A decade or so ago, ‘gourmet’ in Beaujolais meant your andouillette would be served with a white linen napkin rather than a grey paper one. ‘Food was very traditional: quite fatty with lots of cream, wine, butter and charcuterie,’ explains Thomas Guignier, chef at La Robe Rouge, a restaurant in Villié-Morgon. Today, things at many of the best restaurants in Beaujolais are much different.
There’s been a quiet revolution in the food scene of this French region, which sits just below Burgundy. It has been led by a new generation of restaurateurs, many of whom grew up in the area and then went off to cut their teeth in the best restaurants in Europe.
‘It’s still a local cuisine but one which has evolved thanks to young chefs who are leaving the big cities to come to Beaujolais,’ says Jean François Têtedoie, owner of Café Terroir, one of the new-wave restaurateurs spearheading the transformation. ‘The cuisine is more sophisticated and refined but still respects tradition.’ Think duck foie gras with roasted summer strawberries and Asian spices, and veal sweetbreads given a twist courtesy of a pistachio mustard.
This transformation has resulted in a new breed of ‘restaurants bistronomiques’, a halfway house between the rustic bouchons and the stuffy gastronomic venues of yesteryear. These are places where you can enjoy quality food in a more intimate, relaxed atmosphere and at very reasonable prices (often around €30 for three courses).
Many are housed in old buildings transformed into modern, light-filled spaces that could be straight out of Architectural Digest. ‘We’re trying to bring back that feeling of conviviality and put human relationships back at the heart of the service and experience,’ says Têtedoie.
The blossoming of Beaujolais’ food scene has coincided with an upswing in the quality of its wines
Local restaurants have been raking in awards too. Auberge du Cep in Fleurie is one of the most decorated, including a Michelin star. This has helped to attract more visitors from both other parts of France and beyond. ‘We have won a few [awards] – they really put us on the map and have increased footfall enormously,’ says Margot Aucagne of Ema, a bistro in the village of Avenas.
The blossoming of Beaujolais’ food scene has coincided with an upswing in the quality of its wines (and renewed international demand for them). There’s also growing interest in Beaujolais as a holiday destination, particularly for lovers of fine food and wine.
That in turn has encouraged a rise in new places to stay that focus on gastronomy. One of the best is La Maison de Pagneux, a gorgeous buttery-stone farmhouse, now B&B, in the village of Lachassagne.
Owners Bruno Verdier and Caroline Martin are self-confessed foodies and will ply you with gooey Saint-Marcellin cheese tartines at breakfast, then salads bursting with fresh ingredients from their garden and homemade praline tarts at dinner (from €120 per night with an additional cost for evening meals).
‘Value is a big draw for people. In Beaujolais, you can eat and drink very well and pay much less than you might in, say, Burgundy or Champagne,’ says Coraline Bron of Destination Beaujolais, the tourist board.
Local restaurants have been raking in awards
Aucagne predicts that more travellers will start tacking on a trip to Beaujolais when visiting Lyon (an established foodie destination). Once they’ve arrived, there’s plenty for gourmands to do besides tucking in at restaurants and their accommodation. Villefranche-sur-Saône, Beaujolais’ regional capital, is known for its impressive farmers’ market (every day except Tuesdays and Thursdays) where you can pick up local cheeses, charcuterie, fruit and more. While at Huilerie Beaujolaise, an artisan oil workshop, you can do tastings of their 100% fruit-based virgin oils and tours of the mill.
But, of course, knowing where to head for un bon déjeuneur afterwards is key. So here are the five best restaurants in Beaujolais to experience the gourmet revival firsthand.
Five of the best restaurants in Beaujolais
La Robe Rouge
Villié-Morgon
La Robe Rouge’s USP is its intimate, family atmosphere. The tiny restaurant (once a lime kiln) has just six or so tables, all of which have direct views into the kitchen. Chef Thomas Guignier is master of the upstairs kitchen and restaurant while his father (a fourth-generation vigneron) offers up the family’s wines alongside a selection of other superb bottles, mostly from Beaujolais, for tasting and purchase in the cellar downstairs.
The menu changes every two weeks to focus on seasonal veg. Three courses start from €30 – which, considering the quality, is impressive. One dish that doesn’t change is Guignier’s succulent veal sweetbreads, which float in a creamy white chocolate emulsion. The restaurant sits on a little hill in Villié-Morgon – one of Beaujolais’ crus – with gorgeous views over the surrounding vines.
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Café Terroir Chez Saint-Cyr
Anse
This swish neighbourhood restaurant has good bones. Its older sister, Café Terroir in nearby Lyon, is already an established flocking point for gourmands in the south of France. Owners Têtedoie (who is the son of a Michelin-starred chef) and Lemmy Brou saw a gap in the market for a modern, high-quality restaurant in Beaujolais – and Café Terroir Chez Saint-Cyr was born.
They focus on using only products from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, of which Beaujolais is part. The menu is deliciously simple: just three mains, all rotisserie meats, which are shared and carved in front of you. It also lists the farmer each meat comes from.
The Beaujolais outpost only opened in April but is already drawing eyes thanks to dishes like the starter of velvety bone marrow and veal tartare with crispy fried capers – the harmony of texture and flavour at its finest.
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Ema
Avenas
Ema epitomises Beaujolais’ new wave of ‘restaurants bistronomiques’. The menu (which changes regularly) is stuffed with quality regional produce, elevated to gourmet levels. The fish, mushrooms, bread… all is sourced as locally as possible and then given a creative twist in dishes like velvety smoked trout (from nearby Saint-André-de-Corcy) with wasabi, leeks and hazelnuts or guinea fowl, oozing gamey flavours and smothered in a puckering rocket pesto. And don’t miss the dessert tarts – castles of frangipane with chocolate cream turrets topped off with fat figs. Owners Margot et Emilien Aucagne are committed to being as organic and eco-friendly as possible and have won several awards on this front.
La Table Vermorel
Villefranche-sur-Saône
This gorgeous Belle Epoque château was restored and converted to public use earlier in 2024. It now houses artist residencies, music festivals in the surrounding park, and a fabulous restaurant bistronomique led by Chef Hasan Haj. Israeli by background, Haj has worked alongside some of the industry’s greats and in several Michelin-starred restaurants.
Three courses cost €28 and, while dishes shift with the seasons, there’s usually Vermorel’s signature paté en croûte (lead image), which is dinked with pistachios and served with confit tomatoes, as well as a roast chicken dish with mousse-like vegetable purée. Take the time to walk off your lunch in the park gardens after.
La Table du Donjon
Oingt
La Table du Donjon might just sit in the prettiest town in France. This isn’t personal opinion – Oingt is officially one of Les plus beaux villages de France (a highly sought after badge). If you can, grab a table on the outdoor balcony area for sweeping views over the surrounding villages that glow with Beaujolais’ famous golden stones. Food here is a little more old school – terrines, roast pigeon and whole duck. But despite its white tablecloths and picture-perfect presentation, the atmosphere is relatively relaxed. This is where well-to-do Beaujolais locals come for family get-togethers. The burrata with wild garlic and tomato carpaccio is as plump and flavourful as you could wish for.
