Not Per Se, per se

RESTAURANTS • Fine Dining Report

Back at Per Se after the restaurant closed nearly 10 weeks for renovations, there’s a fresh sparkle: new rugs, sofas, and chairs in The Salon, a brand new color scheme in the dining room (blue!), a overhauled private dining room, and new ovens and stoves in the kitchen. The restaurant turns 20 in February, and Thomas Keller is smartening things up before then. 

The refresh brought a buzz to dinner service last Friday, the restaurant’s first night back, including a charcoal-grilled Miyazaki A5 Wagyu with twice-baked potatoes and a DIY assortment of whipped house-made ranch, medallions of crispy bone marrow, chives and pickled pearl onions. Simple, playful, and delicious. 

Meanwhile, new chairs are expected in November. Brace. –Lee Pitofsky 

→ Per Se (Upper West Side), 10 Columbus Circle, Tock, (easy for early tables, and sporadic prime time, too), $200 deposit for $390 per meal inclusive of service.