Restaurant Gastronomique Christian Tetedoie — Restaurant in Lyon

My experience as a fine dining newbie:

Entering the restaurant - The staff are friendly and helpful and address you immediately. The decor is modern and tasteful and everywhere you look things are neat, tidy, and clean. While waiting in the lobby (only a minute or two) to be seated every staff member that walks by gives you a friendly greeting.

Sitting down - You are lead to your table, and as you prepare to sit down the host makes sure your chair is turned so that you can sit easily. Once seated a waiter comes by and asks if you have any allergies and then almost immediately the food starts.

The food - Within a few minutes of being seated we were treated with our first amuse-bouche. Being new to this we were surprised as we had not yet specified which menu we wanted but we were pleased nonetheless. The first plate consisted of 3 items for my wife and I. A spoon with roasted cauliflower, black current and some other toppings, a fig square, and a small crispy bite filled with pesto. Everything tasted wonderful and it was a good start to our lunch. Next the sommelier came by to ask about our wine choices. Seeing as we both love good wine, but don't yet know much about it, we asked him to surprise us. Next we were served a broccoli tart next to a lemon and dill sorbet. The interesting combination was something we would've never thought of but was the perfect marriage of flavours. Next we finally given the menu and settled on the lunch selection. Before our food came we were served one final hors d’œuvre, consisting of beef carpaccio wrapped around some sort of mushroom pâté. Im not sure why raw meat is such a popular dish in fine dining circles because it wasn't to my liking. This is purely personal though and the flavour was still pleasant (I just couldn't handle the texture). Our first wine came next as we asked for it with the food, and it was a fruity white, that was not too sweet. It was organic and contained low sulphites and generally tasted excellent. None of the wine I have tried to date has really compared to it. Next we were served our appetizer which was cured pork with apricot and red onion jam, along with new potatoes and topped with bite size potato croustillant (like a home made potato chip). It was all delicious and every element went perfectly together. The salty porc and the sour apricots provided a nice balance for the sweet jam and the sharp onion. Our red wine was served for the next part of our meal and it was an excellent and flavourful but not to overpowering. Next we had our main dishes of veal liver for me and arctic char for my wife. Both dishes were excellent and I never would've guessed that I'd eat liver and enjoy it. The fish was excellent according to my wife and both of us cleaned our plates. For dessert we had white peaches on an almond tart, next to some sugar cups filed with peach jam and almond mousse. This was our favorite part of the meal as the almonds and peach flavours satisfied our palettes. We finished with coffee and tea and they brought out yet some more small desserts. Each of us got a pistachio macaron, a small tart, a homemade marshmallow and a small cookie. Overall the food was...

Michelin Star? More Like a Michelin Scar on Lyon’s Reputation

Ah, Tetedoie. Perched on a stunning rooftop, you’d think the views would elevate the dining experience. But alas, this was more like a reality check on how low the Michelin bar can actually go.

We indulged in the four-course prix fixe, a meal that promised a journey through Lyon's famed culinary landscape. Instead, it felt like a layover in Blandsville. The food? Decent flavors, sure, but memorable? Not unless "forgettable" is the memory you're after. It’s as if the kitchen staff got together and decided that mediocrity was the new black.

The wine pairing was a masterclass in indifference. Forget terroir or harmony; these wines seemed to have been selected for their ability to disappear into the background. Our favorite part? The sommelier, bless him, had the audacity to ask my partner if she preferred red or white with her fish. Not suggest. Ask. It’s like hiring a plumber who asks if you’d like your pipes fixed with a wrench or a hammer.

Let’s talk temperature. None of our dishes arrived hot. Lukewarm was the word of the day, which, I suppose, matched the passion emanating from the kitchen: tepid at best. And the foam—oh, the foam. It was everywhere, like the culinary equivalent of a nervous tick. Is there a rule that once you reach a certain altitude, everything must be foamed?

The staff was pleasant enough, though I suspect most of them just discovered they work in a restaurant. The enthusiasm? About as lively as the music—instrumental pop songs that quit halfway through our meal, a mercy killing if there ever was one. And while we're on ambiance, can someone please explain why the lights were bright enough to perform surgery? Subtle mood lighting, Tetedoie, is not your enemy.

Then there was the dessert, or as we now call it, "The Glop Heard 'Round the World." Apricots and sorbet—how do you even mess that up? If there’s a Michelin award for turning a promising fruit into a disappointing blob, Tetedoie has it in the bag.

In Lyon, where the culinary standard should be sky-high, Tetedoie serves as a cautionary tale. It’s clear they’re banking on the views and their once-great reputation to draw in diners, not the quality of their food. But hey, at least the bread and cheese (which, by the way, cost extra) were good.

Michelin, it’s time for a review—of your review system. Because if Tetedoie is what passes for a Michelin-starred restaurant, then the whole star system might need a serious...

I had the fortunate opportunity to have dinner at Tetedoie on August 1. We had a group of 6 that had been traveling from Paris to Champagne, Lyon and Avignon. We have been stopping for lunch and dinner along the way and have enjoyed meals at several 1 to 3 Michelin restaurants.

Dinner at Tetedoie was an unfortunate experience. I want to be balanced in the review so I will share the good and the bad.

The good: The view and setting were absolutely amazing. The sommelier was awesome and was able to help select some fantastic wines that are not readily available to us in the US. The captain was great and was attentive.

The bad: The food was average at best and fell short of other 1 star experiences we have had. The featured dish that has been on the menu “since 1987” was not available. No worries, they had a local roasted chicken special for two. We tried to order two, but were informed that they were out as they only had one available. We were the first seating so this made no sense. Their food was repetitive from first to second courses for the same customer (duplicate leeks prepared the exact same way and duplicate curry sauce for the first and second courses on another dish). Some of the best Burgundy and Hermitage wines on the menus were served in glasses that were thick and could be purchased at the local kitchen store. The sommelier apologized and said this was due to Covid and availability. That may be true so I understand, but the textural transfer from glass to palate could not be justify the quality of wine in the bottle. Because the chicken was gone I ordered the pork. When it was being sliced at table side some of it fell on the floor and dropped between the carving station and the plate. To be clear, none of the dish that fell to the floor was served. Just a little disappointing service. Last note - we were asked if we were unhappy and we said we just wanted to close but would be happy to share our feedback, they said no. Pretty incredible response.

Overall, some good things and some bad. Some of the challenges may be from reopening after Covid and I am sensitive to that, but let’s be clear about setting...