where jess ate

Brasserie Georges is the home of Lyon’s oldest brasserie – open since 1836! I know, I know, it’s a bit of a touristy dining destination but there aren’t very many options for dining out on a Sunday evening.

Located near the Perrache train station, the enormous space features an art deco interior which some would say is outdated. But that’s all part of its charm and history. After all, it has been around for over 175 years.

Upon entering the restaurant I was amazed at how large it was with high ceilings and a dining room that just went on forever. It could easily fit a couple hundred people. We arrived around 7:30 for dinner and the restaurant was packed. I noticed several tour buses outside dropping off busloads of tourists.

The atmosphere was very loud and busy – the complete opposite of the small and cozy little restaurants I visited in Strasbourg.

Like the restaurant itself, the menu is quite large (and they have English translations!). I decided to try one of the prix fixe menus, the Menu Lyonnais which was 22.50€ for 3 courses (a starter, main, cheese or dessert) or 25.50€ for both cheese and dessert. I have to warn you, it’s A LOT of food. We ordered one prix-fixe and one other entrée and it was more than enough food for the both of us.

The first course was the Calves Feet Salad – with berries and lentils (aka “Pied de Veau a la Lyonnaise”) which was labeled as a Lyon favourite on the menu. The salad was a mixture of the three ingredients in a creamy dressing topped with rings of red onions and chives. It was a really tasty salad which we both enjoyed. I’d order it again in a heartbeat.

The main course we chose from the prix fixe was the Andouillette – Chitterling sausage with whole grain mustard sauce and home-made mashed potatoes. This type of sausage is a Lyon specialty so I had to order it at least once during our stay.

Not to be mistaken with the andouille sausage, this Lyons pecialty is made with pork, intestines and tripe. I’m a huge fan of offal so I really enjoyed the sausage and the mustard sauce went perfectly with it.

In addition to our prix-fixe meal, we also ordered Le Fameux Steak Tartare Charolais (17€). It’s actually prepared tableside which is why I’m guessing it’s “le fameux” steak tartare. It was a really fun experience watching our server prepare it.

She started off with a bowl consisting of little piles of onions, pickles, parsley and mustard.

She proceeded to add salt, pepper, oil and an egg yolk while mixing away.

While it was a neat and memorable experience, it wasn’t an amazing tartare. Decent but nothing special.

It also came with a huge plate of thick cut fries and a green salad. Like the tartare, they were decent but nothing special.

Now, back to the prix-fixe menu. For the cheese course, you have the option of a cheese plate or Cervelle des Canuts which literally translates to “silk weavers brain.” I went with the latter as it was described as “Lyon’s favourite cream cheese with shallots and chives.” No actual brains in this dish!

The cheese was served in a huge bowl. I can’t imagine anyone eating an entire bowl of this themselves after a heavy starter and main. Nevertheless, the two of us made quite a dent in it since it was so good! We were given bread at the beginning of the meal and used it to dip into the creamy cheese.

To end the meal, I chose the Feuillantin au Chocolat – crispy chocolate and praline cake for dessert. I found the cake overly sweet and didn’t particularly enjoy it.

In hindsight I should’ve gone with a lighter dessert after such a heavy meal.

While there were some hits and misses, I felt Brasserie Georges gave us a nice little introduction to Lyonnais cuisine!

At a glance:
• Oldest brasserie in Lyon; open since 1836; Touristy but a Lyon institution
• Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week
• Had the “Menu Lyonnais” prix-fixe 22.50€ for 3 courses; 25.50€ for 4 courses
• Located across from the Perrache train station
• Enormous restaurant that can seat hundreds of people

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 3 stars
• Service: 3 stars
• Atmosphere: 2 stars