Petit Ogre — Restaurant in Lyon

Everything in this charming restaurant confirms the simple idea that the difference between good and great lies in the details. My tea was brought in a Japanese-style heavy teapot, along with a small glass cup, traditional for the eastern countries, on a white saucer with a tiny spoon, and the foamy waves on my girlfriend’s cappuccino were gracefully covered with scattered chocolate chips. The cream soup was served in charmingly large plates with stone-like texture, resembling a tiny lake of creamy liquid in pastel shades in the center and crumbs of crimson pepper that adorned its banks. Together with the soup we were served a basket of fresh baguette cuts. The main dish was Belgian waffles with a variety of stuffing and a salad from arugula, dressed with a terrific sauce that we could not identify. On one of the waffles lay a tender omelet with a semi-liquid yolk in a company of two different sauces (guacamole and mustard), as well as pieces of Parma ham. The compositions of the second waffle differed - a vegetarian version with eggplants and squash caviar, and meat one - with perfect slices of tender meat, which was melting in the mouth. A nice dessert consisted of two parts - a fruit salad with finely chopped strawberries with pear, grated apples and large cookie crumbs, and warm little éclairs served with chocolate sauce, to dip the éclairs into and send straight to the mouth. Dessert, like the main course before it, continued to amaze with consistently manifested gustatory sensations, unfurled on the tongue like a gracefully built symphony. For example, the fruit taste of the salad was replaced by a fresh taste of mint, and the chocolate sauce began to envelop the receptors of the tongue with tart pepper. Perhaps, it is the presence of such different shades of taste, coexisting in the dishes of this restaurant and making the taste of each of them richer and more interesting, that was an indicator of its high class. In the end, when our bellies were full of food, and our souls were full of delight, the chef himself came to us personally to ask whether we liked his dishes. It’s unnecessary to say that this happened to us for the first time, and made even more memorable our visit to this wonderful place (which we, of course, recommend to all...

We went to the petit ogre on the evening of February 15th 2025 for a dinner for two, where we took the menu Explorateur.

Overall the experience at this up and coming restaurant was pleasant, particularly regarding the innovative fusion experience flavors from Africa and France.

However, there are two areas in which I think the restaurant would do well to improve to be truly exceptional ; the service and the seasoning of the dishes.

Concerning the service, our reservation was for the first service beginning at 19:00, and while the waitor was friendly and welcoming, it took 39 minutes for our order to be taken, a much too long time to wait given the small size of the dining room.

In regard to the seasoning, our party had the shrimp dishes as an entree and I had the cod dish, and all of these in spite of the complex and new flavors, were lacking in salt.

The highlight of our experience was the topinombour soup as an entrée and the cucumber amuse bouche, which was a delight even for my husband who normally does not like cucumbers.

On the whole, this restaurant is an enjoyable experience for those looking to try something new, I would be happy to try the restaurant again with more attention to the service and...

super glad that they retained my reservation even though i went in 45min late due to train delays. tried to call them earlier to explain but they could not understand me when i was explaining in english. the place was almost full when we arrived. although the inside seats were quite warm due to the summer heat, it was after sunset so it was starting to cool down. reservations surely needed at this place looking at how full they were. outdoor seats looked great with the evening breeze. service was nice and they tried very hard to explain to us the menu in english. each person had to order a set menu and they dont allow sharing. the 3-course set menu was nice and we enjoyed the dinner. chef came out to greet us and he was from africa previously hence the fusion cuisine. there was also mini dishes in between the courses. definitely...