Le Perigord
“The entrees were Beef Wellington and Dover Sole, also perfectly cooked, seasoned and the plates a work of art.”
“George and his staff are quite resplendent in their tuxedos and the guests actually dress appropriately.”
“I personally had the Rognons de veau à la moutarde, and the sauce was amazing, and the kidneys were cooked just right.”
Le Perigord
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
8 reviews
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This review is from Restaurant Week in the fall – sorry for the delay.
I was excited to dine at Le Perigord because there seems to be a dearth of classic French restaurants in Manhattan, that is, excluding the ultra high-end ones (Le Bernardin, Jean-Georges, Daniel, Bouley, etc.). Even though there is no shortage of casual bistros and brasseries in the city, I was looking forward to the white table cloth experience. Le Perigord, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and whose owner still greets patrons at the entrance in his tuxedo each night, certainly seems to fit the bill. Unfortunately, while the food was above average, the service was incredibly lacking and the atmosphere stale. I didn't expect a young crowd, but I'm fairly confident that my parents (whose ages I won't reveal) were the youngest diners besides my sister and me.
Before I discuss the food, I feel obligated to harp on the staff quite a bit. Our waiter was curt and seemed uninterested in attending to us; he hardly came around and when he did it was only after making us wait for what seemed like ages. It was 5-10 minutes after we sat down before he came over, another 5-10 minutes for the menus, etc. etc., which continued throughout the meal right up until the conclusion when it took him an incomprehensible amount of time to collect our check. Furthermore, other aspects of the service were also slow. Examples include bread not being brought to our table for quite some time and dirty dishes not being cleared from the table for far too long. While unenthusiastic service is never acceptable, it's particularly frustrating to encounter at a classic French restaurant. After all, part of the reason you go to an institution like Le Perigord claims to be is because you want the full experience, and that includes the undivided attention of an impeccably dressed, adequately-trained team of servers. Poor service at this type of restaurant doesn't just taint one aspect of the evening, it stains the entire affair. This is especially true if you're paying the high tabs associated with such an establishment; when most of the entrees are $40-50 you expect a far better performance. Granted, we dined there during restaurant week so our food bill was capped at $38pp + supplements, but the restaurant wasn't even full and they still seemed understaffed.
Finally, on to the food. I started with the pate du chef and moved on to the rognons de veau a la moutarde (veal kidneys in a mustard sauce). Both dishes met expectations and were prepared well. All of the flavor components I was expecting, I received. They were both strong dishes and they made me feel like I was dining at a nice French restaurant, which is exactly what I had been hoping for at the beginning of the evening, even if they weren't my favorite dishes of all time. The pate was composed nicely, and the veal dish was executed well, with properly cooked kidneys complemented by a hearty and flavorful but not overpowering sauce. I noticed another Yelper found the mustard sauce to be quite salty, and, while mine had a bit too much salt as well, it was a pretty minor infraction and I still quite liked mine. Lastly, I ordered the Floating Island for dessert because I wanted to go with something traditional, and it was a very wise choice. While I admit I don't indulge in Floating Islands too frequently, this was by far the best I have had to date. The meringue was incredibly light and fluffy, I imagine this is what a cloud would taste like. I should note, though, that of the four diners, I seemed to have enjoyed my food the most, as my family found the food suitable but a little uninspiring.
In summary, while the food at Le Perigord is reminiscent of a classic French restaurant, the occasion itself is underwhelming. The employees for the most part are inattentive and uninterested, and the result is a very old clientele who presumably don't mind the excessive wait. Had the service been flawless, the steep prices would be justifiable and I've no doubt there would be a more diverse crowd. Alas, this was not the case, and so this review settles at a mediocre 3 stars. If you're craving solid French food, though, the Restaurant Week menu is still a pretty good deal all things considered.
If you'd like to try the food here, then restaurant week is a good method. Basically, you'll find that the food is very mediocre, unrefined, and way too cream/buttery. I ordered the vegetable tart, scallops and risotto, and floating island dessert. Starting with the vegetable tart, I found my slice of tart surrounded by a pond of buttery cream sauce that had a lack of flavor. The scallops and risotto left a strange aftertaste and the risotto, again, was way too creamy/buttery. Finally, for the dessert, the floating island is basically a light meringue atop yet another way too creamy and now way too sweet sauce.
The saving grace here was the service – respectful and fast.
Came here for Restaurant Week and the portion sizes are awesome and a great deal! I have to say that the food was not super amazing though and the flavors were a bit stodgy – not enough salt and texture like it had been overcooked/boiling for a while. It may have been the things that I ordered – the vegetable tart appetizer was a little soggy as opposed to flaky and crispy, the scallops with risotto were not flavorful. The fruit tart was delicious though and my friend's beef bourguignon was pretty good.
Service is excellent, as expected and the decor is great.
There are those evenings when food, wine, service and company combine to create an experience that makes you feel good to be alive. Our family experienced this at Le Perigord some weeks ago when we gathered to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday.
The restaurant is a family favorite. Old-guard, classic French restaurants are few and far between. We were greeted enthusiastically by the owner upon our arrival. He even made our fifteen-year-old son feel right at home.
After a couple of glasses of Champagne, we were ready to peruse the menu. Escargot, gravlax, foie gras – all the classics are here and presented beautifully. No need for a wine list. My dad's favorite white wine, La Ducette was available. Made him very happy. The rest of us, also.
For entrees: filet mignon, rack of lamb, lobster in coriander broth and grilled dover sole in mustard sauce. The meats were grilled to order. The sole was prepared expertly table side. Everything was delicious.
For dessert, three of us ordered the chocolate soufflé, another had the grand marnier soufflé and one had chocolate mousse. While the soufflés were being prepared, we were offered selections from the pastry cart. Very much appreciated.
Coffee, espresso and cookies capped off the meal.
Long ago and far away, I had my first truly significant and momentous French meal at Lutece. That restaurant, which offered classic French cuisine, operated in NYC for forty years or so before closing in 2005. I commented during the meal how much I was reminded of that evening at Lutece so long ago. I later learned that the head chef at Le Perigord had worked at Lutece. I knew something felt familiar.
This was my dad's evening. The opportunities to enjoy these classic dishes diminish with each passing year. We hope to enjoy many more meals here and were pleased to introduce a new generation to the type of cooking and service that makes our family so happy.
Truly fantastic food. I came in for a private party in the back room and it was a wonderful experience. The atmosphere is lovely and the staff were very attentive.
All the dishes that I had were excellent. The parmesan crisps that came out with the passed hors d'oeuvres were my favorite and the bartender was friendly and helpful. For my meal, I chose the vegetable tart, vegetarian entree, and raspberry mousse cake. The tarte was fantastic, I would absolutely recommend it. My entree was a selection of vegetables and grains that was well seasoned and I appreciated the accommodation since I could not eat the other two entree choices. The raspberry mousse cake was a real standout, I could have eaten several more slices and it came with a scoop of some sort of gelato/ice cream that was perfect.
I would absolutely go back, they seemed to do a great job with the party and I really enjoyed my experience.
Came here for dinner with friends for restaurant week. The food was good – I had the veg tart, the chicken with mushroom and vegetables substituted for potatoes, and for dessert tried the raspberry chocolate mousse cake and the merengue (island on the menu). I loved the mousse cake, but the merengue tasted a bit too eggy for my taste.
I left dinner completely stuffed although everything was quite light.
The servers were quite attentive, always refilling my water glass and asking how things were (a lost courtesy in many of the fancy restaurants nowadays). They were also flexible with our dietary needs/requests, and the atmosphere was great.
Note – this is a old school dress up to eat out kind of place, so I would recommend putting a little effort into your attire before showing up if you don't want to feel underdressed.
Consistent and wonderful classic French cuisine. If you don't like something, they replace it, Le Perigord wants you to be happy. I love the service, ambiance, deserts are outstanding, try the "floating island", soufflé always excellent and well prepared, tonight there were 6 choices of soufflé, cappuccino tried was very good.
I came to participate during Restaurant Week and had a pleasant but underwhelming experience. I'm beginning to notice that this is the pattern during RW across the city – food is too quickly prepped, dishes are sitting too long, and service is rushed.
Service here was warm, friendly, and incredibly attentive – the waitstaff are still rocking the tuxes and clearly have been serving for decades. Yes they are old too, but they know what they're doing!
Food was RW standard – tasty and pretty good but nothing that blew me away. I began with the country pate which really conjured up the classic French countryside vibe. Following that I enjoyed the loin of lamb, which is the true test. The portion was small, meat cooked well but just a little underwarm, and the vegetables were a little too soggy. Again, that's RW for ya! The floating island was tasty and magnificent, it's hard to not enjoy cream and sugar!
Fun for the experience and nostalgia, but once is plenty.