Le Pavillon – Restaurant Review

After my fantastic dinner at Restaurant Daniel earlier this year, I decided to visit Chef Daniel Boulud’s newest restaurant, Le Pavillon. I dined at Le Pavillon in August with my friend just a few weeks after the restaurant’s official opening, and we tried their $125 prix-fixe dinner which includes a starter, entree, and dessert.

The prix-fixe menu has thirty different options for you to choose from – twelve selections for your starter, twelve for your entree, and six for your dessert. The starter and entree contain six options from land and six options from the sea.

On the second floor of the restaurant, you’re greeted with a tremendous amount of stunning greenery. Le Pavillon does a terrific job at providing a luxurious dining experience in the heart of Manhattan while surrounding you with gorgeous bits of nature.

We were seated at a table in the middle of the room next to a pillar. I appreciate the separation that the pillar provided us from the left side of the dining area because that portion of the room was noisier due to there being more seating. Where we were seated, the noise level was a comfortable one. It was quiet enough so that you could carry a conversation across your table at a normal volume, but loud enough so that you didn’t have to worry about other diners overhearing what you’re talking about.

The sheer, floor-to-ceiling curtains provided a view of New York’s famous architecture while the greenery sat about 30 feet behind me. The gold, mushroom-shaped lamp on the table was a nice detail that certainly added to Le Pavillon’s ongoing nature theme.

For my starter course, I chose Chef Daniel’s signature HUITRE | “VANDERBILT” named after the location of the restaurant, One Vanderbilt. The course is described as john’s river oyster gratinées, hazelnut, and parsley-seaweed crust. Not only were these the largest oysters I’d ever eaten at a fine dining establishment, but they were also the best. They were mouth-wateringly delicious and a terrific way to start off my meal at Le Pavillon.

For my main course, I chose HOMARD | CRESSON, which is roasted maine lobster, lovage, and purple potatoes. All I have to say is…WOW. I’ve had my fair share of lobster – I ate lobster for almost every dinner on my honeymoon in the Caribbean – and this is, by far, the best one I’ve had. The lobster was chewy, buttery, savory, and all-around fantastic. It was truly prepared perfectly.

Finally, I had NOISETTE | CHOCOLAT for my dessert which is described as milk chocolate crémeux, praline croustillant, and hazelnut nougatine. My friend and I were celebrating starting our new jobs, so they kindly wrote ‘Congratulations!’ on each of our dessert plates. If you’re a chocolate fan, you’ll love this dessert. The combination of hazelnut, milk chocolate, and praline taste so scrumptious, rich, and sweet!

All in all, I have to give Le Pavillon a 10/10. I have only positive things to say about my experience dining here. Given the quality of the food and the expertise of the chef, the $125 price tag for this meal was actually fair. Eleven Madison Park, for example, offers a five-course menu for $335. The serving sizes were good, the ambiance was light-heartedly classy, and the food was absolutely exquisite. The entire meal was delightful, and I would absolutely visit Le Pavillon again in the future.