Review of Le Jardinier New York;
The Michelin-star restaurant is situated in the heart of midtown Manhattan. Le Jardinier is French for ‘The Garden’, with a plant themed décor, complimenting it’s name. Within the restaurant there is a contemporary classic feel with plants used to divide the booth seating areas and delicate mood lighting to set the tone. The culinary experience was enhanced by the décor as it creates a relaxing atmosphere, with calmative music and fresh floral aromas.
The fine dining French cuisine had a modern classic feel with the chefs demonstrating a creative presentation for an exceptional culinary experience, from locally sourced produce.
To kick our evening off, we started with cocktails, one of which was a newly launched lady violet; which was lavishly infused with saffron and pomegranate and a side of finely cut jelly.
The five course Prestige Wine Pairing began with a selection of made-in-house warm bread. This consisted of gluten free, buckwheat, parmesan, and rosemary stick (which had a lovely crunch), a sealed baguette and a soft cheese brioche (which was a personal favourite of mine) both of which had a soft bouncy interior.
The first course was exquisitely presented hiramasa, with grapefruit pieces, smooth avocado mouse, royal Kaluga caviar and beautifully garnished with scalloped shaped radishes. The second course was a classic white asparagus with orange and passion fruit coulis, kumquats for added zest and barley which provided a secondary crunch. This dish was seamlessly partnered with a fruity, smooth white wine from Germany. Our third course was a perfectly cooked tender poached lobster in a creamy polenta sauce with fresh savoy cabbage. Extraordinarily, this was paired with an Italian red earthy wine from Sicily which complemented perfectly as it cut through the creaminess of the dish. The following course was medium rare long island crescent duck topped with roasted pistachios and peppercorns. It was accompanied with Yorkshire spiced rhubarb and crunchy onion soubise supplemented by a red wine which was expertly paired with this dish, piercing through the duck.
Our fifth and final course was a handcrafted chocolate genoise with Grand Marnier orange cream and kumquat compote which was elegantly presented like an orange with an airy and crunchy cheesecake like texture. The dessert was mouth-watering with the white chocolate exterior and delicate orange zest running throughout the dish. This was accompanied by a sweet dessert wine, which refreshed the pallet and perfectly finished the five-course meal.
The service at Le Jardinier was impeccable with attentive experienced employees who provided detail descriptions of the courses along with a knowledgeable sommelier who explained how each wine pairing was picked specifically to each course.
I would highly recommend this restaurant as the décor, food and service was outstanding and provided a luxury experience. It is certainly deserving of the Michelin stars it has received and it is a New York dining experience you should not miss!