It’s no big secret that Geneva (Switzerland) does not have the best food. Of course there are gems among the fray, but I hope no one is insulted if I declare that, at least upon first glance, the cuisine is rather ordinary. Not a big deal, except the prices are so extraordinarily high, at least for a non-Swiss like me. For better or worse, this combination of blah menu choices with extraordinary price tags means I don’t indulge in my love of eating out as much as I would practically anywhere else. Which means that after two years in this tiny quaint town Mr. A and I are still discovering places to eat.

Le Jardin sits in the rather high-brow Le Richemond hotel, close to the shores of Lac Leman (aka Lake Geneva). There was a doorman, nice decor and lovely bathrooms with hand towels, which in my book makes it a nice establishment. The restaurant itself is quite austere, with cosy booths and wooden furniture. The website declares that “Le Jardin shows its pride to be Swiss and Chef Philippe Bourrel magnifies seasonal local ingredients.” This is definitely a food philosophy I can support! Plus I was expecting pretty good things since it was awarded 16/20 in the Gault & Millau Guide 2017.

The menu is simple, not a lot of choice – perhaps 4-5 items each for entree, seafood, meat and dessert – but tempting. There was definitely two or more dishes in each category I wanted to taste. Not many options for wine by the glass, but a reasonably extensive wine list including lots of local varieties. But we were won over pretty quickly because within minutes of being seated, three types of vegetable chips were placed in front of us to nibble on. Yum!

For entree, Mr. A and I settled on crab remoulade and cauliflower panna cotta (his first choice), and the sea bass ceviche with local truffles (my first choice). Both were thoroughly enjoyable, very clean flavours, fresh produce but nothing knock-out. The slices of black truffle in the ceviche were not aromatic and lacked taste, which was a little disappointing. Surprisingly, I enjoyed Mr. A’s choice more than my own, and vice versa! So two solid dishes, but mind not blown.

I went with the roasted scallops, Jerusalem artichoke and black truffle for main, and Mr. A choose the roasted venison’s saddle, pepper sauce, autumnal fruits and vegetables. Let’s just say we were both very happy after the first bite. In fact, we were so keen to taste that by the time we remembered to take snaps, both dishes were half-destroyed…sorry! The scallops, five in all, were tender and cooked to perfection, swimming in a rich Jerusalem artichoke foam accompanied by black truffle slices and sweet endive. The venison was beautifully pink and melt in the mouth, with peaches, chestnuts, vegetables and leaves. I’m always impressed when the meat is so well rested that there is no bloody runoff at all, and the meat is still at a nice  temperature and not at all cold.

Ordering the signature dessert, currently “le mandarine”, was an uncontested proposal. It looked quite lovely and very tempting: a white chocolate shell encasing mousse, sponge, kumquat, segmented mandarin and I think multiple other elements. The mandarin flavour definitely came through, although the dish overall was quite subtle. This is precisely why I liked it though, it was not sickeningly sweet and showed restraint I thought, although Mr. A was not as impressed. We also got the coffee bean, a chocolate and caramel dessert, which in contrast was very rich but also well presented.

Service was friendly and attentive, the dishes came out at well-timed intervals, although admittedly the dining room was rather empty. I’m sure there were at least five waiters and a maximum of six tables occupied while we were there. By Geneva standards the cost was really rather reasonable (CHF44-62 for mains; it also has a very affordable lunch menu). We are already looking forward to returning when the menu changes.