Restaurant Gril'Laure — Restaurant in Dijon

We couldn’t have chosen a better place for our very first French meal in France than Le Restaurant Gril’Laure in Dijon. The long line of locals waiting outside was already a clear sign of how beloved this place is. We arrived just before noon, queued without a reservation, and were fortunate enough to be seated.

A very special shoutout goes to Hanna, who made the entire experience exceptional. She was attentive without being intrusive, always checking on us regularly, ensuring we always had water, never rushing us to order, and offering helpful recommendations. Her warmth and professionalism elevated our first French dining experience into a memory we’ll never forget.

The food itself was simply outstanding, with portions more than generous. We enjoyed two formules du midi: • Pizza Gril’Laure, hearty and delicious. • L’assiette bourguignonne, a wonderful sampler that brought together Dijon’s specialties in miniature form. Yes, there’s an escargot mini burger. They use firewood for the grilling and you can see it live.

For starters, we had escargots, a must-try in Burgundy. For dessert, the café gourmand (espresso with an array of miniature desserts) and fromage blanc were the perfect finish. To drink, we discovered the local Kir, a Dijon specialty of raspberry syrup flavoured wine.

Every dish was beautifully prepared and full of flavor. Combined with Hanna’s impeccable service, the experience was unforgettable.

👉 Our advice: arrive by 11:45 if you don’t have a reservation. it’s worth the wait!

À Hanna, Nous te remercions énormément pour ton accueil et ta gentillesse. Merci d’avoir fait de notre premier repas à Dijon un très beau...

Habituez que nous étions dans ce restaurant, que nous trouvions plutôt agréable. Malheureusement nous avions constatés une certaine dégradation du service. Je dois dire que notre dernière expérience n'a fait que confirmer notre ressenti. Pour commencer, réservation téléphonique, une personne très désagréable prend notre résa. Arrivés sur place les cendriers extérieurs débordent de mégots jusqu'au sol. Nous sommes installés dans la véranda. Le serveur a perdu son sourire ! Il vient prendre la commande sans s'intéresser a nous, préférant regarder le fond de salle plutôt que nous, visiblement notre commande ne l'intéresse pas. L'entrée est servie assez rapidement. Entre temps un monsieur semblant être le chef de salle, interpelle un jeune serveur et lui donne des ordres, prendre le personnel pour des chiens n'arrange rien. A proximité de nous une table de six s'installe bien après nous. Nous attendons toujours les plats principaux. Surprise, ils sont servis des plats principaux et nous toujours pas. Un problème ? J'essaie de heler le serveur sans sourire, il passe, repasse, rien a faire. Ahh le monsieur a lunette "chef de salle" je l'interpelle, il m'envoie promener et dit d'un ton agacé, je viens. Bon ! Il repasse vers nous mais a visiblement oublié. Je me fâche, il tourne la tête avec un air "qu'est ce qu'ils me veulent" il s'approche et là je lui demande si la cuisine a l'intention de nous faire a manger. Je précise que j'ai pris une andouillette grillée, pas de préparation. Il part a la cuisine, nos plats arrivent. Un raté est toujours possible, ce n'est pas en soit le problème. C'est la manière dont il est traité. Pas d'excuses, rien. Le client est transparent, il n'existe pas. Concernant la cuisine, toujours aussi bien, mais cela ne suffit pas. La qualité, c'est un état d'esprit, un tout, une manière d'être, une attention. Ce ne plus le cas dans cet établissement. Est ce lié au fait qu'il a changé de propriétaire? Dommage nous aimions bien cet endroit. Nous irons dépenser notre argent ailleurs.

We were used to being in this restaurant, which we found rather pleasant. Unfortunately we had noticed a certain deterioration in the service. I must say that our last experience only confirmed our feelings. To begin with, telephone reservation, a very unpleasant person takes our reservation. Arrived on site the outside ashtrays overflow with cigarette butts to the ground. We are seated in the veranda. The waiter has lost his smile! He comes to take the order without being interested in us, preferring to look at the back of the room rather than us, obviously our order does not interest him. The starter is served fairly quickly. In the meantime a gentleman who seems to be the head waiter, calls out to a young waiter and gives him orders, taking the staff for dogs does not help. Near us a table of six settles down well after us. We are still waiting for the main courses. Surprise, they are served main courses and we still not. A problem? I try to hail the waiter without smiling, he comes and goes, nothing to do. Ahh the gentleman with glasses "head waiter" I call out to him, he sends me away and says in an annoyed tone, I'm coming. Good! He comes back to us but has visibly forgotten. I get angry, he turns his head with a look "what do they want from me" he approaches and there I ask him if the kitchen intends to make us something to eat. I specify that I had a grilled andouillette, no preparation. He goes to the kitchen, our dishes arrive. A failure is always possible, that is not the problem in itself. It is the way he is treated. No excuses, nothing. The customer is transparent, he does not exist. Concerning the cuisine, still as good, but that is not enough. Quality is a state of mind, a whole, a way of being, an attention. This is no longer the case in this establishment. Is it because it changed owners? Too bad, we liked this place. We'll spend our...

We visited Dijon on our way back to Calais after spending two weeks in the south of France. It is such a beautiful city with fine architecture and wonderful streets to meander through. Although it was Sunday evening there were many places to eat and we were spoilt for choice. Just by the cathedral we found this restaurant which did not look like much from the front but once we climbed the steps we found a warm welcome from friendly staff and a restaurant which served us the best meal we had eaten in the whole of our stay. My wife was impressed by the real linen table cloths and napkins and I was impressed by the swift, efficient and helpful service. My wife tried the house Rose wine and for the first time tried the vegetarian pizza and I had chicken skewers with rosemary and lemon dressing and fries and a pinte of beer. Both meals were absolutely delicious. Mine had an accompaniment which was again a first for me of sliced golden beetroot again delicious. The whole meal came to just over €35 which made it one of the least expensive meals we had had during our stay. If you are passing through this lovely city and you want an excellent meal you can avoid the crowded squares and head for this...