Les Jardiniers

1 La Gare, 37500 Ligré, France
Tel: +33 (0) 2 47 93 99 93
Internet: restaurantlesjardiniers.fr
GPS: 47.137600, 0.278326

Late in 2023 I spent some time in the Loire Valley during and following the harvest, and although it was wonderful to see the picking and sorting with my own eyes, and to taste the fresh juices and embryonic wines from the vats, a highlight of the trip was dinner at Les Jardiniers in Ligré, which faces the main town of Chinon and its royal fortress from the opposite bank of the Vienne. Returning to the region a few weeks ago – more picking, more juices, more wine – I decided I might as well have more Les Jardiniers as well. At least, I thought to myself, I will be able to see if it really is as good as I remember.

Spoiler: it is.

First up, there has been no major change here. When I dined here last year Martin Bolaers was quite recently installed in the kitchen, although he had clearly hit the ground running. He remains at the pass today, one year on, and front of house is still Alexandre. As for the atmosphere, this remains as warm, welcoming and relaxed as is humanly possible.

Two amuses bouches opened lunch in just the right way. A couple of crackers with a summer truffle butter were light and crisp, the tiny dot of butter – which was all that was needed – rich in truffly flavour. Surpassing this, the last of the summer tomatoes (reminding us that much of the produce on the plate here, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, flowers and herbs, comes from the restaurant’s own kitchen garden) were served bruschetta style, on a crouton, over a walnut oil vinaigrette. If it does not sound delicious, then I haven’t done it justice, because it was.

I like the approach to the starter taken by Bolaers; as with my last visit the single starter on offer is L’Instant T, a snapshot of the produce currently coming in from the garden. I suppose you could say this is the ultimate take on that old-school starter crudités, but it is so much more than that, the different methods of preparation employed resulting in a rich variety of colours, flavours, textures and temperatures on the plate.

One part of what lifts this dish above the norm is the apple and tomato vinegar-ice, the other is the warm emulsion and fragrant oils in which it rests. Every mouthful was different, fresh and packed with just-picked flavour; I could have eaten this all day.

While I was tempted by all three main course options, I settled on the silure de Loire ikejime de la tête à la queue. Having been impressed by the quality of the silure (catfish) cooked by Romain Gadais at La Cabane à Matelot, I could not resist seeing how Martin Bolaers prepared the fish. As it turned out it came to the table as two dishes, the first some tiny slivers of meat served raw with radish over a sauce of reduced tomatoes (above), and secondly as a handsome fillet, very gently cooked, over a roasted capsicum and tomato sauce and dressed with aubergine and green tomato (below). Both were delicious, the first delicate and finessed, with a very precise execution which felt a little more Asian in style, while the second dish added a more Mediterranean warmth to the fish, the tomato sauce absolutely popping with flavour.

I restricted myself to just three courses (such moderation!) and thus I ended with the cheese course, Talon du Pré Joly fumé ici, a local cheese – the Pré Joly farm is located close to Richelieu – smoked in-house, over a homemade hummus. It worked, and it filled the final corner.

The wine list here feels stronger than it did last year, and I was able to choose from a veritable grotto of local wines, including multiple vintages of very desirable cuvées from Philippe Alliet and Bernard Baudry, along with a whole host of other less well-known names. There may have even been some wines from beyond Chinon, but why look at them? I plumped for the white 2022 Chinon Le Coteau de Sonnay from Domaine Fabrice Gasnier, which was carrying a little oak in its structure, but thankfully it retained fruit and a good sense of freshness for this warm vintage, so it worked well in the end.

This is undoubtedly one of the best meals I have had in recent years, and I have resolved to return here in spring to take a snapshot of the garden during a different season. I have a feeling I won’t regret it.

Prices: For two courses, €34, for three €49, for four (cheese and dessert) €59 and for five (taking two of the main course options) €79. Being accustomed to UK mark-ups the wines are all offered at what I view as bargain prices, with the Chinon from Fabrice Gasnier coming in at €42. With two coffees at €3.50 each our bill for two diners, three courses each, hit the heady heights of €147. (1/11/24)

I blame Jérôme Billard.

In case the name is not familiar, Jérôme is the man behind Domaine de la Noblaie, a leading domaine in Chinon, situated on the left bank of the Vienne. Jérôme and I had just finished a very special tasting, in which we took a look at every vintage made of his top cuvée, Pierre de Tuf (full report coming soon). After that we headed out for lunch, and on the way back we stopped off to check out his latest project, a newly planted parcel of Cabernet Franc.

Even though the slope was gentle, and the elevation modest, standing among the vines afforded us a fine view across the valley of the Vienne. Just along the slope I could make out a newly planted truffle orchard, the oaks planted in lines radiating out from one corner, rather than in rows. Beyond that was the old Ligré railway station, restored to pristine condition; it sees no trains now though, the railway line serving instead as a cycle path which runs all the way down to Richelieu. And beyond that was another building, also recently restored to pristine condition.

“That’s Les Jardiniers,” Jérôme informed me. “A new restaurant. It’s good; you should try it.”

The seed had been sown.

I made a reservation for Sunday lunchtime. Or at least I thought I had; arriving at the restaurant the online reservation had not come through. “No worries”, said Alexandre who works front of house, as there were a few spare tables. In fact, arriving on the stroke of midday, the entire dining room – as immaculately presented as the building’s exterior – was deserted. Not for long though; the locals have quickly cottoned on to what Les Jardiniers offers, and soon other diners arrived, filling the room with the gentle buzz of conviviality, cordiality and consumption (modest, of course).

Les Jardiniers is styled as a Restaurant Potager, and this comes through strong in the menu, which is heavy on the produce of the herb beds and gardens outside, with excellent traceability of any bought-in produce which comes from a variety of local farms. I started with two amuses bouches, the first truffes conservées a crakers, a cream of preserved truffles between two crispy crackers, the second une vinaigrette de légumes à saucer, a micro-dish of diced tomatoes atop a crouton in a consommé-like vinaigrette. The truffles were truffly, as expected. Very good. But I found myself marvelling at the tomatoes, which tasted of… tomatoes. I have become used to the tasteless faux-tomatoes found in UK retail, and this dish laid that failing bare.

The power of the potager was equally evident in the starter, L’Instant T, a “snapshot” of whatever the garden is giving at the time. Which, looking at the dish (above), appeared to be quite a lot; chef Martin Bolaers, who came to Les Jardiniers from the hotel-restaurant at the Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud, fashioned his rather varied harvest – some grilled and some served in raw slivers – into a cohesive whole, all brought together by a strawberry and mint ice cream and a fermented milk broth. Now eyebrows will (quite rightly, perhaps) rise at the mention of strawberry ice cream, but while this dense, home-made, icy quenelle was all strawberry at the start, mint quickly took over as the dominant flavour on the palate, adding an intriguing sweet then savoury twist to the plate. Indeed, the entire dish was a delight.

I opted for a four course menu which meant I skipped the fish course (but at this point I was already wishing I hadn’t, so impressed was I by the opening ‘snapshot’) which meant next up was Le cochon de Longué de Bruno Lecocq, in other words a pork pie. No, not that kind of pork pie. This was a Martin Bolaers special, using pork from the pigs of Bruno Lecocq, on the outskirts of Le Mans. Bruno raises cattle, pigs and poultry, and specialises in old breeds, especially those associated with the Loire Valley. His pigs are the Longué breed, a lineage associated with Saumur which was all-but-lost during the 20th century, but which has recently been revived. Here sweet chunks of tender pork came in a neatly incised slice of pie, the pastry crust replaced by a wrapping of greens (from the potager, naturally), all served with a quince jus; this was another success, the presentation innovative, the flavours harmonious.

The pork pie could have been a highlight of the lunch, although the following dishes were not simply going to step aside. Witness the cheese course, no simple selection of cheeses on a slate, instead a Préparation Fromagère, a multi-layered assemblage of melted and grated cheeses from Le Pré Joly (an organic farm on the road between Richelieu and Châtellerault) and thin slivers of mushrooms sourced from Marie-Lise et Bruno Guitton, of the Champignonnière de Bernazay near Loudun. I was slightly taken aback by the raw state which the mushrooms were served, but I was even more surprised by just how delicious they were, a perfect foil for the more pungent cheeses. A top dish.

Also vying for podium position was my final course, Florence et ses cueillette, a combination of dried pear and apple slices, deliciously chewy and sticky, with quince, ice cream and rosemary biscuit, like the preceding dishes built largely from the produce of the herb beds and gardens outside, and all fashioned in-house. This was superb; at last I know what to do with all the rosemary I have growing in my garden (I think I have enough for an entire crate of biscuits).

As for the wine, the list is succinct and naturally focused on local wines, particularly Chinon. I opted for a half bottle (that’s me trying to embrace this concept of moderation) of a 2020 from Bernard Baudry, but it was out of stock.

“Will you take this as-yet unlisted wine instead?” I was offered a half bottle of the 2021 Chinon Clos de Saut au Loup from Eric Santier, of Domaine Saut au Loup. I visited Eric only last year. Of course I accepted, and it worked pretty well with all the dishes, even the cheese, helped perhaps by the lighter, fresher style of the 2021 vintage.

Restaurant experiences can be hit and miss, but this lunch at Les Jardiniers was hit, hit, hit and hit. I don’t think Martin Bolaers (in the kitchen) or Alexandre (front of house) put a foot wrong, and I really can’t think of anything critical to say of the dishes. So I will stop trying, and simply conclude that this is a great restaurant to which I will undoubtedly return.

Prices: Les Jardiniers offers a set menu between two and five courses. For two courses (not available at the weekend or on public holidays) expect to pay €30, for three courses €45, four courses €55 and for five courses €70. A children’s menu of two courses is available for €25. The wine list is full of reasonably priced and locally sourced wines, and includes white, rosé and red options by the glass (largely sourced from Domaine de la Noblaie at the time of my visit – so Jérôme had good reason to make his recommendation!). Our lunch for two cost €140, which included a three-course and four-course menu, the half bottle of wine, water and coffee. (10/11/23)