Pavillon François Gaunoux — Restaurant in Beaune

If you drank too much Pinot Noir in Pommard (trust me this is not as implausible as it may sound) and headed toward Volnay on the D973, a narrow and winding road that cuts through numerous scenic vineyards, you'll find a converted country home in the middle of nowhere with the jolly roger hoisted over. Given the alcohol, you might be persuaded to believe that there are pirates in this part of Burgundy, but instead what you will find is an incredible wine shop and restaurant with fantastic hospitality, well priced rustic fare and one of the greatest wine values of all of Burgundy.

We stopped at Pavillon Francois Gaunoux at the recommendation of our exuberant new-found friend Pascal, who claimed this is a must-see for any serious trip to this neck of Burgundy. Pascal had expounded the virtues of the pirate of Burgundy for two days, always asking if we had stopped in yet. We wanted to go, but It felt a bit like when someone tells you how great a movie is, than you finally go and see it, and it isn't really that great.

By the time we pulled up, I really wasn't expecting too much; I had worked winery tasting rooms in California and become jaded to the dog and pony shows. I halfway expected to see a French guy wearing an eye patch greeting us with the French version of 'ahoy matey!'. Thankfully I could not have been further from the truth. A few moments later and we were seated on the terrace armed with a delicious glass of white wine and a bubbling hot plate of garlicky escargot. The gentleman working the room could not have been any nicer or truthful about the Gaunoux wines he was selling.

Soon time felt as though it had stopped; we were alone on the terrace enjoying the late morning sun feeling extremely relaxed. The pavilion made for a very welcoming oasis from a busy morning being fast talked by the slick vendors of the Beaune Saturday market who tried their very best to get us to purchase a 50 pound wheel of AOP Beaufort cheese and a monstrous slab of a rather delicious local air dried beef. It's not that the cheese or beef wasn't incredible, unfortunately they were, we just were at the end of our time in Burgundy and I didn't think I could keister it back through customs; please no visuals.

The gentleman running the shop allowed us to relax in peace on the terrace, and enjoy the wines at our own pace. There were no convoluted sales pitches expounding the virtues of a particular vintage over another or overly technical boring details about brix levels and fermentation. He poured a wide range of styles and vintages and afterwards we ended up buying three Pommards to bring home to the states, a 1995,...

Tourist trap !!! We have been coming for almost 10 years to this place. Dishes were always a bit on the low quality side and it was quite obvious that some of them were bought at Metro or a similar place and then heated in a microwave. But until recently, there were a few dishes that were freshly made, like a fresh omelette or a salad that sold around 10 Euros. Additionally, you could dink a reasonably good glass of wine under 10 euros. Whe we can back this year, we were shocked. Now, the menu appears simplified almost the entire meno consists of microwave dishes that are significantly more expensive (e.g. a microwave dish for 18 euros, 12 snails for 16 euros and a glass of reasonable wine is now 15 euros). This is the last time we've been coming here or that we recommended this place to...

Don't stop!!! We stopped in for lunch and can't tell you anything about the food because we never got the opportunity to order anything. The owner completely ignored us and waited on the only other people in the parking lot. Another couple who apparently bought a bottle of wine. They went inside with the waiter and he never came back out. Eventually we left. Without...