The 1903 Bistro of Auberge du Pere Bise is quite a special experience in one of the most pristine…read moresettings one can imagine. If anyone is near Annecy, this is a must see and experience kind of place. The drive to Talloires unfolds the unique and aesthetically pleasing treat one will experience on the palate and via the olfactory senses. This is a mini empire of cuisine excellence. There are two restaurants co-located, the 1903 Bistro and the actual Auberge du Pere Bise restaurant under the young Chef Jean Sulpice, both rated two stars by Michelin. There is also a bakery located at the premises and one's appetite will be thoroughly whetted with pastry chefs walking between the restaurants and bakery as you approach and enter.
You will understand this is a high end affair with well heeled and attired understated folks exiting their vehicles for valet parking. The nearby pristine Lac du Annecy and surrounding mountains along with the picturesque village of Talloires complete this picture meeting your eyes before you take a step into this calm 1903 Bistro.
This was my second visit to Talloires and this time I was treating my family friends to lunch for spoiling me in the Spring of this year and so often over the decades. We had a reservation and they seated us at a large round table along the curvilinear windows that look out to the curvature of Talloires along the lake and the lake itself toward the opposite shore and mountains beyond. Oh yes, this is a special experience!
My appetizer was a crudite not made of vegetables, but of a long toasted bread stick for dipping in a rich and creamy seafood type sauce. Then came my entree consisting of a local fish from the Lac du Annecy called a Fera, related to salmon and trout, on a bed of vegetables with a creamy sauce spooned over the fish by the ever attentive and refined waiter appropriate for such a place. I chose a Rose from the Provence that was fruity, floral and fragrant. I believe we consumed two bottles of that elegant Rose, which paired well with everyone's selections as well as this magnificent dessert made of grapefruit meringue and sorbet. What a cap to the experience, but wait, there's more. They complimented the table with praline tartlets that sent us into orbit and let me go home with two. That bakery is no joke!
You will pay for this experience at around a hundred dollars per person, but you will never forget the experience, which does not have to end upon payment. All credit cards are accepted here, particularly if you experienced many places in France not accepting Amex. You can stroll outside and enjoy a cigar waterside, which the family indulged me as I sipped on cognac and enjoyed a Siglo VI. You can stroll around the lake if you please, which I have done. If there is any shortcoming, it is the somewhat sparse servings that often come at this price point. You leave satisfied and satiated, but your appetite will soon resurrect itself.
Four and a half beautifully experienced stars!
