L'Arbre

Rating: 13
Author: Gault&Millau

1 Pavé Jean-Marie Leblanc, 59152 Gruson, France

13/20
Chef's Restaurant

BOOK

3 PHOTOS

Location: Gruson
Chef: Benoît Bernard
Cooking: French
Services: Garden, Terrace
Style: Casual, With family, With friends

Budget (€)

Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)

31 to 65

Gault&Millau's review 2026

13/20

Chef's Restaurant

Editor’s Note: Following the fire at the restaurant, we’ll see Benoît Bernard again during the first half of November at La Laiterie de Lambersart, while we await the renovation work at L’Arbre, which is aiming to reopen in the spring of 2027. Does he even need any introduction? Benoît Bernard is a legend, a character, a rock star who knows how to steal the spotlight. And above all, he’s a chef—a man of taste who knows the entire world of flavors, yet loves simple things, his friends, and the good times spent over a meal and a drink. He was the prince of La Laiterie a few years ago, led Les Toquées for a while between trips, and now here he is at this long-renowned establishment where families have been coming to celebrate baptisms and First Communions for ages. He’s turned it into the kind of place he loves: lively, warm, and welcoming. His friends—and there are many of them, lovers of selective, down-to-earth gatherings—come to feast on fresh langoustines paired with a Côte-Rôtie. Blasphemy? No, the choice of epicureans who long ago broke free from those silly, imposed food pairings. Here, the everyday is anything but ordinary; mackerel and veal chop take on a touch of nobility, followed by the excellent work of the pastry chef, Hélène, takes center stage with her “Pavé de Roubaix”—a tribute to the race that passes right in front of the restaurant—featuring chicory caramel atop a chocolate crumble cookie with chicory.