My first time in Lyon and I was eating pickled pig feet. Or snouts? Well anyway, it was a lot of pig parts.
My first time in Lyon and also my first bouchon. A bouchon—I realize now that I’ve tried one—is the kind of dining experience I enjoy; unfussy, cheap, locally specific, and delicious.
To qualify as bouchon, you have to be on an official certification list. I did a little research and selected Comptoir Chabert because it seemed to offer the broadest variety of traditional Lyonnaise foods.
I was seated at a table with other diners and I chose a dish from the menu on the chalkboard (quenelle lyonnaise sauce nantua).
Right away the server brought out a few pâté style meats. This is the variety of food that’s always scrumptious in France—so bring on the squishy pork.
Alright, how about some pickled herring, pickled pork feet and (not pickled) potatoes? Sure.
And now for some beets, mustard lentils, and not one, but two more varieties of squishy pork? Yeah baby.
For those of you keeping track at home, I’d now eaten nine different foods and still hadn’t made it to the actual dish I ordered. Here it is, a quenelle, which is a big dumpling made of fish in a creamy-crustacean sauce. I ate ALL of it.
Following that light course, the server brought out three types of cheese. The one on the left is my favorite, Saint-Marcelline and the soupy one is appetizingly named Silk Worker’s Brains.
At this point in the evening, even I started to feel just a tiny bit full. Too bad, because five different desserts were about to hit the table: pears poached in wine, stewed prunes (I was cautious with these due to a previously explosive encounter), rice pudding, a creamy dessert that I forgot the name of, and a decadent carmel topped flan.
This meal was €29!
How I got to Lyon: train from Chantilly to Paris followed by another train from Paris to Lyon.
Where I slept: ibis budget – Gare Part-Dieu . Price: €85 for a single. Recommended: yes.
Picnic at the Cathedral 
Oh, that menu! The only thing I have not eaten was andouillette…..the smell alone! You knew when it was the plat du jour the minute you opened the door….think of the odour of the drains of Calais in August which used to greet the traveller from the u.k. and you have andouillette.
But such dishes seem to out of favour…friends in France have just travelled half a day to an agricultural fair whose caterer specialises in tete de veau – they say they can’t find anywhere which serves this old favourite anywhere near them…..
You had a real beanfeast there! Deep envy!
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In fact I did have the andouillette the following night (short time in Lyon but two Bouchon visits) but didn’t enjoy it as much as the first course, Oeufs en Meurette—some exceptionally delicious sauce!
Your description of the andouillette smell is hilarious (and not innacurate…)
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Hi, thanks for this delicious post. 29 Euros is an absolute steal for that glorious spell of dining. I’m definitely missing Lyon now! Happy 2026 to you and your family!
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Happy New Year to you as well and happy eating in 2026!
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This is the sort of meals my great-grandmother would’ve enjoyed. She died on her 100th birthday. I think of her when I see people drinking Huel and doing Keto/Paleo/Whatever diets. She used to smoke, cycled to her factory job, drank a glass of red on lunch break and swore so much that some of my first memories are swearwords. But that’s the way!
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Well if cussing makes you a centenarian, I’d better start putting more money in my retirement account.
I had to google Huel—eww!
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Where else? Lyon and Marseilles stand out in my memory for huge meals
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Still haven’t made it to Marseilles but will make it a priority (if the meals are delicious in addition to being huge).
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Think bouillabaisse, for example
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Yum (and fortunately lighter than multple courses of squishy pork)
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My goodness. What an experience! Thanks for sharing the details. 😊
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Thanks for following along—I admit, at the time I was wondering if I could get gout from a single meal…
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I can see it already….a few readers might even make a beeline to that Lynonaise restaurant.
Sheesh..yes that is alot of food. Well, you should know since you’ve probably experienced massive multicourse Chinese restaurant meal at some time in your past. 😉
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When we went to Taiwan our relatives that live outside of Hsinchu took us to their neighborhood restaurant where we kept eating, and eating. Then they bought me a couple of extra dishes of kimchi for later.
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😀 Good hosts in Taiwan.
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