Dinner at Per Se. I’ve done 10+ three stars now both in the states and abroad, but this was my first Keller restaurant. The vibe was great, not too stuffy and the staff were great. Did the tasting menu and a Somm crafted wine pairing for each dish. By far my favorite dish (and their signature) was their “Oysters and Pearls”. Kept the standard tasting menu for the most part but opted for duck foie gras add-on.
by KuroLikesCoffee
12 Comments
I’ve never seen a tasting menu with four (!) courses which are an extra charge. One or two, sure, but to already be charging $390 and then potentially up to an extra $300+ is a bit off putting to me.
I loved the food/service here when we went, but “not stuffy”? For me it felt like eating in a library.
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OP, where does this rank compared to your other 3 star experiences?
I bought a copy of “The French Laundry, Per Se” a few years ago just so it can live on my coffee table. I love to cook, but… it’s an imposing challenge.
Pete Wells and others may say that these places aren’t what they used to be, but the elegance and precision of these plates is never anything but stunning.
Pete Wells is a miserable miscreant who prefers to dump all over fine dining restaurants trying to excel while elevating local spots that people have known about for decades. He’s the worst form of hipster. Per Se is great.
I went here in April in the lounge. It’s simply exceptional and I had the same experience with the staff.
I went here yesterday, then went to Cote today, and Cote blew Per Se out of the water!
The best part of Per Se was the Oysters and Pearls. Hard to follow that dish up.
$160 for pasta with black truffles is extortionate. Come on.
I was there in 2013 and remember the experience extremely fondly. It wasn’t the best food I’d ever had but the service was incredibly warm and all of the materials (dishes, tablecloths, etc) oozed luxury. They also served me a 1985 1er trie Huet that I recall as one of the glasses bottles of wine of my entire life.
They also mastered the dessert course. They were relatively restrained (in a good way!) on portion sizes, but then totally let loose on the petits-four and chocolates. You couldn’t possibly leave hungry.
My favorite memory was the foie gras and brioche course. They insisted that the brioche be absolutely fresh out of the oven (and it was incredible), so they would swap out the brioche rolls mid-way through the course so that I always had a brioche roll at the peak of freshness.
But even 11 years ago the food didn’t seem particularly inventive and it doesn’t seem like that’s changed. The food was delicious and well-executed but it wasn’t inventive. At these prices, I’d want more.
I enjoyed Per Se but I don’t recall a single thing I ate, which usually isn’t the case for 3* places I eat at. I remember the meal was very good but not memorable compared to other similar restaurants.
One of my top 5 favorite restaurants. 👍