5th Course

The 5th course was the Bread and Butter course. If anyone can bake, it’s Chef Keller. He owns the famous Bouchon Bakery and his breads and sweets are dangerously delicious.

6th Course

The 6th Course was the Liberty Farm Duck Breast which I love and hubby upgraded to the Mascarpone-Enriched Sweet Corn “Porridge.” The porridge sounds funny but it was absolutely delectable. The server literally shaved table-side a whole black truffle into the dish.

7th Course

The proteins are from the best farmers in the region. In this course, I had the Marcho Farms Veal Ribeye and hubby upgraded to the Snake River Farms 100 Day Dry-Aged Beef.

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8th Course

The last course before dessert was just ok. This was probably our least favorite. I’m not a big fan of pine nuts to begin with, but I don’t quite like the textures in this dish particularly.

9th Course Dessert!

The dessert assortment that comes with the tasting menu was phenomenal. Each person received fruit, ice cream, chocolate, pastry, and candies.

If you thought dessert stopped there, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to get a selection of bon tons in your face. You can select a couple pieces. We tried the PB&J and Burbon Chocolate bon bons.

At departure, they also gave us a box of shortbread sandwich cookies that were amazing. We ate them before I could even get a pic.

Hot Tip

There’s a 5 course menu available in the Salon room of the restaurant for those that are short on time or want less courses.

You must make a reservation to dine at this restaurant. Prime time hours are booked up several weeks in advance. Reservations are made through Tock where $50- $100 per person deposit is made for each person and applied to your final bill.

Prepare for a 3 hour dining experience and price of $355 per person. Optional alcohol pairing is extra.

Read what other travelers have to say of Per Se at TripAdvisor

We hope you enjoyed this 9 course journey with us. For more on How to Dine at Michelin Restaurants click here.

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