Lyon: A Letdown, Yet Not Quite a Total Bust

I booked this spot based on its 4.6 rating on Google Maps, but the experience? Hard to put into words. Let’s start with the positives: It’s cheap. A 3-course meal—starter, main, and either cheese or dessert—costs just €32. That’s a steal for Lyon.👌 The Starters I went with the egg dish, which looked stunning. A perfectly runny yolk, glistening under a red wine sauce—even piercing it felt satisfying, like a tiny culinary ASMR moment. Then I took a bite.😍 Yikes. The flavor was baffling. The sauce tasted confused, like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be tangy, savory, or something else entirely. It clashed with the egg, turning what should’ve been creamy comfort into a head-scratcher. As for the other starter? I forgot it entirely—either it was that unmemorable, or the first dish left such a mark, my brain erased it.🙌 The Main Course Then came the pork. And wow—completely unexpected. Tender, fall-off-the-bone tender, cooked until it melted in your mouth. The sauce? Spot-on: rich, well-balanced, elevating the meat without overpowering it. It was, hands down, the best main course we had during our few days in Lyon (though to be fair, options were limited over the May Day holiday).🤣 Starters: I tried the famous escargots avec moelle de boeuf (snails with beef marrow) 🐌. Rich, buttery, and… very heavy. One bite was enough! Mom had cold smoked salmon, which was average, but the capers in the dip (crunchy, like tiny green beans) were a highlight.😂 Dessert & Cheese Dessert was generic—sweet, cloyingly so, with no real standout notes. I opted for goat cheese instead, which was a solid call: fresh, 👌mild, with none of that sharp tang some goat cheeses have. Paired with jam, it was simple but enjoyable. Verdict It’s a tough one. Without that disastrous starter, I’d say it’s worth a try. But factoring it in? I left feeling like I’d dodged a bullet… only to stumble into a pleasant surprise. Maybe there are better starters on the menu—I’ll never know, because I won’t be returning.😘 Address: 23 Rue du Bât d'Argent, 69001 Lyon, France #food #FrenchCuisine #Lyon #LyonFood #LyonTravel #Travel