Lecleir, who had spent his career opening restaurants for others, moved to Beijing in 2007 to open his own. In 2011, while jogging in a hutong in Beijing, he discovered the temple by accident and immediately knew it was the perfect place to open his restaurant.
He was a little concerned by the secluded location deep inside the labyrinthine hutong, but he was taking the risk that diners would be willing to walk a long way to eat.
TRB Hutong is located in Beijing's Dongcheng district, just east of the Forbidden City in the heart of the capital. Opening in 2012, it serves contemporary European cuisine featuring local ingredients and offers a wine list that boasts nearly 1,000 options.
"I wanted to make a place with a strong focus on hospitality, a place for good food, but most importantly, a place where people could come quite often and feel comfortable," he says.
"We are a restaurant that has an international standing, but it's also been really well received by the local market, which I think is one of the most important elements," he says.
When Lecleir first opened TRB Hutong, only 30 percent of the customers were Chinese, but that figure has now grown to around 85 percent.
Last year was the first time TRB Hutong broke into TripAdvisor's Top 10 Fine Dining Restaurants, listed as No 7 worldwide-the only restaurant in China to do so.
With this year's rise to the number one spot, TRB Hutong remains China's only representative in the Top 10.
"Last year was a real milestone for China and the Chinese hospitality industry. It has always been a dream of mine when I first opened TRB to make sure that we leave a legacy," he says.
