Cormac Kinney

2 weeks ago

"This has become our favorite French restaurant in New York City. Modern and elegant without being pretentious. The cuisine is creative and delicious, competing head to head with Michelin star restaurants in Paris. The staff is extremely friendly and competent — the team is simply generous. They ran out of the house wine and offered a much better selection for the same price. My wife mentioned how she loved seared fois gras, and a surprise course appeared as a gift from the chef. Something he had been developing for an upcoming menu. Don’t expect that treatment on your first visit, we’ve been coming here every couple weeks lately!"

Denby Liu

a month ago

"We'd walked past this restaurant so many times over the years and finally remembered to try it for a birthday celebration. I'm glad we did as we had a close to perfect experience. The items we selected from the menu: STARTERS BURRATA, Honeycrisp apple, black mission fig, pecan gremolata - I found this a little boring in comparison to other items on the menu, but mainly because I was comparing to the pork belly. POITRINE DE PORC GLACÉE, Pork belly, kohlrabi, calamansi vinaigrette, green grapes, hazelnuts - This was lovely, though I kind of wish it had some crackling on top, but it still had a very crunchy outer texture which I like. MID-COURSE RICOTTA AGNOLOTTI, koginut squash, beurre noisette, whey foam, pain d'epice - This was really yummy! POULPE GRILLÉ, Spanish octopus, pumpkin seed romesco, lentils, purple cabbage - Always like octopus and this was cooked to near perfection. ENTRÉES FLÉTAN DE L’ATLANTIQUE, Halibut, marinated courgettes, Thai basil, lemongrass emulsion - The fish was cooked perfectly. MAGRET DE CANARD AUX ÉPICES, Hudson Valley duck, plums, arugula & yuzu coulis, marcona almond - Always like duck and it was good, but my preference is for super crispy skin, not a fan of soft duck skin. DESSERTS SABAYON CARAMEL, White chocolate ice cream, cocoa nibs, Valrhona guanaja chocolate - the presentation of this was absolutely exquisite and very nice to eat! AUTUMN MILLE-FEUILLE, Puff pastry, pumpkin cheesecake mousse, maple ice cream - An interesting take on a mille-feuille, rather than multiple laminated wafers this was constructed with just one wafer as the base. But still very yummy. BIRTHDAY cake - The restaurant kindly provided this as a freebie, I think it was a coconut mousse. In some respects I think this was actually my favourite of the 3 desserts. Something to note was that they had a selection of 3 different breads. The spinach bread puff and mini French baguette were lovely. The breads sticks were a little too hard, but still nice too munch on! At least the restaurant is providing a selection of breads, which is more than can be said for most restaurants these days, even the high-end ones. We still miss Bouley and the huge selection of wonderful breads that were served at his restaurants. There's a small selection of mocktails, the FALL FIZZ didn't have that much flavour but the second mocktail I had, the Nagranni, was better. The dining space design is very elegant, mostly hard stone surfaces with foliage scattered strategically around. By the time we left the restaurant it was about half full and the noise level had increased, but still easy enough to talk quietly to one another, though I expect it could get quite loud if it was full. I'd also recommend you get one of the banquette tables, which are around the edge of the dining room. It's cosy and provides a little privacy as well. Because the restaurant was half full almost everyone was seated at one of them unless they were more than 4 people or dining alone. The service was also excellent, warm and efficient from all the staff we encountered. Which is quite an accomplishment as it can be quite variable for most restaurants. Definitely recommend this restaurant if you're looking for an elevated dining experience."

T P

2 months ago

"Everything here was amazing. We had a reservation and it was so peaceful. We had the 4 course tasting menu. The chef was very generous and sweet and we especially loved the random dessert options they brought to our table. The staff were all very fun and sweet and had a great sense of humor The cute autumn inspired food items was the cherry on top. I look forward to going again and exploring more of this amazing restaurant, and trying more yummy desserts before fall is over!"

Jessica Kennedy

3 months ago

"This was such a special dinner - so beautiful in every way! I wish this service were available everywhere. They were so kind to us, letting us have drinks at the bar as long as we wished to wait, loaning me some scissors to cut a forgotten tag off my skirt, and taking photos for us. The cocktail was unusually well-balanced, the champagne selection was wonderful (and in a flute, as I wanted), and the salad and fishes were phenomenal. The chef visited with us and was such a lovely person. We agreed it's been a long time since we had a dinner like this and we can't wait to go back. It was so refreshing relative to so many other dining experiences - truly perfection."

ReedH

4 months ago

"I visited Le Jardinier during Restaurant Week and was lucky to be seated next to the kitchen, which added a nice bit of energy to the elegant space. Things started strong with warm, freshly baked bread that hit the spot. The first course—a salad of burrata, peaches, and haricots verts—was fresh but felt a little uninspired, with only a couple of thin peach slices and not much going on flavor-wise. The chicken main was better. Tender and juicy, with seasonal touches like squash and corn. I would’ve liked a bit more corn, but the flavors were well balanced. Dessert was the clear highlight. The peach tart, though was fantastic—vibrant peach purée and a flawless, buttery crust. They’ve got a 5-star pastry chef! Wine by the glass leaned on the pricey side, and my pour felt a bit skimpy, which was a slight letdown. Service overall was professional but occasionally inattentive and didn’t quite meet expectations. All in all, a mixed experience with some high points, but it fell short of what I’d hoped for from a Michelin-starred restaurant."