Do I regret going? I’m not sure yet. Was it good? Not really. But it was profoundly sad. A great, influential, and deeply regarded culinary destination for 100 years has been turned into an apparent husk of its former self. Has it always been this way? I hope not. They have at least two M.O.F.’s in the kitchen, how could the food turn out like this? It’s clear from reading the reviews here that people have not enjoyed their experience, but I was willing to give it a shot. First time in Lyon, had to check all the boxes, etc. The vibe was very much mess hall with white linen table cloths.
Service: Efficient, militant, and impersonal. Our primary server was merely a food runner. We were required to order before we had a chance to review the wine menu. Our amuse bouche arrived before we selected a bottle of wine. Once I noted that our party has a dietary aversion to mayonnaise, they quickly brushed it off. The amuse? Deviled eggs. The fish course had hollandaise.
Bad dishes: The ‘lukewarm langoustine’ with crispy avocado and crab. The langoustine was actually great. But they ruined it with a tower of guacamole and crab salad. Why? I don’t know. Have had better table side guacamole at chili’s. The Sole came with a roasted hollandaise over a bed of fresh pasta. It was bland and flavorless.
The good dishes: The chartreuse palate cleanser was exceptional: Green apple sorbet with a chartreuse icy to prepare for the Bresse chicken. The bread was good, the butter was the appropriate temperature but lacked flavor. The presentation of butter as a flower screamed mid 20th century country club.
Despite the meal taking nearly four hours, the first 5 courses were served in the first hour. They were just okay. We came for the poulet-en-vessie, and that was wonderful. Spiced morels, rich cream sauce, delicate chicken. Really a great dish, and loved the table side presentation. But everything else was lacking.
Final thoughts: I get that the service is very retro fine-dining, and many people go to experience and enjoy this older vestige of luxury. But there was no personal connection, no curiosity, just a brutal and ruthlessly efficient brigade of food runners. Once a plate was cleared from the table, it was promptly put on a side station and cleared onto a stack of other dirty dishes. These dirty dishes continued to stack up, and would be cleared roughly every 15 minutes. It was rather foul. Eventually, our server would clear the stacked tray of dirty and come in with another dish, only for the cycle to repeat itself.
I may go back, but only for the a-la-carte Bresse chicken. I would not recommend the tasting menu to anyone.
by ChezCooper
33 Comments
A devastating takedown and searing indictment. I’m not a fan of negative reviews of little known spots, but the powerful need to be held to account. Thank you for your service.
I went about 10 years ago and all I remember is the soup (truffle?) with the pastry lid, which was divine
Ugh. This was my first three star 15 years ago, and we met Bocuse himself. I still dream of the loup en croute. So sad to see it decline.
Paul bocuse is turning in his grave
> Do I regret going?
For me personally I’m happy to try something I expect not to like just to know that I formed my own informed opinion on it rather than parroting the opinions of others.
haha i always comment this on any paul bocuse post/comment, but
1) they forgot about my wine, i was a few dishes in before they finally brought it to me, i had reminded them after my first dish.
2) they asked if i wanted to tip on card or cash.
Question on the very final picture; did they serve you that meringue with the big chip already knocked out of it, or did you taste before snapping?
wow. the exterior looks like a tired disney attraction.
the food doesn’t look much better.
sad.
I never realized that this was the visual inspiration for Gusteau’s in Ratatouille.
The stack of dirty dishes is so bizarre! That’s something you see in a diner.
Lukewarm dishes seem to be a trend in Europe right now. I had two recently while in Spain and I thought they were menu translations but they weren’t. I don’t understand it and I don’t enjoy it. What’s up with this trend?
I’m sad to hear that such an iconic and esteemed restaurant has gone so downhill. It’s surprising that they served deviled eggs after you had the no mayonnaise conversation with them. Did you let them know after they served it? Hollandaise doesn’t have mayo in it though right?
I have to point out that this is just an overall excellent review.
All too often negative reviews veer into something more reminiscent of insult comedy, which makes them seem highly dubious. You steered away from that and gave a pretty vivid picture of what you liked and disliked and why.
How much did you pay for….whatever that was??? Looked like a bunch of different colored sick on plates. Awful
Bread and butter looks good
Sorry to ask, what is a M.O.F. Chef?
They just need to hire a little rat chef to fix it for them.
This is disappointing! I went about 10-12 years ago as a solo diner and the service was so good! It can be odd to do such fancy dining alone but the pace and attention of the service was perfect and I still have my menu they gave me.
What is the white dish in the last photo?
Why does the first image look like a camp from FO76?!
I went a few summers ago and it was fantastic. The food quality in your pictures justifies the review though. Too bad.
Post had me feeling vibes of Charlie Trotters towards the end.
In Lyon you’ll get a better meal at small, less fussy places these days. Le Bouchon des Filles is one of my favorites
This shit looks pretty good, am I just a peasant?
I’ve been and it was an amazing and well delivered experience. It is unfortunate that you didn’t enjoy it.
Glad you liked the chicken. I really hope it was better than how it looks….boiled? Liked your description. Thank you
If us diners want a real traditional French fine dining experience (Bocuse in their heydays), does anyone know which restaurant in France still offers it?
“Mess hall” seems a bit extreme. The plating does look mid for such an esteemed fine dining establishment though. Sorry to hear you had such a bad time there. I was at the Bocuse restaurant in Tokyo this year and had a stellar meal with very good service and an incredible dessert.
Explain dietary aversion to mayonnaise.
Is it the blender that makes them averse?
Or is it oil, vinegar, lemon, salt, Dijon they are averse to?
Dietary aversion…
This is giving me vibes of “people who have no idea what ‘fine dining’ means have opened a ‘fine dining’ restaurant and now Gordon Ramsay has to come berate them on Kitchen Nightmares”
I went a couple of times in 1988 and 1990 when PB was very much hands on in the house. Legendary.
Tragic to read this but not surprising.
The cheese dish looks wild