Brief Burgundy meals report

I just returned from a trip to Chablis and Burgundy and wanted to pass along some short impressions of the meals I had. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Chablis

Le Bistrot des Grands Crus – good lunch food, short wine list with good prices

Au Fil du Zinc – the top place to eat in Chablis now, great food, great wine list with low pricing

L’Hostellerie des Clos – dining room has been refreshed but food remains a bit dated and tired, wine list is still good but has been picked over

Cote D’Or

Caves Madeleine – the cooking is better than ever now, wine list isn’t what it once was but it’s improving and there are plenty of goodies to choose from

Bistrot du Bord de l’Eau – top class bistro food served in an attractive room, ask for the wine list from the 1 star gourmet dining room and avoid the cheese plate

Aupres du Clocher – disappointing, was previously my favorite restaurant from the last trip but things have declined in the kitchen (chef is the same), service was slow but the wine list remains good

Chez Simon – outstanding food! Wine list isn’t great but the cooking sure made up for it

Ma Cuisine – the classic Beaune bistro is still going strong, excellent food and that massive wine list. Prices have definitely gone up

Volnaysien – amazing lunch, the best coq au vin, great wine list and pricing

Caveau des Arches – terrible service, very hot temperature, uncomfortable seating, touristic crowd, average food. It’s a shame because the wine list is excellent with great pricing on Rousseau.

La Cabotte – nice lunch, excellent wine list

Rotisserie du Chambertin – delicious lunch, the best soufflé that I have ever tasted, decent wine list, attractive setting

Bistro L’Hotel – can’t miss! The signature bresse chicken is amazing. The wine list is super pricey but has good depth.

Levernois Gourmet Restaurant – fabulous place, great service, very good food, huge wine list, beautiful cheese cart

Arbois

Restaurant Jean-Paul Jeunet - best meal of the trip, incredible cooking, massive Jura wine list, excellent service

Aupres du Clocher downhill with the same chef? That’s a shocker.

Love La Cabotte; I also thought Caveau des Arches was a dud.

I dined at Aupres a couple weeks ago, thought it was excellent, food and service were top notch. The Epoisses mousse with sweetbreads was devine. Ma Cuisine was a let down for us, ok food and deep list but like you said, pricey.

I hope Tyler is right about Aupres. Going soon. Loved the meal there last year and the wine list is awesome. I have never been impressed with the food at Ma Cuisine. Been there a few times and not on my list of places to go back to.

John, good to hear about Simon because a very good friend of mine told me how bad a meal he had there recently. I almost cancelled my reservation there because of that.

Thanks for that John. Very useful, I’m there next week. I have bookings for Ma Cuisine and winery dinners but I may add Bistro L’Hotel.

Did you have winery visits? Did anything impress?

Cheers, Howard

Wine list is still awesome, cheap coche.

We were surprised too about the step down in food but rest assured the signature mousse d’epoisse was as good as ever. Could’ve been an off night and it was Sunday. Someone else at the dinner thinks that because the place is in all the guidebooks now including Rick Steves that the foot is off the gas. Let’s hope not. Coche prices are at nice at Aupres but they are even better at Levernois.

The cooking at Simon was excellent and the lunch is a real steal. It’s definitely worth a lunch without a doubt. I had a scallop dish on rice that was out of this world.

Bistro L’Hotel is so worth the high tariff. Johan Bjorklund is a great host. You’ve got the famous chicken and then you finish with the delicious crepes suzette flambees. Can’t miss!

Lots of great visits. Hard to peg just a few highlights but a couple of my favorites were Domaine Roulot, Mugneret Gibourg and Domaine Christian Moreau in Chablis. We met Christian at Zinc and he invited us over for a blowout tasting the next afternoon. What a great guy.

Another great place to visit is La Dilettante in Beaune, close to the ring road. Lolo, the former owner of Caves Madeleine, operates the small wine bar together with his wife and sister. A fantastic place for wine before or after dinner and small plates of delicious food. He’s one of the most interesting people to talk to in the wine world in my opinion. He knows everybody it seems. A lot of his best stuff is not on the shelf so you need to chat him up and tell him what you are looking for. Great pricing and tons of hard to find geek wines. I just love his place.

THAT explains it… we stayed at Hotel Belle Epoque which is literally next door… went in and saw the list of wines by the glass, and walked out… so uninspiring and boring. the food list was meh as well… I guess i needed to chat him up…

maybe his list of food sounds meh but its all top notch charcuterie and rillettes…great for small bites with the wine

Thanks for the write up John.

I, as are a quite of few others, fond of Levernois.

The list was like 4 items long (food)

the wine list had 3 whites and 3 reds… i’m wondering if you chat him up, is there a ‘captain’s list’ that’s a bit more appealing?

not bashing it since i didn’t really experience it, but just didn’t seem that attractive to a person walking in… i mean i’m IN the store, and it didn’t have enough to retain me… that was odd given the high praise…

the grounds are ridiculous…Friday night they had live music in the garden and later in the lounge. what a place!

yeah, you need to connect with him no doubt. we went specifically on the nights that he was there. we came in one night and he wasn’t there and his sister called him on the phone and told him to come in. could only happen in France.

yes.
so true.

"pardon . . . monsieur . . . i would like to purchase that bottle of wine.

uh . . . hold on . . . let me call my boss . . ."

Just came back from there two weeks ago as well.

La Balance Mets et Vins in Arbois was also excellent, food is more traditional and the setting is less fancy.
But, Coq du vin cooked with Vin Jaune went really well with my Vin Jaune flight. flirtysmile

Maison Lameloise in Chagny was also quite good. Lunch was excellent value. Excellent wine list with some deals.

And I can’t agree more on La Dilettante, awesome spot, super cool owner, excellent wine list.

Thank you sir! Heading to burgundy in August. Definitely will consult this list :smiley:

Any of these places need advanced reservations? Can they be done online? :slight_smile:

most of them you have to call to book… and yes you will want a reservation to most of them.

I would make reservations ahead of time. Some you can book online and others you need to call. I really hate the call because then I have nothing in writing confirming my reservation.

I would make reservations for all meals as these places are very small and were completely full during my week in town. I saw a number or people turned away because they had not booked ahead. Most of the places can be booked via email but a few require a phone call which can be tricky.