Fodor's Expert Review Georges Blanc

$$$$ Bourg-en-Bresse French Fodor's Choice

In the village of Vonnas, a simple 19th-century inn with 30 rooms full of antique country furniture doubles as one of the greatest gastronomic addresses in all of Gaul. Poulet de Bresse, truffles, and lobster are just some of the divine dishes featured on the legendary menu created by three-Michelin-star chef Monsieur Blanc, whose culinary DNA extends back to innkeepers from the French Revolution. He serves his traditional-yet-nouvelle delights in a vast dining room, renovated—overly so, some might say—in a stately manner, replete with Louis XIII–style chairs, fireplace, and floral tapestries. Wine connoisseurs will go weak at the knees at the cellar here, overflowing with 130,000 bottles. The guest rooms range from (relatively) simple to luxurious. A block south you can repair to Blanc's cheaper, more casual restaurant, L'Ancienne Auberge, most delightfully set in a 1900s fabrique de limonade (soda-water plant) and now festooned with antique bicycles and daguerreotypes.

French Lunch Dinner $$$$ Fodor's Choice

Quick Facts

Pl. du Marché
Vonnas, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes  01540, France

04–74–50–90–90

www.georgesblanc.com

Known For:
  • Stellar wine list
  • Stately, over-the-top dining room
  • Stiff prices
Restaurant Details:
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.–Wed. and Jan. No lunch Thurs., Reservations essential

What’s Nearby