We went back to Troisgros , in Roanne . About 5 years ago , we had one of the best meals in our lives so we came back with great anticipation .
They moved to the country side , just out of Roanne . Beautiful surroundings , very calm , really nice . You enter to a renovated barn where the kitchen , wine cellar and entrance hall is . Very well done , modern and old combined . The hotel in the back looks like an Italian palazo , romantic , ideal for a 3 day stay . The dining room is modern with very nice views , a large space so never noisy . So this part of the new " Troisgros " is spectacular .
The wine list is great . It is not difficult to deduct that they have large allocations of Coche Dury , Roulot , Lafon , Leflaive … and Rousseau and Roumier in red . The wine service is perfect : excellent advice , beautiful stemware and perfect temperatures . We had a Coche Caillerets 2007 , a magnum of Meursault Charmes 2002 from Roulot , a 2002 Charmes from Rousseau and another Rousseau 1993 Ruchottes . All wines performed brilliantly .
We were met by Cesar Troisgros , a fourth generation son , which is great to see . His mother was there too and showed us around . Father Pierre was in Paris . Son and mother could not have been more friendly .
But of course , you come for the food . Unfortunatley , we were underwhelmed to put it mildly . The first few dishes suffered from this " cuisine acide " that young chefs love so much . I don’t understand why they ruin a perfectly well made fish by putting all kinds of stuf on it that makes it overly acidic . Some other dishes were just not very tasty . NONE of the dishes were hot , some just a little warm . And finally , the ris de veau was so bad I send it back almost untouched . The meat looked grey and tasted like cardboard .
It pains me to see this as this was one of my favorite restaurants in the world . Maybe they can get back in shape when young Cesar gets his act together , I certainly hope so .
The dessert was creative and interesting , the cheese tray spectacular . ( I like to end on a positive note ) .
Very sad. As you know my first meal there a number of years ago was stupendous and probably the best meal I have ever had in my life. My last meal there which was around two years ago was a major disappointment. Michel was not there but his son was there and in charge of the kitchen. Like you said, it was disappointing to say the least. I have not been in any rush to go back given the disappointing quality of my last meal.
We had a very different experience three weeks ago. Two dinners, the a la carte a step up but both excellent.