#LifeInHouston - Le Jardinier

Not too long ago we went to Le Jardinier in the Museum of Fine Arts Kinder building for a date night. With locations in New York, Miami, and now Houston, Le Jardinier is led by Michelin-starred chef Alain Verzeroli. True to its French name meaning “the gardener”, Le Jardinier’s cuisine focuses on seasonal ingredients from local purveyors, along with sustainably- and locally-sourced protein options.

Le Jardinier offers a tasting menu (which they’ve dubbed their “Seasonal Expression”), but a la carte options are available as well. We decided to order/share one tasting menu, and then order a few items a la carte. High key, we think this is the best way to experience the restaurant, especially if you know what you like. Though everything on the tasting menu was *good*, there were a few items that felt less than exciting. In our opinion, if you’re paying fine-dining prices, we think it’s fair to say that you hope every dish feels “transcendent”…like an experience you’ve never had before. Although not every tasting-menu item hit like that for us, the items we ordered a la carte made up for it, and we would have missed out had we both ordered the tasting menu.

 

Also, if you do the Seasonal Expression and enjoy wine, then the wine pairing is a definite must. The sommelier Andres (IG: @andres_mexsomm) did a great job of not only selecting the parings, but we really enjoyed the background info he gave us on each wine (without making it too bourgie or pretentious). It really added to the experience for us.

The restaurant itself is A VIBE. It’s such a beautiful space and it’s probably worth a visit just to be in that room.

We had a wonderful time and can’t wait to go back!