with Recommendations from Burgundy connoisseur Gert Crum
In France, wine is almost inseparable from the local cuisine. We spoke to wine writer and Burgundy connoisseur Gert Crum about this wine region, a region he knows like the back of his hand. He shared with us his favorite locations in the Côte d'Or, where the cuisine is great and the wine list is often even better.
Best places to eat in Chablis
In Chablis itself we find Au Fil du Zinc, where a Japanese chef with the necessary European experience cooks heavenly food based on the finest local products. In Irancy, we are now 15 km southwest of Chablis, we find Le Soufflot, a gem according to Gert. Just the wine list alone is a reason to go here. Will it be Ravenau Chablis Blanchot or Coche Dury Meursault? In L'Isle-sur-Serein, about 30 km southeast of Chablis, lies Auberge du Pot d'Étain. Expect dishes from traditional regional cuisine and yet another wine list that is impossible to decline!
Best restaurants in Côte de Nuits
In Gevrey-Chambertin, Crum recommends Chez Guy because of the regional dishes in a modern variation and the wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. In the same village we find hotel La Rôtisserie du Chambertin, with two restaurants; Bistro Lucien and La Table d'Hôtes*. Both of these focus on local products, lovingly prepared by chef Thomas Collomb.
Two villages further down the road, in Chambolle-Musigny, there is a nice little restaurant called Le Millésime with a fine lunch menu for less than € 20. But then there's the wine... In this modern restaurant, the enormous wine refrigerator is striking and stretches across the entire width of the place. On the menu, we can choose between 500 different wines, good luck!
In the centre of Nuits-Saint-Georges you will find La Cabotte, a cozy, excellent bistro where you enjoy regional dishes at a high level. The wine list covers 50 (!!) pages and includes every wine you've ever dreamed of.
Best restaurants in Côte de Beaune
Pernand-Vergelesses we find Le Charlemagne*: a haute cuisine establishment with Asian influences. From the terrace you have a brilliant view over the vineyards of the Colline de Corton, which will make you dream of a bottle of Corton-Charlemagne from a top producer.
In neighboring Savigny-lès-Beaune we find the recently opened Le 428, a modern restaurant. Chef Christophe Ledru has earned his spurs as junior sous chef of Alain Ducasse.
Gert Crum: "In Beaune I prefer to visit Ma Cuisine, from Pierre Escoffier. The wine list is really the reason you go there. If you can afford it, you can make all your wine dreams come true here! I also like to go to Maison du Colombier, where one floor is more like a gastro-bar and the other is a restaurant. I'm also never disappointed by the large restaurant Caveau des Arches, situared in a 15th century vaulted cellar. Finally, I like to visit Marc Gantier's bistro Les Cocottes on Place Madeleine and Laurent Brelin's La Dilettante".
In Volnay, near the church, recently a fine establishment called L'Agastache has opened its doors. Again, we find a beautiful wine list here, which also includes a small selection of half bottles.
In Meursault we would like to mention three restaurants. Firstly, Au Fil du Clos, but Gert's special recommendation is restaurant Le Soufflot (yes, indeed related to Le Soufflot in Irancy) which is on the Route Nationale. In Le Soufflot, the young chef Jérémy Pèze cooks at a very high level. There is only one menu, so no worries about making the right choice. Just sit down and enjoy what is put in front of you. In the center, near the church, we find hotel-restaurant Le Chevreuil. A classic, brought back to life again a few years ago by one of the daughters of Thierry Matrot. No wonder the good wines of Domaine Matrot are widely available here.
In Chassagne-Montrachet you simply must pay a visit to Restaurant Ed.Em*, according to Gert. Ed and Em are Édouard and Émilie, who run this Michelin-star restaurant together. The kitchen is light and modern and the prices are very reasonable considering the high quality. Of course, the wine list also offers enough - local - options.
In Santenay you'll find two fine restaurants next to each other on the central square. One, Le Terroir, with a more regional, traditional cuisine, the other, L'Ouillette, offers a relaxed atmosphere and modern cuisine. So there is something for everyone.
Restaurants in Côte Chalonnaise en Mâconnais
In Chagny you'll find one of France's most modest and therefore most sympathetic Michelin-star establishments: Maison Lameloise***. Chef Eric Pras is in charge of the kitchen. At this leve, you may expect perfection and that's exactly what you get. By the way, Lameloise also serves a more reasonably priced lunch menu. A stone's throw away, we find Pierre & Jean, a real French bistro with a great price-quality ratio.
West of Mercurey you'll find Auberge Le Petit Blanc, where you can eat a classic Boeuf Bourguignon. Just outside Chalon-sur-Saône, in Saint-Rémy, we find the restaurant of Cédric Burtin: L'Amaryllis*. The restaurant is located in a renovated watermill and has a lovely garden. Because of its location (only one exit from the A6 motorway), this restaurant is an ideal lunch stop on your way to the south of France.
In Tournus, restaurant Aux Terrasses* by Jean-Michel Carrette gets Crum's recommendation. A beautifully decorated restaurant, where you can also spend the night. The wine list is like a dream come true with several pages of Champagne and Burgundy wines. Remarkable is the special collection of Jura and Savoie wines, which the more adventurous conoisseurs will appreciate!
West of Tournus, on the west side of the Autoroute, we find the lovely Relais d'Ozenay: modern and surprisingly good. They offer a couple of very friendly priced menus. Again an excellent lunch stop for travelers to the Midi.
Finally Gert recommends us to visit L'O des Vignes*, where you can enjoy the dishes of chef Sébastien Chambru in the shade of the plane trees in the beautiful courtyard garden. The restaurant is located in lovely Fuissé, known for its beloved white Burgundy wines!
Gert Crum is a wine writer and teacher at the Dutch Wine Academy, and an international authority in the field of Burgundy and Champagne.. He has many books to his name, including Le Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Champagne - The future uncorked. Le Domaine de la Romanée-Conti won the international award 'Best Book on French Wine 2005'. The second, revised edition was declared 'Wine Book of the Year' in 2012 by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Champagne - The future uncorked was named 'the best book on champagne of the year 2018'.
