Auberge du Jeu de Paume is situated beside the Château Chantilly, home to one of the finest art galleries in France. It is also where you will find Le Jardin d’Hiver, a traditional French restaurant serving classic dishes made with fresh local ingredients.
Le Jardin d’Hiver is keen to show, this place is all about luxury. The decadent armchairs filling the rooms on one side of the restaurant call to diners before they’ve even sat down to eat, because it’s obvious how pleasurable they’re going to be later with a full belly and a cocktail in hand.
“At Le Jardin d’Hiver, the food is designed to stimulate all pleasure sensors.”
To start, I chose a quintessentially French dish - foie gras, with roasted melon. The pâté was intensely moreish, and the melon provided a necessary lightness. My partner picked the more unusual choice of crab in menthol jelly, with zucchini and roasted almond. We enjoyed these dishes with an aromatic Chablis Croix Aux Moines Pommier, and a chalky Pouilly-Fumé J Pabiot.
For my main course, I chose beef fillet with caramalised vegetables. This was a sweet dish, but it worked, because the richness of the beef balanced out the honey of the vegetables. My partner picked monkfish with creamed potatoes, and a pepper and lemon foam. We enjoyed these dishes with a robust Meursault Les Narvaux V Girardin and a Cotes Du Rhone Garignache Domaine Du Coulet.
And to finish, I feasted on a pear tart, with almond cream. I adored this dish, but found the cream a little heavy. My partner found no fault with her caramel, vanilla, and pecan nut pie, which was crunchy on the outside and gooey at the core. We polished off desert with a Billecart Salmon Rose, a light blend of strawberries and raspberries.
At Le Jardin d’Hiver, the food is designed to stimulate all pleasure sensors, in that most quintessential of French ways. In this country, and in this restaurant, they really do know how to appreciate the finer things in life.
The Bill: £68 per head
