Which 4 star NYC restaurant to choose?
 

My wife and I will be in New York for a weekend in November and we want to have a very special anniversary dinner. Food, service, decor, all important. Price - well, we know it will be expensive, we're willling to pay for that ultimate dining experience. <BR> <BR>At the moment our we are considering: <BR> <BR>Le Bernardin, One If By Land, Lespinasse, Oceana. Any advice?

I just had a business dinner at a restaurant called Maxim's at Madison and 62nd street. Excellent food, very elegant decor, great service, terrific wine selection. It was pricy - most entrees were around $25 and appetizers ran about $10-15, but well worth it. overall a wonderful dining experience.

Le Bernadin is the best restaurant I have ever eaten at. Excellent food, excellent decor, excellent service. Zagat gives it a 28 for food, 27 for decor, and 27 for service, which is a pretty good testimonial. Price is extremely expensive! Enjoy.

Cal, the New York Times has anointed six restaurants -- Bouley Bakery (120 W. Broadway at Duane St.), 212-964-2525; Chanterelle (2 Harrison St. at Hudson St.) 212-966-6960; Jean Georges, (1 Central Park West between 60th and 61st Sts.), 212-299-3900; Le Bernardin (155 W. 51st St.) 212-489-1515; Le Cirque 2000 (455 Madison Ave. between 50th and 51st Sts.) 212-303-7788; and Lespinasse (2 E. 55th St.) 212-339-6719 – as four-star properties. I have dined at two of them, Chanterelle and Le Bernardin, and found them wonderful restaurants with top-notch food and service. Dinner for two, exclusive of wine but inclusive of gratuities, will be about $250. Luncheon prices are more reasonable but still quite extraordinary. Their wine lists are superb, but carry a markup that will add at least $100 to the bill for an aperitif and good bottle of wine. (Mea culpa: in both cases, I was a guest and the restaurant was not of my choosing.) <BR> <BR>Could I offer an alternate suggestion? The River Café, 1 Water St. (underneath the Brooklyn Bridge), Brooklyn, (718) 522-5200 is a two-star restaurant, probably – no, make that definitely – New York’s most romantic dining experience, and for the price of Chantarelle without the wine, you can have a fabulous dinner, Champagne, a great bottle of wine, dessert, and a sunset view of New York you’ll treasure for years to come. <BR> <BR>Incidentally, the Times gives One If By Land one star, Oceana three stars. You can get extensive, current reviews of each of these restaurants at the Times’ web site, nytimes.com. Drill down under Arts/Living and Restaurants. <BR>

In spite of Neal's report on what rating the NY Times gave it, I still say that One If By Land is still the most romantic restaurant in NYC. (And, the food is good, too! And, so is the service and ambiance!) <BR>However, I must add that your other choices are top level, too!