A versatile keto ester reductase CgKR1, exhibiting a broad substrate spectrum, was obtained from Candida glabrata by genome data mining. It showed the highest activity toward an aliphatic β‐keto ester, ethyl 4‐chloro‐3‐oxobutanoate (COBE), but much lower activity toward bulkier α‐keto esters with an aromatic group, such as methyl ortho‐chlorobenzoylformate (CBFM) and ethyl 2‐oxo‐4‐phenylbutyrate (OPBE). By rational design of the active pocket, the substrate specificity of the reductase was significantly altered and this tailor‐made reductase showed a much higher activity toward aromatic α‐keto esters (∼7‐fold increase in kcat/Km toward CBFM) and lower activity toward aliphatic keto esters (∼12‐fold decrease in kcat/Km toward COBE). Meanwhile, the thermostability of the reductase was enhanced by a consensus approach. Such improvements may yield practical catalysts for the asymmetric bioreduction of these aromatic α‐keto esters