Café Terroir Lyon — Restaurant in Lyon

In a too-brief first visit to Lyon, I knew I wanted to sample the legendary poulet Bresse, from Jacques Pépin's (one of my culinary heroes) hometown. Research turned up Café Terroir, which features it.

First, the wine: after being told we wanted to try a representative cru Beaujolais, our server steered us to an incredibly fresh and vibrant Chénas - one of the lesser-know crus - from a young biodynamic producer. Just fantastic, at a very affordable price, especially if you've been beaten down by American restaurant wine prices.

After a round of probably best-ever escargots, we shared two spring-focused appetizers: one of green asparagus prepared 3 ways, and a braised bibb lettuce dish. Both showed sauce making of the highest order, with a vin jaune hollandaise-like asuce with the asparagus and a wild-garlic vinagrette with the lettuce. Lick-the-plate good.

The Bresse chicken finally arrived, blue feet still attached as proof of its provenance, and it was sensational. Carved tableside, white meat fragrant and juicy, and the legs and thighs incredibly rich with just a perfect amount of gaminess. Served with a frankly ridiculous butter and morel mushroom sauce that would make an old shoe edible.

After the de riguer disc of St. Marcellin cheese (perfect temperature and softness), we opted for the Île Flottante for dessert, a dish that I've only ever seen in my mother's old 60's cookbooks. A giant slab of meringue floating in vanilla-flecked crème anglaise drizzled with caramel sauce. Sick.

In the end, Café Terroir has everything I would want in a French restaurant in 2025; rusticity, sophistication, good cheer, with pride and confidence in the region's history and products.

One thousand stars from me.

Actually I'm taking away a star because the serveurs all spoke such excellent English that I couldn't practice my shitty French.

So that's a total of 999 stars.

Merci chef...

My experience in this location was extraordinary. Never I have been taken care like I was here. I even broke a glass of wine and the sommelier replaced my glass so I do not loose a drop of my precious drink. The food was delicious and innovated. The service was extraordinary. The whole team of service professionals were the best you ever will experience. They have a wine list with 2,000 wines the wine menu looks like an enciclopedia. They have wine from 40€ to 10,000 € Do not be afraid to visit this place there is a wine for your budget. You must give yourself the gift to experience this place and give yourself plenty time to fully enjoy the team of people that will take care of you like you are the only one there. The food is so good really delicious , however the overall experience is to the next level. My sister and I were there for three hours. The highlight of our visit was the sommelier, his attention to details was beyond reproach. He was just perfect, knowledgeable, friendly and delightful to engage with. This was our favourite restaurant in our 21 days visit to France. From Lyon, to Avignon, Marseille, and other 14 villages in the Luberon Hills and Côte du Rhone area. The prices are just and fair. I love...

It was an evening with a strange beginning and end that came either side of a pleasant meal with excellent wine - which unfortunately ruined the evening for us. When we arrived, the restaurant was completely empty yet one of the staff tried to convince us we had booked a table outside (we didn't even know the restaurant had outside seating). Begrudgingly, she gave us a table inside. The meal was very good and the wine list truly outstanding. And then the bizarre part. We had just ordered a digestif to end the meal and the waiter came and asked us if we can have it outside as some other guests needed our table. We were so confused, we accepted. We sat outside in the cold and waited for our digestifs which took forever to come. And then I finally went in and cancelled the digestif and asked for the bill. That took awhile to come as well so I had to stand up and walk up and down the street to stay warm. Finally we paid up and we left feeling like our evenings had been slightly ruined and that we were perhaps not the kind of guests that Cafe Terroir wanted to see. A pity, as the place itself is really nice and the wine list...