Manhattan’s French-inspired Le Bernardin was ranked the No. 1 restaurant in the US by influential survey La Liste for the fourth year running — bucking a trend that venerates Asian cuisine over all others.
Eric Ripert’s gracious West 51st Street seafood mecca shared its 99.5 score (on a scale of 100) with only one other American eatery, Single Thread Restaurant & Inn in Healdsburg, Calif. The honor followed Michelin’s renewal of Le Bernardin’s precious three-star rating last month.
Although Michelin remains the gold standard, La Liste has made inroads, Ripert said.
“Michelin has 100 years in existence, and La Liste only 10,” he told us. “Michelin is still relevant and powerful, but La Liste is becoming more important.”
Paris-based La Liste differs from Michelin and other restaurant-rating platforms in that it’s algorithm-driven. Overall scores are based on factors including critics’ reviews, guidebooks, many types of media coverage and social-media postings.
Ripert said La Liste packs a punch with visitors from Asia, especially Japan, South Korea and China — a clientele that provides 30% of Le Bernardin’s dinner business.
The survey has also gained traction in Western Europe “and, of course, in France,” Ripert said.
Le Bernardin, which Ripert owns with longtime partner Maguy LeCoze, has enjoyed singular staying power among high-end restaurants since it opened in New York in 1986. It repeatedly earned four stars from the New York Times. After narrowly avoiding doom during the pandemic, its 110-seat dining room seats remain as much in demand as nearly four decades ago.
La Liste was kind to other Manhattan places, as well, with overall scores just fractionally below Le Bernardin’s for Jungsik, Restaurant Daniel, Jean-Georges and Atomix.
“These kinds of honors are crucial to business, especially among travelers from overseas and especially during the holidays,” said one name-shy industry insider. “Owners don’t like to talk about it, but for the really elite places, November through New Year’s is make-or-break time just like it is for retailers.”
