Le Jardinier, One of Houston’s Hardest-to-Get Reservations, to Add Lunch Service in September

Le Jardinier, One of Houston’s Hardest-to-Get Reservations, to Add Lunch Service in September

Texas Gulf shrimp and grits is on the new lunch menu.

ONE OF THE most popular restaurants to launch in Houston in years made a big announcement today: It's expanding from dinner-only and will soon start offering lunch.


Le Jardinier, an in-house fine-dining affair at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, has been a hot ticket since it opened a few months ago. And beginning Sept. 3, it will expand to lunch service, making dining at the hot-ticket restaurant a bit more accessible to more people.

"Since opening in May, Le Jardinier quickly gained popularity, as evident by its highly coveted reservations," says a rep for the eatery. "Through the new lunch service, Le Jardinier is excited to expand not only the number of reservations they can offer, but also the way their guests experience the restaurant."

Le Jardinier

New creations by Michelin Star chef Alain Verzeroli and Chef de Cuisine Andrew Ayala include the Carolina Gold Rice Risotto, with roasted squash, mimolette and crispy kale, and the Avocado Tartine with purple hull peas, cherry tomatoes and feta. "Refreshing spins" on items from the dinner menu — including the Buratta, now with pomegranate seeds, arugula pistou and persimmon, and the Texas Gulf Shrimp with grits, savoy cabbage and bisque — will also be on offer.

Le Jardinier, French for "the gardener," is, per previous CityBook reporting, a masterpiece of crisp architecture, with floor-to-ceiling windows peering out into the Isamu Noguchi-designed Cullen Sculpture Garden and the verdant museum grounds. From the large forest-scene tapestry by Houston favorite Trenton Doyle Hancock, to the ceiling's mod lanterns, also by Noguchi — and even to the unique crystalline lamps on the tables, and the dainty little drinking glasses — no detail in this space, wrapped in tones of natural wood and sage green and backed by a mirrored bar space, has been overlooked.

Food

Kat Pressly and Reagan Bregman

FORMER ASTROS PITCHER and current coach Joe Smith, along with his sportscaster wife Allie LaForce, hosted a gala at Minute Maid Park's Union Station in an effort to raise funds and awareness of Huntington’s Disease, which took the life of Smith’s mother in 2020.

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places

MORTGAGE RATES ARE high. So is the cost of living. Life milestones are coming later. The reasons that millennials are, according to society, "behind" previous generations when it comes to home ownership are finally crystal clear (and they have nothing to do with avocado toast, thankyouverymuch). But what do the statistics say about home-buying in Houston?

Keep Reading Show less
Home + Real Estate