Le Sully in Lyon: a slightly disappointing bouchon

Le Sully is a Lyonnais bouchon offering authentic cuisine, but I was somewhat disappointed by the quality of the dishes I was served. But perhaps I made the wrong choice.

I had decided to start my stay at a bouchon, one of the traditional restaurants so typical of Lyon’s cuisine, before moving on to a Michelin-starred restaurant the next day. I chose the Sully for two reasons: firstly, it has the ‘bouchon lyonnais’ label and secondly, the chef is a amitre restaurateur, which is a guarantee of home-made food.

At the bottom of the page, you’ll find a summary of the articles about this trip to Lyon.

The concept

What more can be said than that this is a ‘bouchon lyonnais’, a simple, friendly restaurant serving the emblematic dishes of Lyonnais cuisine.

The menu

You’ll find the great classics of local cuisine here.

The setting

Here, too, you’ll find a typical bouchon setting, with exposed stonework, close-knit tables, red and white tablecloths and a warm, picturesque decor…

The dinner and the service

I’ll start with the booking, which wasn’t the easiest. I’m desperate to find out how to book online and the contact form says that it’s reserved for bookings of more than a certain number of people. Never mind, I’ll try.

A few days later I received an email from the restaurant asking me to use the online reservations page and giving me the link.

Surprised, I checked to see if this page actually existed and could be accessed from a button that was easily visible on the website but almost impossible to find on the mobile site. That’s why it’s so important to test the ergonomics on both versions of the site, because sometimes the switch to mobile turns the whole layout upside down.

Anyway.

I arrived on time for my reservation and was immediately taken care of and seated. A very warm and friendly welcome.

The table is simply laid, but there is no salt or pepper.

I’ll start with a glass of champagne, which will be served quickly and at the right temperature.

As a starter, I had the oeuf parfait en meurette, grelot onions, country bacon, button mushrooms and croutons.

As appetising as it is good, and hearty too. Very tasty, nothing to complain about, it’s a delight.

For the main course I chose the Vol au vent, sweetbreads, quenelles, prawns, mushrooms and supreme sauce.

Here too, the presentation really appeals. However, the result is less conclusive.

First of all, I’m wondering what prawns have to do with this dish and having spoken to several chefs, they all found the idea incongruous.

In general, it lacks flavour and the crust is really dry.

In fact, it’s the sauce that saves the dish and gives it flavour, otherwise it’s rather bland and even heavy. In fact, I’d have trouble finishing the dish…and indeed wouldn’t finish it.

A little disappointing all the same.

I had started out with the idea of going for a Saint Marcelin and a dessert or even a digestif, but that spoilt my appetite and I decided to ask for the bill without even a coffee and call it a day.

The service

Really friendly and welcoming, maybe a little long between the starter and the main course but nothing serious.

The atmosphere

Lively without being noisy.

Bottom line

The meal promised to be a real treat, but the party was spoilt a little by the main course. However, as usual, I won’t judge the establishment definitively on this one dish. Maybe I had the only one that didn’t suit me, maybe if I’d had another I’d have been delighted. Who knows. Especially as everything else was perfect and it’s not as if the starter disappointed me either!

So it was a disappointing experience, but not enough to make a definitive judgement on the property.

All the articles about this trip to Lyon

#	Type	Post
1	Diary	Preparing a gastronomic stay in Lyon
2	Train	Paris-Lyon, Trenitalia, Executive Class
3	Hotel	Marriott Lyon Cité Internationale
4	Restaurant	Le Bouchon Sully, Lyon
5	Restaurant	La mère Brazier, Lyon
6	Train	Lyon-Paris, Trenitalia, Executive Class
7	Diary	Debriefing of the stay in Lyon