Two weeks ago I spent six days in France with the missus, splitting our time between Paris and Lyon. Andrew Kotowski did a fine job with his Paris thread but I figured there just cannot be too much Paris on the forum and some Lyon cannot hurt either so why not share some of our experiences?
Our agenda was a bit funky as we flew to Paris only to stay there for one night before taking the train to Lyon. Our first hotel was in Le Marais, well within a walking distance to the Gare de Lyon station. We took the RER line from Charles de Gaulle to the Chùtelet-Les Halles station and walked a while before deciding to have lunch at a cozy small restaurant called Le Metropolitain. The plat de jour with café gourmand was excellent value and the restaurant is really a great getaway from the crowds. Quite refined cooking for such a casual place in fact.
Afterwards we took our bags to the hotel, wandered around a little bit before ending up at the nearby Caves du Marais wineshop. We had been there in 2014 when I had scored some cheap Dauvissat and I would not have minded a dĂ©jĂ -vu. As it happens that was not to be as the prices had nearly doubled in four years. Still, it remains a recommendable shop with lots of nice producers represented, such as Rousseau, Sauzet, Droin, Chermette etc. It is as tightly-packed as it gets, high piles of cases of wines everywhere and very little room to move. The owner sits calmly in the corner behind the counter but speaks good English and kindly offered to help should we need any. Aftering wondering a bit I bought some Sauzet and a bottle of Clapeâs Vin des Amis for my friend and we left.
For dinner we would meet my cousin and her boyfriend and I had booked a rather relaxed spot called Au Passage (pictured, kind of). Someone had described its location on a dark alley next to waste containers as seemingly a âfine place to get muggedâ and I have to say I concur. That said the restaurant had garnered lots of praise for its awesome atmosphere, simple yet fine cooking and good selection of mostly natural wines.
The food is mostly small plates but they also offer a shoulder of lamb for the curious (compared to the rest of the list) price of 50 âŹ. We assumed that this would be a dish for two so tried to order it accordingly but fortunately the waitress kindly told us that she would not allow us to order what would be more or less 4kg of meat. Indeed one shoulder combiner with various small plates turned out to be more than enough for us. At times the small plates were really too small for four but we managed to share them in a peaceful manner and tasty they were without a doubt. For the first bottle we got my gfâs favorite, 2012 Domaine de Terrebrune Bandol, which despite the young age was not hard, angular or mute. In fact it was a great success around the table with its strawberry-laden fruit, power, structure and a healthy dose of spice. Not animalistic at all yet still very much what I am looking for in a Bandol.
For the second bottle I craved for a Cabernet Franc and wanted to order a 2013 Hardouinos Saumur Champigny by Domaine Bobinet. The sommeliĂšre was very hesitant as she was afraid it would be too light for us after the Bandol. After I explained that it would not be that serious she gave in but said that I could try the wine and if it was too light she would put it on the by the glass list and we could choose something else. Unusual perhaps but great service I have to say! As it happens the wine - while lighter for sure - was extremely delicious and brimming with energy. Irresistible tangy red fruit, high acidity and delicious savory character. It was actually the perfect wine for the fatty, slow-cooked lamb. For a more natural wine oriented crowd there would have been some interested stuff such as several bottlings from LâAnglore and the fantastic Susucaru rosĂ© from Frank Cornelissen. We were very happy with our choices, with the food and the service. The informal atmosphere suited us very well and unlike some online reviewers we did not find the music too loud. Could be an age thing.
Next noon we took the TGV to Lyonâs Perrache station which is very conveniently located in the central part of the city. The previous day there had been a terrorist attack at a Christmas market in Strasbourg and as a result there were at least a dozen heavily armed soldiers patrolling at the Lyon Perrache station and the Christmas market right next to it. Naturally we were not in a mood to spend time at the Christmas market so we grabbed a light lunch and took our bags to our hotel. This rather B&B kind of an establishment called HĂŽtel Vaubecour was very nice - on a quiet yet central location and basically formed the second floor of a classy apartment building. Extra kudos for the great breakfast and very good coffee.
In case it does not translate from the image it was COLD in Lyon. Despite the temperatures being pretty much the same as in Paris the humidity made it feel a lot worse. On the other hand we also felt like we were the only tourists around so I guess you win some, you lose some.
After strolling around in the Vieux Lyon a bit we magically ended up standing in front of Antic Wine, probably the most famous wine shop in town. Several winemakers have endorsed this shop in the past and it was not hard to see why. The first floor was filled with recent vintages from nice producers, but downstairs one could find some pretty magical stuff. Until this I had never seen unopened bottles from René Engel or Noël Verset but here they were in good quantities alongside some more attainable yet still in demand producers. Having recently torn my ankle ligaments it was actually not a very easy walk up and down the ancient stone steps so make sure to be in shape and healthy if you decide to come here, as you should.
Being the poor bastard that I am I opted for some considerably more affordable bottles from PYCM, Henri Boillot and Jean-Luc Jamet. Really looking forward to the 2015 CĂŽte-RĂŽtie Les Terrasses from the latter - at 60 ⏠it could be quite a value if it manages to reach the heights of Jean-Paulâs wines.
After Antic Wine it felt right to compensate so we spent a couple of hours visiting normal peopleâs shops. Not nearly soon enough it was time for dinner and we had booked a place called LâĂme Soeur a bit outside the commercial center. As the name suggests there was a huge bottle of Ogierâs identically named wine sitting on the counter in this intimate restaurant the size of one room. On a Wednesday evening we were only the second customers but it filled up almost instantly.
As far as value goes LâĂme Soeur is right up there with the best of them. A fine three course menu for 25 ⏠and a compact, moderately sized list of smart wines means you will have both good time and feel good about your finances afterwards. The wine list (can be seen online) is unsurprisingly very strong when it comes to the RhĂŽne Valley with Jamet, Allemand and Reynaud being the stars. Additionally their selection of Ramonet is nothing short of fantastic and indeed we ended up with a bottle of 2014 Puligny-Montrachet Les EnseigniĂšres as I had not had this cuvĂ©e before. In retrospect it is not as great a wine as the Chassagne Ruchottes which would have been only ten Euros more but I feel like it is always nice to try something new. A good wine it is most definitely; thoroughly salty on the nose with notes of lemon, spearmint and smoke. On the palate dry, savory and moderately rich with a fine touch of oak and quite powerful acidity. It was a bit timid early on but certainly got better and better as the evening went on would surely do well in the cellar.
The 25 ⏠menu is considerably better than could be reasonably expected and offers quite a lot of choice. Strong, rich sauces, fresh ingredients and just simply delicious. With the starter and the main I could hardly wait to get to the part where I clean the plate impeccably with a piece of bread. I would say that the cooking is quite perfect for their wine cellar. Overall, a brilliant restaurant that cannot be recommended highly enough. Not that Lyon isnât packing when it comes to options but surely you could do a lot worse then LâĂme Soeur!