Around the Pressoir — Restaurant in Avallon

l told my friend l absolutely would NOT eat there until she said there were new owners. What a positive change ! What a pleasure to be greeted by a friendly smile ! What a good feeling to be offered the same (fantastically delicious) menu as the other clients. You guessed it... 3 or 4 years ago, a friend and l were given a choice of only 3 main dishes by a sour looking owner while the patrons seated after us (apparently regulars) at the table next to ours were given a 3 foot cardboard menu/carte (propped on a chair) to chose from ! How unprofessional was that !?! l hate to cook, l live a stone throw away... this restaurant would have been ideal for me but needless to say neither my friend nor l ever went back. Fast forward to today: Full house, friendly welcome, smiling server, 6 mouth-watering dish names displayed for everyone to see... We had 2 nice slices of foie gras accompanied by what seemed like home-made pain d'epices and fig preserve, 12 nice fat snails - with parsleyed garlic butter (that was easily digested - apparently the young chef had gone easy on the garlic), pork with fresh mushrooms in wine sauce and velvety pureed potatoes for my friend and scrumptious Thai caramelized pork with risotto pour moi. Food presentation: TOP ! No dessert (remember we had snails AND foie gras !) 2 glasses of Chablis each for a total of 81 euros. Well worth it. The new owner introduced himself and chatted with us. Very pleasant. What a difference a day... no, no...4 years and a new owner make ! (You do know the...

The restaurant is looking high standard. The shop is well equipped. From kitchen side escargot was ok. We ordered two different dishes. One with canard and veal. It cannot be even described how awful it was, almost all things was from microvave and the cook dont even hide the fact that he using it . To pin point we order different dishes but they was looking similar with the same frozen veggies from the pack, and uneatable puree, with do sort menu and so many gests (only 2 persons, us. And after we leave they just close restaurant ) the cook dont have time to use a pot and a pan? Overbearing laizyness... Service was amazing. The lady was charming, professional and polite. Basically beacause of her we bought...

We visited in June 2023 having arrived on a boat on the near-by canal. Out host was friendly, witty and happy to share her extensive wine and food knowledge, but without being too pushy. Our meals were sourced from local ingredients and the quality of the ingredients obvious from the flavours. Service was attentive but relaxed and conducted in a mixture of French and English (English is readily spoken if you are nervous about your pronunciation) The interior is traditional and cool (pretty essential with the hot conditions outside), has a relaxed ambiance and the well stocked wine shop/deli attached to the restaurant provides a pleasant after meal distraction. Overall, well...