Glad to hear they are executing well even if not innovating. Your menu sounds almost identical course for course to the one I had on my first visit in 1992…for my first Michelin * experience. I remember the courses very fondly.
Lyon is an amazing city with an amazing number of outstanding restaurants. If you can’t find a great one you aren’t looking. My daughter is there right now and trying to visit as many as she can in the few days she is there. I especially like Restaurant Jeremy Galvan in the old city. Simple, delicious, and reasonably price to boot.
Well…sometimes you go to a restaurant fully aware of what your are getting yourself into however you just think that everybody else was wrong or “no, it can’t really be like that”, etc…
This was exactly my thought process as I was getting prepared for my dinner at Paul Bocuse in Lyon. This restaurant was chosen as it was a good stopover on the way to burgundy and I’ve also done every other Michelin 3 star in the burgundy area (where I was headed the following day).
Anyways, hopes can be one thing and reality is often another.
Service, while not terrible, was nowhere close to a 3 star experience. There was a preference towards the wine service as that was better than food service which was amazingly sloppy for a 3 star. For the food - there was multiple times where I noticed an Amuse sitting by a table within arms reach of the guest for 5+ minutes just waiting to be served…this also happened with multiple first courses as well. Also different presentations of the same dish - I had a (basically) lobster soup which came in a bowl with a top…well, my top was off when the soup hit the table and the guests beside me had their top on the soup removed after it was placed in front of them. While this isn’t a major deal it just shows the sloppiness that is prevalent throughout the restaurant.
Plates of cleared food just sitting there, dished being clanged around, silverware tossed about, cold bread (no selection given on preference even though there was multiple in basket), etc…
The food was decent and while I can’t complain too much it was seemingly just stuck in a time warp. Not 3 stars (or anywhere close).
While I think most (serious) visitors agree that the only thing holding the stars there is because Bocuse is a french culinary god (and still alive).
No need to return.
I could throw out some other thoughts but I’m off to lunch at Martin Berasategui in San Sebastien for a real 3-star experience…and Dinner at Mugaritz last night (2 -stars) was by far a superior experience to the 3 stars that Bocuse has…
Sounds like your experience was similar to mine as per my link from about three posts up.
Like I said I think the problem is that most people who go can’t figure this place out like you or I did, and so it keeps doing good business from people who don’t have the ability or security to realize that it’s pretty bad .