Au Jardin, Botanic Gardens

Au Jardin, part of the Les Amis Group occupies an elegantly restored colonial residence inside Botanic Gardens. In French, Au Jardin means - in the Garden, hence a appropriate name for this restaurant. 

Ms C had invited us for an opulent afternoon of French food at Au Jardin.

Look out for the signage at the entrance of Botanic Gardens. The restaurant is only a 5 minute walk from the entrance (Cluny road entrance)

Reservations are highly recommended. We got the best seat in the house! A corner seat with great view of the forest. 

Elegant table setting with fine China. 

A choice of 2 set menus are offered for lunch and the set menu changes every month. 

The Amuse-bouche - Watermelon juice with grapefruit foam and prawn roll. Something refreshing to cleanse our palette before the start of the meal. Amuse-bouche are not something in the menu, but served complementary in accordance to the chef's selection. 


The starters we had: 

pan fried foie gras with seasonal mushroom, figs chutney and puff pastry, truffle vinaigrette

salmon graviax with radish salad and grapefruits, garnished with trout roe, whisky cream, honey mustard dressing

pan seared crispy goat cheese & heirloom tomatoes, Mediterranean anchovy & pesto sauce 

The foie gras was simply melt in your mouth! To put it bluntly, it was like having a piece of fat which is so soft it melts immediately in first bite, leaving only the taste of fragrant foie gras. No wonder Ms C ordered the $65 set menu - just for the foie gras! And a big piece of foie gras it was. Totally worth the price! 

Salmon graviax was pretty normal, but I liked their salad which was very refreshing with a nice touch of roe and grapefruits. 

Ms H had the pan seared goat cheese as smoked salmon wasn't something she fancied. however I ended up having quite a lot of the goat cheese as well, as goat cheese had quite a strong aroma, not suitable for the faint hearted. 


The mains:

I had the braised beef cheek with wilted spinach, carrot puree, potato, red wine sauce. The beef cheek is another melt in your mouth dish - braised until so tender that there is no more toughness to the beef. 

Sea bass, the catch of the day, together with peas and bacon, baby potato. 

The grilled black cod with vegetable ratatouille, olive puree & tomato concasse

Ms K had the roasted Angus striploin with butternut puree, baby potato and zucchini ring. It was also a big piece of meat, and indicated specially in the menu at they are 200 day grain fed beef. 


Our desserts: 

Being a coffee lover, I love my dessert which is coffee parfait, creme de cacao jelly, earl grey ganache and milk tea ice. The items listed are mostly prepared in liquid form, such as coffee, earl grey, milk tea, but the chef manages to create it all in solid form, some good cooking technique and creativity here. 

Ms H had the poached rhubarb with strawberry confit, aloe vera yoghurt parfait and cranberry jelly. Seems like she loves her dessert choice as well, as she finished every single item on her plate as well. 

Ms C's dessert of mixed berries with balsamic yoghurt, lemon sorbet. Hers is the only dessert which was served in a glass plate. It's like an piece of fruit art on a plate.

Ms K's dessert of dark chocolate variation with spicy chocolate ice cream. Too bad the ice cream melted quite quickly after it was served, otherwise it would have been another great dessert. 

And what best to end a meal with a cup of piping hot coffee. 

We almost forgot about the petits fours which came with the coffee. Well not exactly four but two each. The madeleine and chocolate coated almond. 


We were also presented with a voucher each at the end of the meal. Enjoy 4 set lunches for the price of 3. A good way to attract customers back, as the set menu changes every month. 


Although the set lunch prices are a bit on the high side at $45 and $65, but the quality of the food is definitely worth paying for it. Anyone wants to join me for a great lunch at Au Jardin again? I have a voucher! 


Au Jardin
EJH corner house, Singapore Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre, Cluny Road
Opening hours:
Lunch - Tuesdays to Fridays 12 - 2pm (last seating)
Dinner - Tuesdays to Sundays 7 - 10.15pm (last seating)
Sunday Brunch - Sundays only 11am - 1pm (1st seating)

Reservations recommended: 6466 8812