Kids Eat Free at Thomas Keller’s Per Se for One Intense Day This Fall

Per Se, an ultra-expensive restaurant that has taken a few blows from the critics in recent years, is offering a special kids eat free deal on September 18. On this rare occasion, guests under 16-years-old who have never been to Per Se before will be served seven-course meals free of charge, so long as they are accompanied by parents or guardians who pay the $215 grown-ups price for that lunch. Considering that a meal usually costs $325, that’s something of a deal for adults too. This is a move that the Four Seasons employed for many years, but that restaurant had a cotton candy machine, and this one has an impeccably clean kitchen with a closed circuit television hooked up to another impeccably clean kitchen in the Napa Valley.

Will the kids of NYC appreciate Thomas Keller’s precisely prepared French-Californian cuisine? Will they leave the Time Warner Center transfixed by the notion of finesse? Will they brag to their friends on the schoolyard about the delicate brininess of Keller’s tour de force, oysters and pearls? Only time will tell. But it should perhaps be noted that this actually isn't the first time that the restaurant has opened its doors to the tiny little gourmands of NYC — Per Se was one of the fine dining restaurants that participated in Claus Meyer's Kid's Table program over the spring.

Interested parties can call to make a reservation for the kids’ luncheon at: 212-823-9352.

Off the Menu [NYT]