Lyon Day 1: London to Lyon and lunch at Brasserie des Brotteaux

My favourite drop of the holiday 

On Friday Ed, Mike and I took the Eurostar to Lyon for a long weekend in France's food capital.

It was an early start and there was a bit of a scrum at check-in, but the train really is a pleasant way to travel. We had a half hour hold up when we emerged from the chunnel as they checked the tracks for a suspected sighting of people on the line. As we were stationary we could see refugees on a bridge above the tracks looking down and, at one spot, blanks flung over barbed wire at the top of the fences. It was all a bit sobering.

Back underway the French countryside glided past at speed, although we couldn't make up the time lost and we arrived in Lyon forty minutes late.

Mike and Ed inside Brasserie des Brotteaux

Our first stop was Brasserie des Brotteaux a 100yr old brasserie located ten minutes walk north of the station. Due to the train delays we were late for our reservation, arriving just after their  kitchen closed at 2pm. However, they still welcomed us in an offering us a limited menu, presumably of dishes that they could knock out quickly.

We all opted for the lamb and shared our first and best bottle of Cote du Rhone of the holiday. The brasserie had a classic interior with tiled walls. I'm not sure if they were original tiles added 100yrs ago, but they were certainly classic.

Lamb

Lunch was definitely enjoyable, but the high standard of food we ate during the weekend and the fact it was on the first day, meant it slightly faded in the memory.

The mille feuille I ordered for dessert was a modern interpretation served on its side. I definitely enjoyed the créme patissiere that was gluing it all together. Mike's tarte au citron looked a picture.

If I remember correctly it was 30 EUR per person including wine and service which we all thought was great value.

Mille Feuille

After lunch we headed to the AirBnB apartment we had rented for the weekend. From the restaurant to the apartment was around a 40 minute walk through some of the more modern, and less interesting, parts of Lyon. However, we did get to see some brutalist concrete architecture. Some of which had held up better to the test of time than other parts...

Our apartment was better in real life than the photos and proved to be an excellent base for the weekend. All of the rooms had shutters, which I always love, as it means you get to sleep in the complete darkness.

Tarte au citron

After an hour or so relaxing in the apartment we headed down to the river to meet up with Catherine, a family friend of Ed's who lives in the city. She very kindly bought us all a drink at one of the river side bars and we sat and chatted about Lyon and her recent visit to see Ed's mum in London for an hour. Catherine speaks excellent English and has a witty sense of humour, very dryly destroying Ed's pronunciation. I'm just pleased she chose not to pass comment on my French!

Catherine had very kindly made a reservation for us at what she thought was the second best bouchon in Paris (the best being already fully booked). Thanking her for our drink we headed off to find the restaurant for what would be my favourite meal of 2015 so far.

La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière

Brasserie Brotteaux
1 Place Jules Ferry
69006
Lyon
France
www.brasseriedesbrotteaux.com