Utrecht's newest restaurant Le Jardin may just turn out to be Utrecht's newest favorite. In a striking dark blue building on the Mariaplaats (can't miss it, and also a terrace in front of the door), Le Jardin took over from restaurant Delano. But no, the new Le Jardin is not for everyone; There are mainly vegetables on the French-oriented menu and you have to be in the mood for that (although the French vegetable menu is alternated with "a nice piece of meat, fish or poultry", the owner promises. Nice).

The highlight (besides that special menu) of Le Jardin: the interior. You are literally sitting between the plants, it looks green, although everything else is mainly painted blue. Again: beautiful. The nicest (in our opinion) seating areas are those in the conservatory where a real courtyard has been created (reminiscent of Hotel Amour in Paris, the first; one recently opened second location), although the seating area with comfortable sofa in front of the fireplace on the edge of the more fancy restaurant area is also a wonderful place for a Sunday hangout. The more fancy restaurant part also has a long bench with tables, for dining, and cozy round couples with white table linen, the always good classic.

All those plants are no coincidence since Le Jardin is all about... everything green turns. Vegetable economics, that's what they call it. But it is also beautiful, and useful since the herbs used for cooking are freshly cut from the greenhouse in the middle of the room. Le Jardin also has a plant shop, conveniently located in the middle of the store, a direct addition to the vegetables-plants-herbs-everything green concept. Plus its own organic wine, a cuvee. And, here comes the kicker, the plan is that a boutique hotel will soon open above the restaurant flower shop. Our hearts beat with anticipation. Le Jardin

Even more references: we should also think about Room service at Olofs, the pop-up restaurant that will open in Amsterdam from January 17, but that's besides the point.