Hi guys. Just a few thoughts on a few days here dining in Beaune. Things are rocking now. LOTS of people. If you want to dine on specific nights, make your reservations in advance. Many of the hotels are now booked into late September and the restaurants are very busy.
I have some new discoveries. Probably the best is a farm to table restaurant in Beaune called La Table du Square. Simple preparations. Very good wine list. Attentive service. Highly recommended.
For the old standbys, the food at Caves Madeleine has taken a true step up. Creative Burgundian cooking with a convivial atmosphere. Incredible wine list. Wonderful experience. It is loud in here but in a very fun way.
For a true 3 star experience, I can tell you that Lameloise is back on it. An absolutely perfect 4 hour dinner with wine with our little group. Amazing wine list. Incredible service. They have rooms that are highly recommended. They only have 40 covers. They have 16 rooms. The rooms get preference over outside diners. We were lucky as group of 6 to get Sunday reservations. They as a routine only have 8 open covers per night. One service only.
Thank you, Don. Just booked La Table du Square for dinner. Any advice for what time to make lunch and dinner reservations assuming visting 1-2 vineyards per day? Headed to Beaune in July. But a sobering reality is COVID⊠cancelling the familyâs Memorial Day plans due a family member testing positive (mild symptoms). Will have to play it very cool/at home in the weeks leading up to the flightâŠ
This looks like an offshoot of Bar Square, which was a cool bar with a fun wine list. Even on col January nights this place was always hopping and was often a visit when we stayed in Beaune on the Kermit Lynch buying trips. I even played DJ there for an hour or two on a couple of visits.
If you have an afternoon visit at 2:30 or so, you need to book lunch at 12:00. I can give you a couple of suggestions for lunch but there are many places to go. We ate at Le Globe in Meursault. They do a 3 course lunch and are sensitive to people needing to make appointments. Very good food and a pretty good winelist. In the Cote de Nuits we ate a Le Millesime in Chambolle. Amazing wine list and good food. Also at 12:00. You need to make them aware that you need to make an afternoon appointment. From Millesime we went to Vogue which is ia 3 minute walk. It took all of 2hrs and change for 3 courses. If you book JF Mugnier, it is also very close. Same for Roumier. I hope your family gets over COVID soon. Travel safely. Hope this helps.
This July will be my first time to Beaune and I havenât planned on visiting Ma Cuisine. Is this a mistake? The reviews I have read suggest I am 10 years too late to the restaurant. The wine mark ups sounded very high and the experience of eating there sounded a bit âpushyâ. The reviews didnât say this, but reminded me of a tourist trap.
Thank you - again - Don. COVID symptoms all under control (thankfully) and my parents just got 4th boosters!
Right now I have visits in Pommard (Bouley) and NSG (Faively and LâArlot). I have set them up for only one each day (although perhaps it makes sense to consolidate Faiveley/LâArlot given geographic proximity). E.G., Faively and LâArlot are both in the AM at 10/10:30 ish. Figured I would then set a 12:30PM lunch reservation and then a 8:30PM dinner reservation. Not sure what to do in the afternoons yet (I cannot really hang out in the sun for extended periods of time/my wife had back surgery so wonât be too active either)⊠so Iâm not sure if the lunch or dinner will be our âbiggerâ meal⊠Iâm planning for dinner to be so and focused making reservations for that. Milleseme looks like 10 min drive from NSG so will check it out. Did not even try for JF Mugier (2002 Fuees remains a highlight Burgundy for me! I just coughed seeing WS pricing!) or Roumier. A few producers I reached out to said they would not be taking visitors (or at least my cold email inquiry) or sadly stated they simply have no wine to pour at these types of things given short harvests (e.g. 2020). The latter point was made to me a few times - it was sad seeing those emails as some of these are âup and comersâ (e.g., Berthaut Gerbet). I did receive a couple form letter responses saying they do not do tours and do not sell wine â it sounds like they must get many inquiries this way!
It is in Demigny near Chagny. We didnât get a chance to go this trip but I heard some very good things about it. Fabulous wine list. LâAuberge de Demigny https://lauberge-de-demigny.eatbu.com/?lang=fr
We didnât go to Ma Cuisine this time. It is always very good and incredible wine list. A very good choice always. They are very busy these days too.
Many producers are very busy right now in the vineyard with the fixing the vines to the wires. Lots of domaines are going to trade or private client only visits. There is no wine in 2021. The quantities are down 70% in the Cote de Beaune and 30% or so in the Cote de Nuits. Sounds like you have some very good visits. The fact you are visiting in the AM will give you plenty of time for a leisurely lunch. So happy your family is on the mend.
An afternoon visit to the vineyards is wonderful. There is also 2 picnic tables above Petit Monts that were put in by the ladies of Beaune that give a view of Romanee Conti/Richebourg/La Tache that you wonât get anywhere else. Beautiful. My wife spent the day at the Abbaye de Fontaney and went to Auxerre. Very historic. Plenty of those kinds of visits available.
Re: Ma Cuisine. It is always fun. The wine lists at Caves Madeleine and many others are incredibly good. I think equally as good as Ma Cuisine. I personally think the food at Caves Madeleine is much better now than Ma Cuisine but it is a personal observation only. One gastro bar with a good list is Bout du Monde. It does have a young rowdy crowd however and might be a little less family friendly. We have been able to drink incredibly well this week.
If you want to taste more wines in the afternoon, you might try going to local Caveaus in many towns. In particular, the Caveau de Chassagne Montrachet has a lot of good stuff. Growers and merchants - Bourgogne wines
The pictures are absolutely fantastic, Donâjust skimmed them so far, will definitely make a point to enjoy when I have some more time. Makes me âhomesickâ for Burgundy. It looks like you had the very best time possible, though, albeit with shady companions . Also tagging this post for the many new restaurant listings that I havenât been aware of since my own last visit.
BISSOH, Caves Madeleine, or Ma Cuisine for our middle night?
Night one will probably be lâHotel because my son-in-law wants Poularde de Bresse.
Night three will probably be Caveau des Arches because itâs a nostalgic spot for my wife and daughter.
Or somewhere else? We want to stick with restaurants in Beaune.
We are going next May.
Iâm adding @Matthew_King to the well of info.
Ma Cuisine is like Peter Lugers in NYC. A traditional and comfortable spot, with lots of wine tourists. I personally liked the classic homey cooking but the wine list is a bit pricy and features a lot of young wines.
Skip LâExpression âŠ
William Kelley likes La Superb in the center of old town ⊠Eclectic and fair wine list but food was just OK on my visit. Fun wine crowd though.
The Saturday farmers market is not to be missed for takeaway food goodies in Beaune ⊠you can even get a rotisserie Bresse chicken to go!
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. Also tagging this post for the many new restaurant listings that I havenât been aware of since my own last visit.