I’ve been hearing about this place since it opened a few years ago but never bothered to check it out. For the most part, I’d only heard about the hotel it’s attached to and how expensive it was – instant turnoff – not the restaurant. When I finally did hear about Le Bistro, I was led to believe that the food was modern and overdone, exactly what I would expect from an expensive hotel in a small French town. We were booked at Ma Cuisine that night but Etienne insisted that we join him here for dinner, cancelling reservations at my favorite place in town and jeopardizing the potential to dine there at all on this trip. A couple of nights prior at another dinner, the subject of Burgundy restaurants popped up and the Bistro and when asked why we hadn’t been there, we told him. Apparently JW, another frequent visitor, had heard the same thing and wasn’t interested. Etienne insisted that what we heard wasn’t true and that this place was the real thing; fabulous yes, a bit pricey yes. But very traditional. He should know, he not only lives here but really knows food and wine. Now I was excited. The place certainly has the look of a luxe restaurant but the atmosphere is actually warm and inviting, just like a bistro should be. The main differences between this place and the great bistro’s of Paris like L’Ami Louis and Chez George, for example, are the noise level and the fact that your not seated elbow to elbow with total strangers. A small town luxury. The most important difference for me however is that the food is better here and the wine list is among the best in town. Very thoughtful list with great values and a good selection of older wines. There were a of prix fixe options but we chose to order à la carte since we were sharing different things.
I started with a dish of coques, a bit like our manila clams but smaller, sweeter and more delicate, that was elegant and light, a welcome break amongst all the rich food we’d been eating. Steamed in splash of white wine and served with parsley, garlic and a bit of olive oil, not the usual addition of cream. Almost identical to the vongole veraci aglio olio my aunt makes for me in Napoli but for the absence of dried red pepper. Here it’s replaced with fresh black pepper (you’d never use both) My dining companions started with a couple of black truffle dishes, one a coddled egg with shavings of truffle and the other a risotto with the same. The egg looked great, the yolk perfectly runny, and I did taste the risotto which was more than competent but hey, it’s not northern Italy. We washed this down with a Raveneau Chablis Valmur 2007, a real treat since it’s about as good as Chablis gets, a great vintage and I can’t find it at home. What followed was fantastic. We decided on two dishes which were prepared for two; Poulet de Bresse, a local delicacy, and côte de veau, both carved tableside. The veal was excellent. Cooked on the rare side, especially towards the bone, but tender which is an accomplishment since veal tends to be a little chewy if not cooked past rare to rosy in the center. Served with a a simple morel cream sauce in a gravyboat it was heartwarming. The real revelation here was the poulet. The bird was carved with what looked like a steak knife and I couldn’t believe how easy it was coming apart, just falling off the bone. If you’ve ever had Poulet de Bresse you probably know it as a meaty, fairly firm bird, almost dry, albeit with incredible flavor. This was something else. Unbelievably tender and rich, the white meat being every bit as delectable as the dark. Easily the best either of us had ever eaten. I asked Russell about this the next day and he let on a secret I’d never heard (then again I’m not a chef); you poach the bird first, mi-cuit and then finish it by roasting in a beastly hot oven until crisp. No problem. Etienne blinded us on one of his own wines. Amy and I guessed Côte de Beaune almost immediately and she wound up in Pommard, I in Volnay Chênes. She guessed a riper vintage, I guessed something a bit leaner like 95, 93 or 91. We were both right. It was the De Montille Pommard Pézerolles 1991. Earthy and perfumed with sous bois and cherries. Fantastic with the chicken and a real treat to drink old Burgundy with such great provenance. We were blinded on another wine with the excellent cheese course. This one was a little easier since it was white and fairly reeked of Puligny-Montrachet though, as JW pointed out, it could have been a Chassagne. I made my first ever winery visit to said commune the very next day so I would’ve pled ignorance. It was a Leflaive 2001 Villages in half-bottle, great cheese wine. All things considered, the cooking is top-rate though on the expensive side as Beaune restaurants go. I think it will become a regular stop for me. Highly recommended.
5 rue Samuel Legay
21200 Beaune (France)
33 (0) 3 80 25 94 14
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