The Lavoir opened its doors in 2012 but is already an institution of the alternative cultural…read morelandscape of the Croix-Rousse... and Lyon in general. They do a mix of parties, theatre, exhibits, take part in festivals - all that at reasonable prices, you pay a 2€ membership fee per year because it's an association plus either pay what you like (often for parties) or a set ticket price for plays etc. The venue itself is worth going for, a former public wash and bath house, still complete with vats for washing clothes and an industrial feel. The monthly Arm Aber Sexy party is great (first Saturday of the month), the people are a queer-hetero-hipster-alterno mix, which makes for a great atmosphere, the music is often good, ranging from electro to disco-ish. Absolutely recommended if you're looking for a queer-friendly party with a laid-back, dancy DYI feel (the drink selection is small but cheep and the speakers sometimes die at the end of the night) and you don't mind an early night (they close at midnight because of the residential area).

It's a nice place to get a beer. The pizza was decent for a place that doesn't have a huge menu…read more The staff are nice and friendly. C'est un bon endroit pour une bière. Le pizza était ok pour une place que n'a pas un grand menu. Les employées sont-ils gentils et sympa.

Its THE place to be. A lil noisy on Saturdays but what the hell. The cocktails are excellent. Try…read moretheir mojito.

Simple everyday French cuisine with superlative execution…read more Superlative execution is a good thing. I had two dishes that you have eaten a million times. 1) Veal Parmigiana (French people eat this too. It is not purely an Italian dish). 2) Creme Brulee. Both of them were the finest versions I have ever had of either dish. * * * The Veal Parmigiana was a pure quality of raw ingredients play. The French have magnificent veal. The United States has mediocre veal. This dish shows what a huge difference veal quality means. One bite of the naked veal with no sauce and no cheese on it - And I could see I had entered a whole new realm of veal eating. There is more to La Belle Colombe's execution than just good veal. La Belle Colombe puts a thick slice of eggplant on top of the veal. The eggplant was the eggplantiest eggplant I have ever had in my life. ("Eggplantiest" is a real word. As of now. Sez me.) Their eggplant makes the eggplants I get in my supermarket at home seem like cardboard. Which did I like better, the veal, the eggplant or the tomato sauce with cheese? Oh my god, can I have ten weeks to decide With me eating their veal parmigiana every day just to be sure? * * * But then there was dessert. You think you know what creme brulee is all about? La Belle Colombe will change your entire thinking about the dish. Americans make a sweet creamy pudding on the bottom which gets covered with crispy caramelization on top. But the crisp caramel glaze is just a lid for what is in essence a very creamy custard. The sugar in the custard makes the dish dessert. La Belle Colombe reverses the roles. Very very little sugar is put in the custard. A spice is added - not to make things interest - but to make things dull. The cook is trying deliberately to make the custard as flat as uninteresting as possible. The spice cancels out whatever sugar or dairy taste is there - giving you a base of creamy nothing. Why would any cook deliberately do that? So You Taste The Crispy Brulee On The Top. The cook is saying, why should I bother grilling the custard if nobody is going to taste all the work I put into this? The creme brulee crust is not just a wrapper that you take off and throw away. The cook at La Belle Colombe puts much more of a char on the brulee crust than you are used to seeing. This brulee is really really really brulee. It is charred and broiled like a steak. And THIS crust really tastes like something. * * * Pretend that the custard in a creme brulee is the saxophone and the crust is the bass. The cook is saying - Bass Solo! The saxophone player gets away from the front of the stage and has a beer. It is time for the bass player to show what he can do. THIS brulee crust is Charles Mingus all the way! An interesting dessert I would be happy to have over and over and over again. * * * There are no novelties on the menu of La Belle Colombe. These are all standard French favorites. But they are so so good ... and in some cases ... they are original takes. A fine fine fine establishment.

I've been here in the day and at night when the night club opens so I'll average this review on…read moreboth experiences. As an Australian they have defiantly put a lot to make it look very Australian with the flags, signs and mammal art work. The toilets are a negative with the males only having urinals and the swinging back doors an issue to get in and out. The drinks are quite cheap during the special times but they are not Australian beers which I find an issue due to it being an Australian pub. The night life during a Saturday night I can say is different to what it's like back home. It costs eight euro to get in and you get one drink card. It does get really crowded here which I was surprised for an Australian pub but even with the crowd it was hard to find groups that spoke English. The bartenders are really friendly with good service and the music is similar with English playbacks which I was surprised about. Overall, I thought this place is really good for a night out if you go with friends due to the language barrier and a good place to go for a beer/ cocktail if it's a nice during the day.

This is a review for post-midnight…read more Let me start off with the fact that I hate cover. So, going out we intended on going to the boat next door, which is free prior to 11. But we soon realized, this is Europe, not Boston, and going out at 11 doesn't exist. 99% of the French are still relaxing. You know, still having dinner or going on lovely midnight summer strolls with their family..... So we sat on the deck and got some drinks while we waited, and decided the boat would never get a-rocking; so over to the Australian boat! I think it was 3 or 4 euros for the cover if you went sans alcool. Which doesn't sound bad at all now looking back at it, despite my feelings about cover. And, an Australian Boat in France...it's something you kind of have to go to. Now to the actual review. The place is interesting. Cute drinks. Portholes. But no lie, I was hoping for gorgeous Australian men, correction- shirtless & gorgeous Australian men. But they don't have that. The dancing area was pretty small. And it got really hot. But my friends and I eventually escaped the French sardines in a can situation and took over the back area. Overall, it was a good night.