Lyon

[raisab]

HI Lucy,

Welcome back! Have you always been a forum host or is my mind playing tricks on me?

Sorry to go off subject here. But nice to see you're back.

[andrew_j_craig]

Markk

I asked a similar question in May.

Here is the answer I got.

Here is a report on the place I went to.

Enjoy

[markk]

Hi Mark, you've got plenty of time to do your research about where to eat in Lyon since you won't be here until Christmas. 10 days is a nice long stay. May I ask if you're planning to take long lunches as well as dinners, or are you just planning to be eating dinner out?

No, no long lunches at all. Lucky if I can pick a sanwich or something - we eat some very large dinners!

A sample of the dinners we eat, now that I think of it, at restaurants which hold the Michelin Bib Gourmand but not yet any stars in the Alsace region, can be found here - these are rather stustantial places with superb food, and at least in Alsace there are a good number of them that offer seaparate no-smoking dining rooms. [Four of them are Bib-Gourmand restaurants, and actually one of them is a two-star.] Of course, this takes a lot of time to learn by faxing and calling and this is the time to start.

Supberb restaurants in Alsace with no-smoking rooms

But in any event, I have no hope of more than a nibble for lunch.

So if anybody has any restaurants to suggest for the food - be it "starred", "bibbed" or otherwise restaurants where you've had a great meal in Lyon and the surronding areas, I'd love to know about it. Thanks again.

[cigalechanta]

I suspect the marine de loup is seawolf, a fish related to catfish.

[bleudauvergne]

Ensuite, les fromages.  As they called it "Notre Selection de Fromagers Lyonnais, Cellerier, Lery et la Mere Richard".  I can't for the life of me remember what we had from this lot but we both asked the waiter to pick a selection of 5 or 6 for us from the range laid out across three separate trays.  A marvellous selection, no less that 50 or so in my estimate.  The waiter thoughtfully selected different cheeses for our plates so I sampled 11 in total, all well matured.  I've not had a better cheese offered to me in a restaurant.

Excellent notes, Andrew, I'm sorry I didn't respond right away - there were a few things that had me excited about your post and I was waiting until I had time to do it justice. I'll mention the cheeses first - since I took photos at one of the fromageries that supplies l'Auberge a while back.

For the person with purse strings too tight to allow them to enjoy a feast a l'Auberge, who might have the opportunity to eat a quick meal in their room or have a kitchenette in their serviced apartment - The following photos are from the Fromagerie Cellerier, in Les Halles, as noted in your excellent notes. They really are one of my favorite places to get cheese (but not bleu!).

Cathare de Chevre from the Carcassone region

Alpine Goat and Sheeps Cheeses (Chevre et Brebis)

Cellerier is also a traiteur, have good charcuterie, and do an whole range of excellent quenelles maison.

La Mere Richard is also in Les Halles, but my experience with their cheeses is that something may have happened in their management, or with their equipement, because after an initial excellent experience, the two following times in the next 6 months I went to them, they sold me cheeses that were at their limit. I'm sure they give their best to l'Auberge, though, and they do enjoy an excellent local reputation.

[Chef Shogun]

bleudauvergne: I scrolled to the end of the thread, as I usually do, and was like 'You know? That photographic style looks familiar..." and sure enough! Welcome back!

Edited August 18, 2004 by Chef Shogun (log)

[Bux]

I suspect the marine de loup is seawolf, a fish related to catfish.

But apparently "marine de loup" is not on the menu.

noticed that they have both Loup de Mer and Mariniere de Loup,

I was wondering why it was "marine of the wolf" and not "wolf of the sea,"

As far as I know, Loup de Mer is sea bass. Mariniere de Loup would seem to be a preparation of sea bass--most likely lightly pickled (marinated) or possibly à la mariniere as in moules marinère (mussels fisherman's style). My sense of French grammer terms is very poor. In any event, making direct translations of the names of things can be misleading. We have our pineapple and the Spanish have an ox of the sea which is a crab.

[tanabutler]

I used the translater on my Macintosh to translate some of the Orsi items, and came up with these gems:

Etuvée farm poultry, crunching season with butter

Soft attention of the day and exquisite delicacies

Aiguilette of quill roasted out of bitter orange, vegetable muddle

Pigeonnaue out of casserole, with the crystallized cloves of garlic out of shirt

I'd like two orders of the "Soft attention of the day and exquisite delicacies," to go, s'il vous plaît. And hold the mayo.

[Bux]

I used the translater on my Macintosh to translate some of the Orsi items, and came up with these gems:

That may be the reason Apple dropped the "think different" slogan.

[Bux]

Sorry to hear that about Mère Richard. The last time I was in Lyon, every restaurant in town seemed to brag that they got there cheeses there, or at least their St. Marcellin. It may well be that they save their best for restaurants.

[bleudauvergne]

Welcome back!

Thanks! I was only on vacation. The French take them very seriously, you know.

Sorry to hear that about Mère Richard. The last time I was in Lyon, every restaurant in town seemed to brag that they got there cheeses there, or at least their St. Marcellin. It may well be that they save their best for restaurants.

Bux, I have the feeling that they probably do. On the other hand, everyone has their taste in cheeses and every fromagerie has a certain few that they do very well and a few that never seem to be quite right. That's why we shop the fromageries, and that's why there are so many here. Maybe I never choose the right ones at Mère Richard.

[bleudauvergne]

A few informal places:

Retrouvailles.

We had a nice dinner there not too long ago, family run. Bistrot fare. Menu was good. They only have a few tables and they're popular so I'd reserve.

38 r Boeuf 69005 LYON - 04 78 42 68 84

It's just one room but I've never encountered anyone smoking there.

Olive Verte

Less formal and fashionable but good bang for the buck. The quality of the food outshines the presentation.

9 r St Polycarpe 69001 LYON - 04 78 28 15 31

One room.

I'm still thinking...

[Le Zouave]

Bleudauvergne, what do you think about places like Oxalis or la maison Borie? Or the En mets fais ce qu'il te plait (still owned by a japanese chef?). I especially like the wine list at the maison Borie. And by the way, I guess the place is large enough to have a 100% non-smoking dining room.

PS: I do know that these three restaurants are not what one would expect in Lyon -- not the "bouchon" style for sure.

[bleudauvergne]

PS: I do know that these three restaurants are not what one would expect in Lyon -- not the "bouchon" style for sure.

Oxalis

la maison Borie

En mets fais ce qu'il te plait

What are the menu price ranges for those three restaurants, Le Zouave? Your suggestions sound very interesting. We should not stick to the bouchon style, when there are so many other wonderful places that fall outside that range!

[Le Zouave]

Oxalis: 40 to 50€, more or less. The chef is a young lady who used to be a journalist. Her cooking is very modern, spicy, "personnal" if you see what I mean -- let's say it may look like fusion food, but that's not exactly what it is. the restaurant is really small, quite romantic, casual but cosy.

la maison borie: 50 to 60€. Probably one of the best wine lists in the city, with everything you can imagine in the Rhone valley. The place is amazing, a bit outside the center of Lyon, and chef Manuel Viron is one of the most creative around there. The decor is reallly, I must repeat myself, great, between modern and art déco.

En mets fais ce qu'il te plait: a small place where a japanese chef cooks some classic french stuff, but with a twist of course. Quite special, maybe: a place for true foodies, who already ate in every restaurant in the city. Nice wine list also, and not too expensive: maybe 40€.

Otherwise, if you're looking for some classic french fare, check Mathieu Vianney. And I almost forgot (shame on me!): Nicolas Le Bec, a one star chef in a brand new place (great design), on 14 rue Grolée -- 17/20 in the Gault Millau, need I say more?

[noambenami]

I went to cooking school in Lyon for three months. My favorite restaurant there was a little place called L'Etage, which is relatively inexpensive, modern french with a strong lyonnaise influence. Across the river, Notre Maison is an absolutely fantastic bouchon. Don't miss either place.

A bit farther out are a couple of good michelin starred places. Chateau de Bagnols has one star, and two star ambiance. Just a beautiful place to eat, especially on the moat bridge on a nice day.

Everyone recommended Gil Lausausie (the spelling may be wrong) which is a one/two star place a bit out of town. I never did get to go there, opting instead to go to Chateau de Bagnols.

[oldschooltie]

la pyramide at vienne isn't far and is very good

[chickenhead35]

We are going to Lyon next month - four nights - appreciate recommendations and comments re eating (what else?) - casual to big deal - thanks

[magnolia]

For a big deal, try the fabulous Auberge de L'ile - http://www.aubergedelile.com/2003/index.html - don't worry that it says '2003' and ignore the whizzy website, it's really fabulous.

For a fab casual meal, I had dinner on a moored canal boat that has been turned into a wine bar with many great selections by the glass. I will try to find the name and post it...

Great hotel, in case you're looking, is the Globe et Sicile.

Lyon is amazing, can't wait to go back.

[Bux]

We are going to Lyon next month - four nights - appreciate recommendations and comments re Restaurants in, or near, Lyoneating (what else?) - casual to big deal - thanks

←

This has been an often asked question as well as an often answered question. Few members will respond to a repeated question as most will have likely said all they have to say in a recent post. The more specific the question, the more likely a member will feel obligated to answer if he has a good answer. In any event, a little research will often bring better results that asking so vague a question on most boards. A search on "Lyon" will bring a mulititude of results, not all of them about restaurants but these threads should be a good start for answers to your post. They go back as far as about six months ago. They're all not likely to be equally valid and I am sure I missed some. So it may be worth searching again.

Chez Pierre

Fine Dining

Auberge de l'Ile - Two threads recently merged.

Le Splendid

Gourmet de Sèze

Les Halles de Lyon

[bleudauvergne]

Hi - I second Bux's advice to search the forum - a lot has been said about Lyon and the restaurants here - Then for specific questions and for info you need about menus, etc. Those of us who have been to these restaurants can give you a hand.

[Bux]

I also find that knowing the local specialties and tastes may be just as important as knowing the names of recommended restaurants, although I have to admit that the tabllier de sapeur I had last month was disappointing and in no way comparable to the first one I had in Lyon. Is there an oxymoron in saying I had tabllier de sapeur in Lyon? I've never seen it on a menu anywhere else although I read that Aux Lyonnais in Paris had it. I've been there twice and enjoyed too good meals, but tabllier de sapeur was not on the menu either time.

The subject or Lyonnais specialties has also been discussed here more than once. Tripe in all its forms are a Lyonnais specialty, as are hearty dishes and sausages. Of course you may not find these at the multistarred restaurants which are more likely to offer haute cuisine. In that vein, I'd like to try Nicolas le Bec which, as I discovered only as we were leaving, is at 14 r Grolée, just around the corner from where we were staying. It's new and not yet in the Michelin Guide, but we ate very well at his hands a few years ago when he was cooking at Les Loges in the Cour des Loges hotel which no longer has a star without him.

Ultimately however, it's much easier and also much more enticing to make recommendations when we know more about the member who's posting.

If you have a taste for fine chocolate, Bernachon would be the place to indulge. If you don't appreciate it, Bernachon would still be a good place to discover what many consider to be the benchmark.

[Bux]

One more point about the need to research recommendations on regional eGullet boards is that many of the good posts are left by visitors to the region and its board. A gastronome from Vancouver is more apt to be posting on a regular basis in the forum that covers that city, but he is likely to appear in this forum before his trip to France doing research and then again afterwards to report on his meals and to discuss them, but not necessarily on a regular basis thereafter.

I'm also afraid that a new member with few posts who is asking about where to eat while traveling may come across not as someone with a passion for food, but as a tourist looking for a quick answer rather than as one interested enough to research the topic. I don't mean to assume that describes the original poster here, but that's a suspicion that's raised and best overcome by asking astute questions. I may come off as a sort of gastro-franco-snob, but I mean to be helpful in ways to draw out the knowledge of our membership.

[The Viking]

Whilst not being an enormously active participant, I still do hope and feel that my contributions might have been useful and appreciated, and therefore seek to revive this thread for personal information and potential gain:

I'll be arriving next week 3 days and have 2 potential lunches and dinners that I want to try out the diversity of Lyon. Troisgros is on the menu for monday night, the only thing I hate about that is having to go back to Lyon..

CheZ Pierre an Gourmet de Sèze will definetely be considered!

Two years ago I tried Msr Le Bec's restarant at Cour des Loges for lunch and was suitably impressed, alas he's moved. Any reports on/from his new premises?

Leon de Lyon and Pierre Orsi are off my list as they'll probably be too involved with Bocuse *D'Or to be able to offer an optimal experience.

I'm staying at the La tour Rose, but alas: they're fully booked all nights and do not keep any tables for residents, should I push for a reservation there or not?

Or rather: I'm not necessarily looking for a place with the coveted rosettes, elegant atmosphere, synchronized silver domes or best starched linen; a unique experience unknown to the common tourist with a menu (or none) that is untransalated will also to me be as rewarding and satisfying as any "stellar" booking.

[cigalechanta]

[i'd like to know where th canal wine tasting meal is.

Has anyone tasted the meal on the barge Restaurant La Peniche on the Lioire?