What could be more cultured and civilized -- indeed more pleasurable -- than to spend the morning strolling around a good museum and then, with legs aching and aesthetic senses saturated, to adjourn from exhibition hall to adjoining restaurant for a leisurely lunch? Especially when the cuisine is sophisticated and the light-filled dining room looks out over parkland in the first flush of spring?
Such, at any rate, is the premise for Le Jardin, which proudly (and not inaccurately) proclaims itself "The French Restaurant next (sic) Setagaya Art Museum."
Certainly, there's nothing wrong with the setting: Spacious Kinuta Park may be hard to reach if you don't have your own wheels, but it's a restful oasis of oxygen-rich greenery. As for the museum, we rank it among the best in the city, both for its layout and its shows. The only problem here is the food.