The place is run by a mother/son duo. The mom cooks, the son works the front (with help from a young woman).
For the starter I had poêlée de cèpes. I'd seen this dish on a few menus in Paris, but never ordered it. It's basically just a plate of porcini that have been sautéed in garlic, butter, and herbs. Simple as that. But I don't actually think this is the best way to enjoy porcini, even when they are as fresh as these were. They work better with some kind of a base - like pasta, or scrambled eggs, which somehow heightens their earthy flavor. These were nicely sautéed in parsley, thyme, and garlic, and that distinctive porcini flavor was enjoyable, but the overall dish just seemed a bit thrown together and uninspired - and overpriced considering the small portion.
My wife had the veal terrine with black trumpet mushrooms, which was just a silly dish. The black trumpets were completely wasted - their wonderful earthy flavor was totally lost. Plus, the terrine tasted like it had *just* been taken out of the fridge and sliced up (terrines are better if you let them get closer to room temp).
Some things that we'd wanted from the menu were apparently not available that day. I wanted to order sautéed tripe, which I imagined would be prepared with herbs and garlic and taste rich and flavorful. But I was told they were out of that dish, and the waiter recommended a fried tripe dish instead. The tripe was pounded out and fried like a tripe schnitzel, and I couldn't taste any of that unique tripe-y flavor. The chef could have put veal or pork in there and I wouldn't have known the difference. Not a lot of heart or thought went into this dish.
My wife wound up with sausage with bits of pistachio in it. It was good for what it was, but we don't go out to a restaurant to get a freaking sausage that we could just as easily buy from a good butcher shop and eat at home.
We came here expecting a special experience from a reportedly skilled and reputable chef who has made her restaurant a local institution. Instead we got bland and uninspired dishes that left us in a fowl mood. It pains us to see someone throw such simple, boring stuff like this on a plate and charge relatively high prices for it. And how could someone churn out such dull food and have a full house for lunch? And in the city of Lyon, no less?
And yet, the place was packed. Within 15 minutes of our arrival, people were being turned away at the door. Weird! read more