Skip to Content

This article contains affiliate links. We may receive compensation if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

What It’s Like to Eat At Maison Lameloise In Burgundy

Our 2012 dinner at Burgundy’s Maison Lameloise was the ultimate destination dining experience. The 3-star Michelin restaurants pulled out all the stops from creative amuse bouches to an amazing cheese cart during our meal.

Foie Gras Lollipop at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Image: ©2foodtrippers

We approached our meal at Maison Lameloise with a certain degree of trepidation. Usually, travel to France, for us, has been a ground floor affair. We like to enjoy culinary experiences that strike at a country’s heart, its soul, its rich culinary heritage.

However, we had never delved into the level of French food we were about to encounter in Chagny.

We didn’t originally plan to dine at a three-star Michelin Restaurant. Our last meal of some expense was at the highly touted Vetri in Philadelphia. While the food and service at Vetri were excellent, the restaurant lacked a certain degree of monumentality. The Vetri dining room was casual, and the meal blurred by like a speeding bullet. One moment we were standing in the waiting area and the next we were contributing a substantial portion of our bank account to pay the check.

In our previous travels through Europe, we had never splurged on a three-star Michelin meal before and this was to be our first sampling of one of the 25 such restaurants in France.

Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Maison Lameloise | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We had a healthy skepticism about the whole Michelin star system and had been aware of some of the media backlash. However, we selected Maison Lameloise for a few reasons.

First, we liked the history of this restaurant insomuch that it was founded in a 15th-century building in 1926, got its three stars in 1979, lost the three stars in 2004 and earned them again in 2007. Second, we liked the location in the heart of Burgundy close to our hotel in Chaudenay. And, third, the menu looked expensive yet affordable compared to other three-star restaurants.

The meal was to be the biggest splurge of our trip, and we were curious about how it would be. So, Daryl called, using our international phone plan, and made a reservation. We received our confirmation (under the name ‘Veryl Hirsch’) and we were all set to experience destination in France.

Dinner At Maison Lameloise

Starters in the Lounge at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Starters in the Lounge | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Upon arriving for our 7:00 reservation (early by French standards), we were warmly greeted and escorted to the lounge for an apéritif. Our drink server recommended a Bougognone – a local variation on a Kir Royale. The drinks came with starters including a savory mackerel spread, green olives and escargot flavored popcorn.

Hors D'Oeuvres at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Hors d’Oeuvres | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Then came the hors-d’oeuvres plate with four tasty treats. Each, especially the heavenly foie gras lollipops, provided a symphony of introductory flavors.

Start to a Great Meal at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Start to a Great Meal | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We were offered menus in the lounge, but we decided to go to our table so that we could enjoy the main dining room – a room that blended the traditional features of the age-old Burgundy inn with modern light and simplicity.

Ordering At Maison Lameloise

Wine Menu at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
One of Many Pages from the Wine Menu | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Tradition or sexism?

As the restaurant staff descended on us, we noticed that Daryl’s menu appeared with prices and Mindi’s without.

Daryl at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Daryl at Maison Lameloise | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Was there an expectation that the man always pays? Or was there a fear that exposing the menu prices would induce a certain degree of feminine panic? (We’ll never know for sure, but you’re certainly welcome to leave your opinions in the ‘comments’ section.)

Mindi at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Mindi at Maison Lameloise | Image: ©2foodtrippers

One certainty was that we knew that we were in a different world, a world where the wine menu is as big as a novel and degustation menus rule the day.

Maison Lameloise Meal

Amuse Bouche at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Amuse Bouche – Egg Custard with Beef Carpaccio Maison Lameloise | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Although we had already enjoyed the hors-d’oeuvres in the lounge, there was lots more food to come. First came what was described as ‘amuse bouche’ – an egg custard with beef carpaccio. Interestingly, this was the only red meat in the tasting menu.

Fried Lobster at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Fried Lobster on the Side | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Next came the first official course – Homard Bleu & Tourteau, featuring lobster claw meat topped with a delicate truffle gelée. The sweet lobster meat surrounded the centerpiece of the dish, a seafood ‘marshmallow’ that evoked all the flavors and memories of the ocean in one luxurious bite.

Our second official course was sea bass with mushrooms and artichokes – Bar de Ligne & Couteaux. The server performed a little show as she completed our plates by dragging the sauce across our dishes.

Second Course at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Second Course – Bar de Ligne and Couteaux | Image: ©2foodtrippers

The head waiter was quite concerned that one of us (Mindi) didn’t finish this course and wanted to know the problem. We explained the problem was lack of stomach space.

This response prompted the wait staff to put on the brakes. Gladly and willingly, the pace of service slowed to a crawl. We weren’t going to finish our dinner marathon at an Olympic pace, but we would victoriously cross the finish line.

Third Course at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Third Course – Magret de Canard | Image: ©2foodtrippers

The third official course was duck with a blackberry sauce.

The duck was so thinly sliced and perfectly cooked gloriously rare with a crispy crunchy skin that provided a perfect counterpoint to its outer layer of fat. The duck was humbly surrounded by ringlets of duck confit, caramelized shallots and shaved squash.

Maison Lameloise Cheese Course

Cheese Cart at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Cheese Cart | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We were pleasantly full at this point, but there was no way that we could refuse the extensive cheese cart. There were easily forty kinds of cheese.

Soft cheeses. Hard cheeses. Familiar cheeses. And cheeses that were completely unique to the region such as Epoisses aged in ash.

Cheese Plate at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Cheese Plate | Image: ©2foodtrippers

The server said that we could have as many as we wanted, and we obliged. As cheese lovers, we were in heaven.

Maison Lameloise Desserts

Mango Granita at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Mango Granita | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We would have been completely happy to stop at this point, but then mango granita and the petits fours arrived – a palette cleanser and conditioner for our dessert. Yes, we still had a full dessert course which had yet to appear.

Petits Fours at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Petits Fours | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We could have picked the crepes suzette (which were flambéed tableside), but we each decided on more modern options.

Peach Dessert at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Peach Dessert – Peche de Vigne sur l’idee d’une Melba | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Daryl had a peach dessert in a style of Melba that came with vanilla pannacotta, and Mindi had an apple dessert that came with caramel and gingerbread ice creams plus a glass of apple ‘jus’.

Apple Dessert at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Apple Dessert – Pomme and Caramel | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We both agreed that the apple dessert was the winner with its many, almost microscopic, layers of thinly sliced apples.

We truly had no more room for more food, so the waiter graciously packed our chocolate course in a pretty pink box for us to enjoy later as we traveled by car through the glorious French countryside.

Chocolates at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Chocolates | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We rolled out of the restaurant full, but happy, and ready for bed. By this time, it was almost midnight!

Discover the best French desserts and pastries.

Final Thoughts On Our Meal

Boxed Chocolates at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy France
Boxed Chocolates | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We thought that this three-star dinner would be a once in a lifetime experience. It was indeed special – a grand event that will not be forgotten.

The food was excellently prepared and presented, plus the meal had an element of great theatrical permanency.

Granted, this was not a meal that we could eat every day or even every year, but it was certainly a special experience that will linger in our culinary memories.

Maison Lameloise is located at 36 Place d’Armes, 71150 Chagny, France.

Burgundy Planning Checklist

Hungry For More Top Restaurants?

Bread Service at Belcanto at Lisbon Restaurants
Belcanto (Lisbon)
Noma Photo of Bear Caramel - Social IMG
Noma (Copenhagen)
Septime - Social IMG
Septime (Paris)
About The Authors

About The Authors

Daryl & Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers their unique taste of the world.

Disclosures

Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Funding
We self-funded our dinner at Maison Lameloise.

Original Publication Date: October 18, 2012

J Kingston

Tuesday 16th of August 2022

So many errors in this Lameloise story. First, when the restaurant lost a star, it earned it back with Jacques Lameloise. Eric Pras came later and the restaurant kept its three stars. The duck is not called Rouget. Rouget is a fish. The good news is that the authors enjoyed their meal. Lameloise is truly one of the greatest restaurants in the world. In all dimensions it excels: ambiance, fabulous joyful service, exquisite food, wonderful wine list.

Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

Friday 19th of August 2022

Thanks for your feedback. We have updated the article accordingly.

Paul Lasbaux

Thursday 10th of March 2022

Something doesn't seem right. You say you had a duck dish of Rouge barbet, which is a fish, Red mullet. The picture also looks like fish fillet and not a sliced duck breast.

Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

Thursday 17th of March 2022

Paul - You are absolutely correct. Thank you. Please note that the article is 10 years old and we've seen much food in that time span. Truthfully, if you asked us in 2012 we probably wouldn't have known where Bretagne was. LOL! WE live in Europe now and promise to never make the same mistake again. That being said, even to this day the meal we enjoyed at Maison Lameloise was one of the best we've eaten. We highly recommend it.

Jim

Thursday 6th of February 2020

Nice review. Loved the pictures but kept waiting for you to tell us the cost of the dinner. Is it one of those "if you have to ask, then you can't afford it" issues?

Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

Friday 7th of February 2020

They have a website with posted prices. Here's the lastest menu they posted. https://www.lameloise.fr/docs-lameloise/carte-et-menus-lameloise-fr.pdf

Elliot

Thursday 16th of January 2020

A menu without prices is called a Lady's Menu. No as common today as it was many years ago.

Neil Whitelaw

Friday 11th of October 2019

Great review. I've dined there twice. Some people think it's the best restaurant in the world. Don't know how you'd prove that without eating at every restaurant in the world, but I also cast my vote for Best in the World!

Get our free guide to eating like a local when you travel.