La Cuisine de la Fontaignotte — Restaurant in Montbard

It was the last day of our stay in Semur, and my party and I attempted to reserve a table at La Fontaignotte for our final meal in town. My brother placed the reservation, but failed to notice that the confirmation email was only for the waiting list, not an actual table. When we arrived, the staff also failed to notice, and seated us anyway. Our server situated us, then left to get menus, only to instead return with an iPad used for bookings, which he proceeded to show us, in fact, had us on the waiting list. Rather than acknowledging their mistake in seating us and doing everything in their power to make things work, they instead demanded that we leave our table in front of all the other diners in the restaurant - an incredibly humiliating experience. I immediately walked out the front door and down the street where I was promptly seated at a table for one at the far-more-welcoming entr'acte, where I had a pleasant meal. The rest of my party, however, elected to stay behind and plead for a table (which they should never have had to do under the circumstances. After the staff seated us by mistake, the burden should have been on them to find a way to make it work). Not only was it of course quite embarrassing for them to have to plead for a meal like this, but the result was that our party was separated on the last day of our stay (this was a family trip, all of us convening from different places with the intention of spending time together). I would be remiss if I didn't mention at this point that the reason I was so quick to leave the restaurant when this happened is that I had actually been to Fontaignotte years before and was also treated very rudely by the staff, and in fact, had to be convinced by my brother and his fiancée that the food really was worth giving it another try. Ultimately, since the service was so atrocious that I didn't even get to eat it, I've given the food a 1 star review as well, as you can't tide yourself over on a hypothetical meal. Dinner at entr'acte was lovely. I recommend entr'acte's regionale pizza (made with epoisses, gorgonzola, and chevre) over being potentially humiliated in the pursuit of slightly better food at...

In April 2024, we stumbled upon La Cuisine de la Fontaignotte by chance, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. Even though the restaurant was fully booked for lunch, they graciously squeezed us in, and the experience was so memorable that we decided to return to the town in October, just to have dinner there again.

This time, we both opted for the tasting menu, and it was nothing short of fantastic. Each course was a perfect balance of flavor and creativity, with the chef highlighting the best of the season in every dish. After our meal, the chef kindly took the time to chat with us, adding a personal touch to an already outstanding experience.

The service was equally impressive—attentive, warm, and professional, making us feel right at home.

I suggest anyone who is near Semur-en-Auxois to go and dine at La Cuisine. And if you’re lucky, on your way out through the courtyard, you might even get a chance to pet Stephan, the resident tuxedo cat. We can’t recommend La Cuisine de la Fontaignotte enough; it’s truly a gem worth visiting...

I had a superb dinner at La Cuisine de la Fontaignotte. Can’t rate it highly enough. The dishes were very tasty with some really inventive flair, and exquisitely presented. The top dishes (for me) were an amuse-bouchée which included cods roe and herbs on a small tartlet, and a dessert of clementine sorbet with lemon curd, clementine tartare and a lemon ginger broth. But really, the whole meal was excellent. If I was to nitpick it would be that the range of wines by the glass was fairly limited. But that’s a very normal complaint for most restaurants. In terms of cost I think the 4-dish sequence was very generous and excellent value for the quality of food and presentation. Finally, the staff were excellent and very accommodating to someone who has very little...