The Abbey is a hotel with a restaurant separately accessed in the basement. The setting is old stone, with the buildings dating from the 13th Century or earlier. The hotel is up a steep flight of spiral stone stairs, while the restaurant is down, off the pavement of this winding side-street and through a VERY low stone archway, leading into a large subterranean vaulted cellar. The setting is very picturesque and while this has made restaurant slightly touristy, it was well worth the visit. The menu is straightforward and there are some excellent wines of their list, but you need to look for them. We found a splendid and reasonably priced Hospices de Beaune Beaune 1er Cru that was super. What makes this place special is the setting.

This is a restaurant and 2 star hotel located just outside the walled town. They have an attractive main dining room with a selection of well cooked local dishes supported by a wine list which is straightforward, with one or two bright spots in it. It is located just outside the centre of the town, with the restaurant looking out over the bustling Place Madeleine, which has several bars and restaurants and plenty of parking.

We had an enjoyable meal here and their cheese-board was exemplary.

This is a family run restaurant in the centre of Gevrey Chambertin, with a strikingly modern interior for such an old fashioned village. It is signposted off the N 74 but only from the Dijon, I seem to recall, however if you drive into the centre of the village and park in the main square Place du Monument, it is only a couple of minutes walk. The food here is very good and the service excellent. We had a two course lunch and were comfortably finished in just over an hour. The menu starts at 24.50 euros for two courses and my foie gras followed by woodpigeon were both excellent.

The wine list is extensive but hopelessly biased towards the Cotes de Nuits. There are 6 pages of Cotes de Nuits, of which Gevrey takes up 3 pages, set against only 7 entries for the whole of the Cote de Beaune. There was also a small amount of Bordeaux, doubtless to cater for die-hard addicts. They also serve a good selection of wines by the glass.

Alongside the restaurant is his wine shop, Au Pinot Noir, which sells a selection of local wines.

Located in the centre of the village of Chassagne Montrachet, Le Chassagne was the idea of several leading local winegrowers who wanted to give their village a restaurant that could also serve to promote the wines of the village. As a result the wine list is one of the most entertaining we have come across, with whole pages devoted to one specific vineyard and containing bottles from many different growers.

The restaurant is an attractively renovated stone building with plenty of parking right outside in the square. The Chef, M Stephane Leger produces an excellent menu for both lunch and dinner, ranging from 30 euros upwards and the wines are competitively priced, with some surprises on his list. Knowing how difficult it is to even find a Coche -Dury in England, seeing his wines on this list, at affordable prices, was a particular pleasure. We have eaten well here on each occasion.

It is advisable to book as the restaurant is a little off the beaten track and is quite popular. It would be a pity to arrive "on spec" and find it full.

Centrally located near the Fort St Nicholas, M and Madame Demougeot run a smart and comfortable restaurant with a range of traditional dishes. The question often asked during our dinner was "What is Ciboultette?" The answer is chives.

This is a new restaurant, only opened in the summer, yet it already has sufficient of a reputation that it was recommended to us by Sophie at Leflaive. Its small entrance on the main Boulevard that we have come to know as "the peripherique" is tucked between the BIVB and L'Auberge du Cheval Noir. The setting is a well renovated underground cellar with only about ten tables. Menus range up to €32 and the winelist is well selected and fairly priced. We had a really enjoyable meal in this old/modern setting and will certainly be returning.

On the main road in the centre of Auxey, about ten minutes from Beaune and hardly two minutes from Meursault, La Cremaillere has an enjoyable menu of mainly local dishes and a well balanced wine list containing a selection of mature Burgundies from Michel Prunier's own cellars. We have eaten here many times and any visit by Michel himself enhances every occasion.

This restaurant and family hotel is one of the top eating places in Burgundy and probably France. Lameloise is not a cheap night out, by any means, but the quality is amongst the highest you will find and yet it manages to keep its sense of proportion. The service is impeccable, the cuisine ( I am not willing to use the word food in this context ) is superb, the wine list requires guidance and the diner is the most important person in the room. Practically everything you will eat is made on the premises; the jam for breakfast; the bread; the chocolates that accompany the coffee; I am not sure whether they make their own butter, but if I am told they do, it will come as no surprise. The quest for quality takes no prisoners here. Booking is essential. Children are welcomed in the main dining room at dinner.

Lameloise also has rooms and these are to the same standard. Their car parking is immediately outside the hotel, but if you wish to have covered parking, it is round the corner. The restaurant is in the centre of the town.

Place Carnot is one of the main town squares, adjoining the market and the Hospices and Le Clos Carnot is well placed facing the park benches and car parking, between a café and another restaurant.

It appears to be a bar from the outside, with a few tables along one wall, however if you go inside and down the corridor it opens up into a smallish restaurant with a handful of tables in a quite charming setting.

We have now visited le Clos on several occasions, both for lunch and dinner and it has a charm and ambiance that makes it easy to re-visit. It is ideal for a good, simple and relatively quick lunch with a set menu starting at €18 for three courses. The wine list is well appointed with bottles from smaller Domaines, often close friends of the owner and his list contains an imaginative selection of excellent quality wines by the glass.

There are tables outside for the summer and booking is not usually necessary as the turnover is fairly swift and tables become available quite regularly. As a family business, the service is excellent.

Le Clos Carnot
34 Place Carnot 

21200 Beaune

 

Tel: 00333 80 26 91 01

A small gap in a wall just of the main square in Marsannay opens out into a splendid restaurant. It was so smart we felt embarrassed to go in without a tie on, but there was no need to have worried, we were welcome.

Les Gourmets does take a little finding and we stumbled upon it by accident, seeking refuge from the rain. The food is excellent and the wine list is extensive. It featured some of Jean-Louis Huguenot's Marsannay white so we looked no further, but there was a considerable choice. Monsieur Perreaut is the Chef and Mademe looks after her diners.

We have now made several return visits to Ma Cuisine an excellent restaurant which has never failed to give us an enjoyable meal. It is invariably busy and being small this means a bustling atmosphere rather than sedate calm. It is also usually full, so booking is advisable.

Just off one of the main squares, under an archway and down a small side-street, you will find this small family run restaurant of one large room with some 20 tables. The food is varied and excellent and the wine list is extensive. It only opens four days a week, being closed on Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday. As the owner explained to us, he enjoys doing other things too!

The only downside that we can think of is that although it is in the centre of Beaune, it is tucked down a cobbled alleyway and is a little difficult to find. Once there, however, it is worth the effort. The wine list is superb.

Take the turning for Aloxe off the main N74 and follow the road into the centre of the village until you find a square full of parking spaces. Just to the left you will see the gates of Domaine Comte Senard and the Table d’Hote menu will be up on a board alongside.

The showroom and adjoining restaurant are situated in some converted farm buildings and this is another charming spot for a menu degustation, where the set menu serves as an accompaniment to a lovely range of wines. The set menu starts at €35 and is inclusive of the wines

La Table is now open throughout the year except January when it is closed for the whole month. It is usually busy, especially at week-ends so it is safest to book.

This has to be a wine buff's dream location. What a simple concept and how successfully delivered! Here you have the chance to taste a whole range of burgundies over a simple yet excellent set menu, under the watchful eye of Pascal Wagner who talks you through each glassful from the basic chardonnay right up to the top wines. These are only tastings, so the glasses are not heavily charged, but the selection makes for a most enjoyable lunch.

Please remember to book a table as this is a very popular venue and there are seldom any spare places at Lunchtime.

Le Vendangerot is in the centre of Rully. As you leave Chagny on the D981, Rully village is signposted to the right. The centre of the village is a bit of a warren of tiny streets, but the restaurant is located in what must be the main square. We first stopped here at the suggestion of Madame Tatraux-Juillet and had the episode with the small boy on his scooter (Visit Notes June 2005). The day we wanted to dine, they were fully booked, which is usually a good sign. We thus reserved a table for the following day and had an excellent meal. As I quite forgot to make a note of the menu prices and wine list on our first visit, we have been back and once again enjoyed ourselves greatly. The restaurant was less crowded on our second visit, in winter. The food is good and the set menus run from 25 euros up to 32 euros, with a wine list that has a strong local Rully bias, with wines at between 25 and 50 euros. We had a Rully 1er Cru Les Margotes 2005 from Breliere which was robust, with lots of body and lovely fruit aromas.

This restaurant is comfortable, jolly, busy and the trade seems to be almost entirely local. It is also a hotel, with rooms from €51 per night. As usual, it is safest to book as there is not much else to eat in the immediate vicinity, unless you are fond of grapes!

Loiseau des Vignes: Beaune The Bernard family who own one of Beaune’s more elegant hotels, Hotel Le Cep,  have invited the Loiseau family from Saulieu to establish Loiseau des Vignes in a room with street frontage immediately adjoining the hotel entrance.

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The prices are quite high, with starters at around €20 and main courses €40, however the cuisine is of a high standard, as one would expect and the wine list is scattered with a huge array of quality wines by the glass, so that it becomes a Menu Degustation, should you wish. Loiseau des Vignes 31 Rue Maufoux 21200 Beaune Tel: 00333 80 24 12 06 Website: www.bernard-loiseau.com