Aux Lyonnais

[lizziee]

Florence Fabricant on Aux Lyonnais - the Ducasse and De La Brosse (L'Ami Louis) new Paris bistro which opened in October.

http://www.nrn.com/story.cfm?ID=52677032

[nightscotsman]

Thanks for the link lizziee. I'd love to read the article, but their registration policy is particularly draconian and invasive.

[Rail Paul]

The original NY Times mention is

HERE

[cabrales]

Towards the end of the below linked thread are 2002 reviews of Aux Lyonnais:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...hl=aux+lyonnais

[David Bizer]

This is from the current issue of Food and Wine:

Many of Paris's newest hangouts are nixing gilded French style in favor of white walls and menus of tuna capriccio and Parmesan-arugula salad. But some of the city's old-time gastronomic traditions are making a comeback. Since so many venerable Paris bistros disappear every year, it's interesting that superchef Alain Ducasse and Thierry de la Brosse, owner of iconic L'Ami Louis, have saved Aux Lyonnais. Without touching a single rose-garland tile, they've managed to make this turn of the century bistro seem new. Ducasse resurrects many sacrosanct foods, and uses crawfish not only as a garnish for quenelles Nantua, but also as an aromatic flavoring for shirred eggs.

32 rue Saint Marc: +33 1 42 96 65 04

[jeunefilleparis]

hi all

I was reading conde nast's hot list and they mentioned the new Ducasse restaurant. has anyone been there yet or read any reviews, i d like to check it out when i m in Paris in May,,,,, i cant imagine its anything less than excellent, but i m curious to hear about it before i rush over!

thanks

lauren

[weinoo]

hi lauren,

here's my post from a february visit:

Ate at Aux Lyonnais last Friday night and Chez Casimir on Saturday, and would like to highly recommend both...Chez Casimir much more casual of the two...our bills at both places were abbout 150 euros for 4, including 1 bottle of wine at AL and 2 bottles at CC! Chez Casimir has a blackboard menu offering 4 entrees, 4 plats and 4 desserts (there was 1 special entree). My braise of beef with red cabbage was incredibly tender and rich. The duck breast on a dried fruit puree was sublime and the oysters (9 oysters = 9 e) were great. The cheese board offered for dessert had 6 or 7 perfectly ripe cheeses and was an all you can eat. There was a roasted apple over bread pudding that we fought over. And, there was no bum's rush (on a Saturday night prime time) - the front of the house staff of three was totally sweet and helpful.

Aux Lyonnais has a 28 e menu with a choice of 2 for each course, along with a la carte offerings ranging from 8 - 22 euro) - the night we were there we had the veal liver (probably the best i've ever tasted), quenelles of crayfish, braised pork breast (the only other time i've tasted this was at Daniel) and beef minute steak lyonnaise for mains - the charcuterie entree was big enough for 4 and my pot de poule brought back memories that I didn't know I had! The service was a little less accomodating (what's with the "Who gets the charcuterie thing?!" everywhere you go except the really top end restaurants?) - than at Chez Casimir (and there was a big party that was evidently friends of the chef), but the space is beautiful. Nice wine list, great looking bar, cool neighborhood and not as packed as I expected, either.

enjoy,

mitch

[Felice]

Hi Lauren,

I ate at Aux Lyonnaise a few months ago and loved it as well. Everything we had was delicious and the room is beautiful. This week's Figaroscope mentions their Oeuf Cocotte aux morilles as being perfect.

I would definitely recommend it.

[Gary Marshall]

(lunch under the mon vieil ami thread)

post lunch at mon vieil ami, we embarked on a ‘short’ walk, in the vain hope of walking off a few calories, that took us from the ille st louis along the seine to the musee d’orsay. Unfortunately about 30,000 others had a similar plan so my brief attempt at culture was cut short.

We instead went for a far more sensible option, especially given our track record in finding places, we went to find the destination for the evening’s dinner at Aux Lyonnais the bistro rescued by alain ducasse and the owner of l’ami louis.

On the way we wandered through the presedential gardens (?) and stumbled across ‘ le grand vefour’ although the menu looked interesting the prices were certainly not in line with my new austerity measures!

after a cursory glance at nearby maceo and willis wine bar, and despite employing my esteemed powers of persuasion, sarah couldn’t be persuaded to stop for a quick drink, (glad to see marriage hasn’t dented my powers over the opposite sex!) we continued the hike northwards to aux lyonnais. Eventually we found it down a very unprepossesing back street with a lovely view of axa insurance.

the restaurant was smaller than i imagined but looked authentic enough but i wasn’t blown away by the menu and givent the distance from our hotel in st germain i was having thoughts about cancelling, but decided to stick with it.

so later that night we headed (by metro yet again although i hadn’t realised that switching trains in chatelet involved a 10 minute hike!) and to willis wine bar for a swift livener. After a couple of supposedly large but decidedly skinny looking measures of riesling i was entertained by the english staff taking large glasses out of a customers bottle of lynch bages and wondering whether it needed decanting or not! i’ve only ever had drinks in willis and tend to find the staff highly irritating so we didn’t linger and headed to aux lyonnais.

we were a bit early for our 9.30 table and after much hand wringing by the staff who seemed completley flummoxed by our 15 minutes early arrival we were shown to the upstairs bar area which also houses the private dining room.

We were quite amused by the fact that there’s obviously a back staircase, staff kept disappearing in one direction and reappearing from another. Ok, so you had to be there, a couple of coupes further sharpened the appetite.

we were eventually shown to our table in the second of the two rooms that make up the restaurant, there was a buzzy cosmopolitan atmosphere in the room and it felt very comfortable.

however making head or tail of the menu was another matter, i consider myself a bit of a veteran of french dining now but there were items on the short menu we couldn’t decipher, and weren’t much wiser even after explanation by the friendly staff.

I eventually came over wild and adventurous and settled on the oeuf cocotte aux morilles et ecrevisses and sarah the saladier et tartine a la facon ‘gones’. This was a salad with a long toasted ficelle of bread with we assume the tartine on it, what it was we are none the wiser, i suspected it may have been offal of some sort but was unremarkable, despite its unusual provenance looked good though. My cocotte though was a masterpiece. This is the sort of place that reinvents old classics not just recreates them. When the waiter brought a large glass jar filled with cocotte and a foamed veloute with the same bread (about 40cm long!) i was extremely glad we had stuck with the booking!

Mains were another minefield with again nothing obvious apart from the ‘entrecote non paree a la moelle, echalotte, vin rouge’ that sarah had and after explantion i had ‘quenelle et ecrevisses- un recette de lucien tendret 1892’ which although well hidden was in fact the old classic of pike/perch quenelles in nantua sauce, but ‘much lighter’ said the waiter. the quenelles looked like actual fillets of fish when they arrived but turned out, as they had suggested to be extremely light fishy quenelles, in a great sauce.

Deserts saw a riz au lait, mermelade de fuits for sarah, as it suggests a fine rice pudding and a tarte et ile flottante aux praline roses for me. Both were great looking deserts for a start and the little tart very morish that accompanied mine.

the usual coffee, calva and a rully 1er cur washed it all down, a very enjoyable evening. It was nice to have a few pleasant surprises for a change in a dinner and there was obvious thought in the details, some more successful than others eg i didn’t like the chequered tea towels as table cloths but liked the linen bags that they brought the (v good) bread in.

the mainly young staff were enthusiastic if a little forgetful, i may well still be sat there if i hadn’t kept reminding them to call me a taxi, though a lengthy stay in hindsight would be no bad thing!

tomorrow a stunner and a shocker...

Edited April 14, 2004 by Gary Marshall (log)

[AmoParis]

I really enjoyed reading this journal and particularly this review of Aux Lyonnais. The emphasis on liquid nourishment combined with detailed recollection of staff gestures (the bottle sampling episode was great -- makes me realize I need to measure that puppy each and every time :) ) and the particulars of dishes is entirely to my taste.

Would you care to comment on the way the place felt though? I guess the question is: "Would you go back?" So often it isn't just the food, because there is so much fun in discovering new old classics newly made in new destinations. What brings me back is the "welcome" the French value so much -- the "acceuil." So what do you think -- are they bonhomminous? Would you go back to Aux Lyonnais?

Thanks for your wonderful journal and your thoughts. Very good reading fun.

[Bux]

When we were there, I found the "welcome" just fine in the way I would expect to get from an overworked staff in a bistro providing great value in terms of food delivered for the euros charged. I suspect the actual reception will vary according to just how busy the staff is at the moment you arrive. Our waiter seemed a little friendlier later in the meal than he was when he first came to take our order. Maybe he had a moment to relax and maybe it was our atttitude that softened him up. I too was put off by the apparent banality of the carte--I was looking for some great Lyonnais tripe dish--but what sounded ordinary was superb.

[Gary Marshall]

. What brings me back is the "welcome" the French value so much -- the "acceuil." So what do you think -- are they bonhomminous? Would you go back to Aux Lyonnais?

Thanks for your wonderful journal and your thoughts. Very good reading fun.

thank you for your thanks

the staff were certainly welcoming, they had a humourous air about them and most were in their early 20's. There was a young boy though who looked about 12! i liked the atmosphere in the restaurant, it was buzzy with a good mix of countries. i think we were the only english but there was a group of spanish and plenty of french in there.

having said that would i go back?

well my trips tend to be booked weeks in advance to try specific restaurants, i wouldn't do that again to visit, but if i found myself without a booking one night, it would certainly be on my list of places to try.

that's nothing to do with the quality/enjoyment of the place, just the sheer number of places in paris i want to try and only so many trips to fit them all in

gary

[Andy Lynes]

After a near perfect meal at Aux Lyonnaise during a business trip to Paris in March 2004, I was keen to repeat the experience with my wife during our weekend in the city to celebrate my 40th birthday. The evening started in a delightful way with a warm welcome, some champagne and a bowl of fromage frais with shallots and fine herbs. We chose from the amazingly good value menu du jour (still just €28) and enjoyed the superb charcuterie, a fine salad of soft- boiled egg, frisee and crouton (I could hardly believe it when I saw waiters carrying several of the clear glass bowls back to the kitchen unfinished, leaving the delicious "soup" of yolk, dressing and croutons untouched), a glorious boudin noir and excellent quenelles. We drank a delicious bottle of Monthelie Premier Cru 2002 as recommended by the young and friendly sommelier.

Things then started to go somewhat awry. My wife had ordered completely from the du jour menu. I, in celebratory mood, had requested a St Marcellin cheese to share and the baba au rhum to finish, both from the carte. This was OK'd by the manager who warned me that a supplement would be levied, but that my choice was "parfait." After the main courses were delivered, two pears poached in Beaujolais arrived, the dessert from the du jour. I explained that we were expecting the St Marcellin first, then one pear and one baba. The desserts were taken away and then we were visited by several staff to whom I explained the situation and eventually the cheese was delivered. It was wonderful.

I rather fancied a glass of red to go with it and asked a waiter as he passed the table if I could get a glass from the chalk board menu of wines by the glass and by the carafe. He said he would send over the wine waiter. I asked him twice more before the waiter arrived by which time the cheese had gone as had my requirement for red wine.

The two plates of pear from the du jour menu then reappeared. I explained again that I had ordered the baba. Another waiter then appeared to explain to me that as I had ordered from the du jour menu, that it was "impossible" for me to have the baba. I said that the request had been ok'd by the manager who had taken our order and that I was fully expecting to pay a supplement. The waiter went and spoke to the manager and eventually the baba arrived. I hated it! I found the rum to be completely overpowering and had to leave most of it.

This was taken away with out comment and then we had a long wait for the bill, which arrived without a charge for the cheese or the baba. That the deduction was made from the bill without comment closed the case from my point of view (although at no point did anyone apologise to us).

I left frustrated and very disappointed. The food had been as good as I remembered, the room as beautiful and evocative as I recalled it to be, but the chaotic service pretty much ruined the evening for me. I would have much preferred to have been told that my order would cause them problems and that I would have needed to order a la carte if I wanted additional courses, it would not have been a problem.

As it was, we got caught in the middle of a hectic Saturday nights service and ended up feeling like we had gotten in their way, not the desired outcome from either the restaurant or our point of view.

[Bux]

I left frustrated and very disappointed.

←

What a pity as I recall you had liked your first meal there even more than I had liked mine and we were thoroughly pleased. We returned with a party of five last September for a latish lunch and the service was fine for that sort of bistro. My first meal was so good that I nearly ordered the same the second time. I especially missed that wonderful calves' liver which I've not found the equal of in restaurants in NY at considerably more money. The liver was almost as good and light years ahead of what I'd found in NY between the two meals, but the potatoes were, to put it charitably, inferior. Nevertheless that was the only shortcoming. All of the other dishes were excellent of their kind and the boudin noir is exemplary. The menu said "Iparla" and I am certain it comes from the recipe of Christian Parra in the Basque region.

This thread seems to have fallen out of sight. I know I posted on that lunch somewhere in the forum.

[Andy Lynes]

I left frustrated and very disappointed.

←

What a pity as I recall you had liked your first meal there even more than I had liked mine and we were thoroughly pleased.

←

That's right. I thought it was an almost perfect meal and I was thrilled with the place. I really wanted my wife to share a similar experience, but it wasn't to be this time. I have to say that she was able to see the humour in the situation better than I and predicted correctly that I would see the pear dessert again before the baba! I didn't get angry or anything, although I was a bit sulky with the sommelier when he finally turned up to ask about my red wine order. I pointed at the empty bowl of cheese and said "Its too late now" and shrugged in a Gallic sort of way.

[chefzadi]

I wonder if there is a menu online? Given my background as some of you know I'm dying of curiosity! I must sleuth!

Aux Lyonnaisse in Paris...hmmm. Sort of like Keller's Bouchon in Vegas. Once you take cuisine out of Lyon...

[Bux]

. . . .Once you take cuisine out of Lyon...

←

Actually this was something they seemed to do better in the old days, and Aux Lyonais was an old established bistrot. Ducasse and the owner of l'Ami Louis bought it jointly with the intent of preserving it as best they could. It opened to great reviews, but the original chef went to les Ambassadeurs with Piege who had trained him and some people have reported a decline since then. I'm inclined to believe it's come back, if our meal was any indication. The food is not necessarily authenticly Lyonnaisse in style. I'd say the fare is a cross between Paris and Lyon and a cross between 1965 and 2005. It reminds me very much of why I was so struck by French food even on my early budgets.

The 28€ prix fixe meal from 2004 was:

Planche de charcuterie lyonnaise

- ou -

Emincé de chou blanc et oeuf mollet, canard confit

Quenelle et écrevisses

- ou -

Foie de veau persillé, copeaux de pomme de terre

Fromage frais

- ou -

Chcoclat Viennois, glace vanille

In addition to a wine list strong in beaujolais and inexpensive wines, they had on offer a Mazy-Chambertine Grand cru in 46 cl. carafes at 42€. I remember someone complaining that the carafe wines were expensive. That's not what I'd call a carafe wine and bottles of good beaujolais were considerably less expensive.

[John Talbott]

After a near perfect meal at Aux Lyonnaise during a business trip to Paris in March 2004, I was keen to repeat the experience with my wife during our weekend in the city to celebrate my 40th birthday.

Things then started to go somewhat awry.

I left frustrated and very disappointed.

←

Incredible; my experience was much the same; the first time I ate on my own and loved it so much I took my wife Colette and my best two neighbors, foodies both. Awful.

Should I try again. Maybe, probably, don't know, the problem is, I keep finding places that hold up time after time, can I waste a lunch on uneven results?

[culinary bear]

Aux Lyonnaisse in Paris...hmmm. Sort of like Keller's Bouchon in Vegas. Once you take cuisine out of Lyon...

←

Rather akin to the original Trois Freres Provenceaux, non? They at least had the distinction of neither being :

a) brothers

b) Provencal

though that seemed to make little difference to their popularity.

Bux - you may be the most widely eaten man on the face of the earth (I'm sure there's a better way of phrasing that but it momentarily escapes me). Given that fact that I have never in my life been to Paris, do I stand a cat in hell's chance of finding a decent dining experience without a lot of signposting from those in the know?

Is Aux Lyonnaisse a far from typical experience? One reads in Elizabeth David's "French Provincial Food" about eating heartily and reasonably just about everywhere in France, but that was before I was born and times may change.

I'm planning a trip over to Paris with my s/o and sugegstions would be appreciated - indeed, is Aux Lyonnaisse a good choice for me?

Edited February 2, 2005 by culinary bear (log)

[Bux]

Bux - you may be the most widely eaten man on the face of the earth (I'm sure there's a better way of phrasing that but it momentarily escapes me).  Given that fact that I have never in my life been to Paris, do I stand a cat in hell's chance of finding a decent dining experience without a lot of signposting from those in the know?

Is Aux Lyonnaisse a far from typical experience?  One reads in Elizabeth David's "French Provincial Food" about eating heartily and reasonably just about everywhere in France, but that was before I was born and times may change.

I'm planning a trip over to Paris with my s/o and sugegstions would be appreciated - indeed, is Aux Lyonnaisse a good choice for me?

←

It's nice to know someone thinks I've become the man I've long dreamed to be. Alas it's not true. The secret to making others believe you know more than you do, is to refrain from writing about what you don't know. Admittedly, that's not as easy as it sounds if you become addicted to the eG forums.

Aux Lyonnais, a place that recreates the kind of places I found typical in the sixties, is now rather a find. Elizabeth David is dead and times have changed. On the positive side, I actually think the bistro and small Parisian restaurant has had a revival in the past decade or more. There is an inexpensive restaurant I knew from my first visit to Paris in '59 or '60. I was delighted to learn that it had also figured in the education of two legendary American newspaper men and food writers. It was a thrill to share the connection. In the 80's my wife and I had a dreadful meal there. I'm sure my standards have improved, but there's been such an overall decline in food since my first visit to France. I think Aux Lyonnais would be a good choice for you, but it's far from a typical experience these days. It's hard to suggest too many places out of the blue. I don't know your budget, but since you're not coming from very far away, it means your travel expenses are less therefore your food costs represent a greater part of your budget and are therefore part of the consderation. We've had plenty of threads on all levels of budget however and the forum is a good place to start reading. Pay attention to John Talbott who eats out with more regularity in Paris than I ever will. John has lots of experience and obviously does a lot of reading on the subject.

[chefzadi]

Culinary Bear-

Since your coming from the U.K. I think that you will find the prices in Paris quite reasonable even at the fine dining level. My wife who was used to LA, Seoul and New York prices couldn't stop giggling at the lower price tags in Paris, Lyon and points in between. She was however stunned when she went to London.

On the opposite end of fine dining you should try a kebab sandwich and a merguez sandwich while you're in Paris.

I never took the chunnel, but my wife did. She says it's much more convenient than flying in.

[chefzadi]

Oops I just noticed my spelling error. What was I thinking. LOL!

[chefzadi]

http://www.alain-ducasse.com/public/cest_a..._aulyonnais.htm

Here's the website.

[Carlsbad]

"One reads in Elizabeth David's "French Provincial Food" about eating heartily and reasonably just about everywhere in France, but that was before I was born and times may change."

It's strange to read this since I pulled out the tattered paperback copy of this book I bought in the '70's for the first time in years, because I had some nice carrots I wanted to turn into soup. The soup was as simple and good as I recalled, and everyone liked it.

I have considered Aux Lyonnais several times, and am still considering it for next summer. The disappointment expressed by Andy Lynes and John Talbot does not help its cause, but it was measured and there is still a chance. Since my time in Paris is limited, I agonize over every meal. I always try to include at least one "traditional" bistro in every trip, and I generally have enjoyed them. To be honest, however, I've found the food at more modern establishments much more rewarding lately. Aux Lyonnais seems to have a modern bent, so maybe I would like it. I'm still not sure. I do have 14 days this next trip, so there is more room for error.

I have fond memories of meals in traditional spots, but lately I've been disappointed. Maybe it is because they aren't as good as they used to be. But I think in large part it is a tendency on my part to remember things fondly. For instance, I still remember a duck in port sauce with green olives I had at Aux Charpentiers more than 15 years ago as one of the best duck dishes I've had. I haven't returned because I get to Paris so infrequently. I suspect I might be disappointed with it now. (If anyone has been there recently, I would be curious to hear an opinion.) On my trip last June, we went to La Fontaine de Mars. It was a delightful evening- a nice table outside, great service, nice wine, good foie gras, but the duck confit wasn't that great. I found the food at Le Troquet far more exciting.

As Bux suggests, I'm paying a lot of attention to John Talbot's recommendations next trip.

[John Talbott]

I always try to include at least one "traditional" bistro in every trip, and I generally have enjoyed them.

Have I gotta place for you which I'll post in a few days; Cinq Mars which Sebastian Demorand of Zurban raved about yesterday; it's the classic bistro stuff with the best modern products and technique; a really nice way to start off the year.

It's at 51, rue de Verneuil in the 7th, 01.45.44.69.13, Metro Rue du Bac, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, lunch menu (a forced choice of 1st, main and dessert, the day I was there artichokes and shrimp, chicken and a tarte?) at 21,50 E, a la carte 35-40 E