Monday, April 28, 2025
Le Botaniste, Belmont Park Village’s newest dining option added to their growing list of businesses, opened to the public in late February.
The restaurant chain — originally founded in September 2015 in Ghent, Belgium — serves plant-based, organic food with a natural wine bar. Le Botaniste currently has six restaurant locations in Manhattan, but the Belmont Park Village location is the first one on Long Island.
“We are thrilled to welcome Le Botaniste to the Village, bringing their plant-based, feel-good cuisine to Long Island for the first time,” Simon Williamson, chief merchant at Belmont Park Village, said.
Alizee Wyckmans, Le Botaniste’s chief of staff, said the Elmont location is an entirely new clientele, with guests who have more time to sit and enjoy a meal compared to guests in the city who are in and out for a quick lunch.
The restaurant partnered with Belmont Park Village as a result of their common goals, Wyckmans said. Le Botaniste is focused on sustainability, she explained, which is something the restaurant shares with the village.
By virtue of not using animal products, she explained, their food production lowers CO2 emissions and promotes organic foods that don’t use pesticides.
“I’ve always been conscious of how our diets affect our health and environment,” co-founder Alain Coumont said in a statement. “Le Botaniste grew from this awareness and desire to offer a health-focused, eco-friendly, organic menu that is above all else delicious.”
The sustainability practices are also implemented within the dining experience, Wyckmans said. Guests are served food on ceramic plates, and their food is cooked in high quality pots and pans that last a long time without needing to be replaced.
The restaurant pays close to attention to where they source their ingredients, she said, and they currently use farms in upstate New York to provide supplies.
“I think it’s always our goal to make vegetables more accessible,” she said, “making it easy and more enjoyable.”
Le Botaniste attracts all kinds of demographics because, as Wyckmans pointed out, plenty of customers who are not vegan still enjoy their food. And, she said, she expects adventurous guests to visit the village who are interested in a new experience.
Guests in the village who have more time on their hands could also sit and enjoy a glass of wine, she suggested, which the restaurant offers.
“It’s unusual to have wine at a casual place,” she said. “We wanted to be surprising, in terms of experience.”
The wine is also organic and all natural, she said, which means no added sugars or preservatives. The restaurant offers a rotating list of six wines, which always includes a red, white, and sparkling wine option.
She said the company is curious to see how new people will react to the restaurant. Since the restaurant opened in late February, she said, the reaction from guests has already been amazing.
Genevieve Blasi, a food critic known as Cravings Hunter, and her husband, Joe Blasi, visited the restaurant on March 12 to try some food from the menu. She said she was invited to share a preview on her social media accounts, as well as share her thoughts on the experience.
Genevieve explained that she’s not vegan, and she normally is not drawn to plant-based food. After doing some research, she continued, she noticed the restaurant mostly focused on comfort foods like stews, soups and pastas, instead of a standard menu of salads, which she said tends to be boring.
“They’re making things that people actually want to eat, and that people would actually enjoy even if they’re not vegan,” she said.
She was pleased with the variety of dips offered, she said, because they included flavorful spices and seasonings. The dessert she tried, a sesame-seed based brownie with a creamy sauce, was impressive to her because, despite the item being gluten-free, the texture was convincing and the flavors were a great combination.
But, the real star of the meal, she said, was the bowls. After taking a bite, she quickly remarked how great it was and recommended others to try it.
There aren’t many vegan, health-conscious food options on Long Island, she pointed out, and especially not near Elmont. But, she said, the variety of colors, textures and seasonings in the meals available at Le Botaniste could surprise those who do not normally eat vegan.
“We’re known to leave guest feeling surprised, nourished and energized, which is perfect for shopping,” Laurent Francois, the co-founder of Le Botaniste, said.
The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit LeBotaniste.Us, for more information.
