Somebody's Mom: Le Jardin Du Roi Breakfast Review

One recent sunny Sunday, Mela, my breakfast buddy, and I were heading out to breakfast at in Chappaqua. She kept telling me that she ate in Chappaqua with a friend a few years ago and really liked it, but couldn’t remember the name of the restaurant. So the day before our breakfast, she searched French restaurants in Chappaqua on the computer and found it. And oh, what a find it was.

This was also going to be a celebration of Mela’s birthday and I was treating her. So when she said “French restaurant,” I said to myself I had better bring extra money, just in case. 

Mela and I drove separately to breakfast, so I had the printed directions, my GPS and my husband’s verbal directions to navigate. Everything went well and it was a nice ride up the Saw Mill. I parked my car across the street from 95 King St. where Le Jardin du Roi says its address is.

All I see is a . I am looking, and looking, rereading the directions, finally giving up and calling Mela. 

Le Jardin du Roi is behind the Bagel Emporium with the same number 95 on it.  It’s a bit confusing at first, but just look for the umbrellas and tables to the side of the Bagel Emporium and you will find their entrance.

The coffee was great! It hit my lips like smooth silk. Mela thought it was strong, but I didn’t, and we both agreed the flavor was delicious. There were several offers of more coffee during our meal without asking. We sat at a booth inside, as most of the tables outside were already filled. Soft rock or Jazzy music was playing in the background at just the right volume for talking but also good for listening. 

We ordered French toast, and a goat cheese, asparagus and mushroom egg white omelet. The omelet was not listed on the menu; we made it up and were thrilled they had asparagus. Most places do not list asparagus as an option for omelets, and neither did this one.  But we asked if they had it and could we have it in our omelet, and our waiter accommodated our wishes. 

Mela and I thought our egg white omelet was the lightest, fluffiest omelet we ever had. The asparagus and mushrooms were tender, while the goat cheese was spread throughout evenly in the omelet. 

The home fries were not over-seasoned and had a generous amount of sautéed onions. A salad was also on the side, something I don’t usually eat with my eggs, but it was tossed with a delicious mustard vinaigrette dressing which was very light. Our French toast came with real maple syrup—no extra charge—home fries and fruit salad on the side.

The French toast was tasty but it was a large hunk of French bread—a little bit too much bread for me. If the slice of the bread for the French toast had been thinner, I would have been happier. A generous amount of multi-grain toast was good, served with real butter on the side.     

Our waiter, Antonio Marcos, from Mt. Kisco, was a peppy, happy, smiling fellow. Antonio took our order, asked questions and read it back to clarify all of our particular requests. The whole time we were ordering, I noticed a gentleman, standing a few feet away, listening to all our specifications. Afterward, I spoke to Joe Quartararo, the gentleman listening in, and found out he is one of the owners of Le Jardin du Roi. He said he is always listening to everything. 

You can tell he is on top of his restaurant, by the service, the cleanliness and the way he interacts with all of his customers.

When I asked to use the ladies room, I was directed to go behind the curtain, which had two doors, each labeled W.C. Since I obviously am not that sophisticated to know what W.C. meant (water closet, it is a European reference), I just knocked on one and proceeded inside.  I have to say, I smelled a hint of ammonia and the sink counter was completely dry. 

Every woman who has ever gone to the Ladies room has gone to use the sink to wash their hands knows how the counters are always splashed with water. I usually have to lay down about three paper towels on the counter before putting my handbag down before washing. A clean, dry bathroom definitely gets an A+, especially considering it is the same bathroom woman and men use.

I thought the bill would be more over the top being a French restaurant, but it only came to $27.91 without tip, definitely the average going rate for nice sit-down breakfast. 

Le Jardin Du Roi was the perfect place for us to celebrate Mela’s birthday, and it was also the perfect price!

Le Jardin Du Roi 
95 King St. 
Chappaqua
914-238-1368
www.Lejardinchappaqua.com

Mariann Raftery, creator of Somebody's Mom blog, cooks up comfort food recipes for families here at home, as well as sending homemade cookie care packages to our American soldiers overseas. Somebody's Mom Cooking videos at  http://www.youtube.com, search "Thesomebodysmom".