Garde champêtre

I have wanted to try this restaurant out for a while, so this week we booked to go. It’s called the Garde Champêtre and it’s in Gyé-sur-Seine, about a 15 minutes drive from us - the translation is country guard. Mr Droze was the last country guard in Gyé-sur-Seine, and was the man to go to if you needed something sorting out, a kind of community guardian. The building he lived in has now been converted into a beautiful modern restaurant.

Even though we were one of the first tables in there, the ambiance was really welcoming - Stripped back wooden bar area, beautiful old stone walls, subtle lighting, and a large fire, which is used for most of the roasting in the open plan kitchen, where we could see the chefs busying themselves for the evenings service. The music, mainly from the 80’s and 90’s, which I love, was setting a relaxed but lively mood. Just right.

The menu is not extensive - which I like - but the quality of the ingredients is excellent. A lot of the herbs and vegetables are produced in their potager which is beside the restaurant, so fresh organic vegetables are on hand. The meats are purchased locally as is the dairy. The bread, which is made over a few days to fully prove to get the best flavour from the local wheat, is crusty and very tasty.

It was a really enjoyable restaurant experience and we savoured a delicious meal. Each dish had a little twist to it, something to keep you excited for the next little discovery.

We will definitely be going back.