Bouchon Restaurant Dining Experience at Aux Lyonnais by Alain Ducasse

First created in 1890, this restaurant has kept its red wood façade and its bistro sign "Maison Lyonnaise". It cultivates the atmosphere of the traditional Lyonnais bistros or "bouchons". Upstairs, customers on club chairs chat as they patiently await a table. Wood paneling and floral patterned moldings, nineteenth century "art pompier" light fixtures and "metro" tiles decorate the walls and ceilings. Everywhere, beveled mirrors reflect the comings and goings of the two rooms on two floors as busy waiters deftly move between the tables carrying copper fry pans or orange-coated cast-iron pans. On the steel-reinforced oak tables lie the white napkins and plates, deliberately mismatched silverware and facetted water goblets, and balloon wine glasses.

Try regional produces lovingly prepared by those legendary "Mothers" and by top chefs and other Epicureans. Now, in turn, "Aux Lyonnais" bistro pays tribute to this regional cuisine. "Without challenging the traditional taste combinations, we wanted to update the regional Lyonnaise cuisine so that more people discover and enjoy it. The flavors must state themselves distinctly both to the palate and on the plate", explains the chef, Xavier Boireau, who is directing the kitchen. 

Part of this update are the “Coddled eggs”, the “Lyonnaise chef pot”, our “Famous quenelles, Nantua sauce” (according to Lucien Tendret’s recipe from 1892), the “Calf’s liver with parsley and garlic, tender potatoes” or the “Tart and floating island with pink praline”.

Gérard Margeon, chef sommelier for Alain Ducasse restaurants, and Elisa Combrouze, sommelier at "Aux Lyonnais", have expanded upon the contents of the bistro's cellar. They also regularly shop around, from Lyon to Dijon, through Bugey, the north of the Rhône Valley and, for those resolute, a short detour through Bordeaux. A way to maintain and renew the "Lyonnais wine list", rich with over than a hundred references. They all come from very famous and acclaimed French vineyards (ex: M. Lafarge, S. Aladame, R. Jobart Thénard, Ph. Faury, G. Robin ...) or others still to discover (Château Signac, A.S. Debavelaere, Vallet). An excellent example is Cerdon; a very rare effervescent rosé wine, produced using an ancestral method, or the Corton Grand Cru or the Côte-Rôtie, which are served by the glass or in a crystal carafe. There are also some more playful wines, such as the Coteaux du Lyonnais, Côte-Roannaise, or some local wines...