Les Halles de Lyon - Paul Bocuse

This morning we had a lazy start to the day. We headed off for the market, named in honour of Paul Bocuse (who passed away in 2018), who was based in Lyon and known for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approach to cuisine. He is considered to be the “pope of gastronomy”.It is a wonderful market full of fantastic food and produce stalls, and also a number of great restaurants.

After checking out the produce and buying some chocolates from Seve Chocolatier - recommend by our mate Sid in Montpellier - we decided we would find a spot to eat early as we know how popular Sunday lunch out is to the French. Ian chose Les Garçons Bouchers, Restaurant de Viandes. I think we were their first customers of the day and we chose to sit at the bar amongst all the action. Ian chose a lovely AOC Burgundy from the Beaune region, which went down well with our food. He had the special of the day - Araignée de veau(or veal spider) - which was a special cut of veal that has been marinated for a few days and then quickly grilled, served with Paris mash. I had steak tartare (a favourite) but with a little roasted bone marrow on the side. The friendly young chef had suggested that we share this entree to start, which horrified Ian, so I paid a supplement to have just one marrow bone with my main meal, which was bloody beautiful. We then shared a tasting plate of the desserts which included a pana cotta, a praline tart, crème brûlée and a chocolate cake. The food and wine were all great.

We then slowly walked the 2kms home via a gorgeous shop that sold silk scarves made in Lyon - a few will be coming home with us.Read more