Le Bernadin

Le Bernardin has held four stars from The New York Times since 1986, the year it came to New York¹. Gilbert Le Coze and his sister Maguy had opened the original in Paris in 1972, and they moved it here under the same name not long after it won a third Michelin star¹. It opened on the ground floor of the new Equitable Center tower, which it shared with a branch of the Whitney Museum².

Eric Ripert joined as chef de cuisine in 1991¹. When Gilbert Le Coze died of a heart attack in 1994, Ripert succeeded him as executive chef, and in 1996 he became co-owner with Maguy Le Coze¹.

Michelin gave it three stars in 2005, the first year it published a New York guide¹, and in 2009 it ranked 15th on The World's 50 Best Restaurants¹. In 2012 Bentel & Bentel completely redesigned it, and a large lounge was added¹.

Counting from Paris, it turned 50 in 2022^{1, 3}. In June 2026 it was one of only five restaurants in New York with three Michelin stars⁴. Not bad for an entry on a bar map.