Loiseau des Ducs is certainly the best Michelin-starred restaurant I’ve tried in a long time. In addition to its cuisine, which is both traditional and creative (but not too much so), the restaurant offers a very pleasant dining room and excellent service.

For this second dinner in Dijon, after a bistro (La Fine Heure), I head to the other side of the gastronomic spectrum and try a Michelin-starred restaurant. In a region and city with such a reputation for gastronomy, and what’s more, a wine region, the offer is more than consistent. I chose Loiseau des Ducs without any hesitation, as it was one of the restaurants of the late chef Bernard Loiseau, whose cuisine I would so have liked to discover during his lifetime.

At the bottom of the page you’ll find the summary of the articles about this stay in Dijon.

The concept

Loiseau des Ducs reinterprets the classics of Burgundian cuisine in a gastronomic way.

The setting

The restaurant is located in the heart of the city, in a listed building.

The interior is very pleasant. A large bay window provides plenty of light, while exposed stone, wood and beamed ceilings add a touch of authenticity and warmth, while the absence of tablecloths gives it a simple, warm feel.

The menu

The restaurant offers à la carte dishes as well as two menus with dishes not featured on the menu.

The dinner

I arrived at the start of the service and was quickly seated at my table by the very welcoming staff. I really like the sobriety of the room and the table setting.

I order an aperitif and they bring me the menu. The order is taken shortly afterwards, my choice having been made quickly.

It’s a homemade aperitif with crémant blanc de blanc, kir cassis and gingerbread. Very local.

Two appetizers quickly follow: a seafood croque with smoked herring and a green duck potato chip.

The croque is very fresh and smoky, I love it. The chips are good too, but the taste of the duck is a little too masked by the sauce, which is too present. Too bad for the duck.

The first course arrives quickly.

Back to the nonnette, Mulot & Petitjean de Dijon (photo forgotten).

Mulot & Petitjean de Dijon is a gingerbread.

It’s a gingerbread cookie with bitter orange (a local specialty) toasted with blackcurrant coulis.

Warm and light, it’s really quite surprising.

I’m also brought homemade bread and butter.

The butter will be a real treat.

Burgundy snail, roasted white asparagus with mild garlic, velvet Vincent sauce with herbs from ‘Les Combes Dijonnais’.

I had hesitated for a long time with the oeuf meurette, which won the creativity prize at the World Championship of Eggs en Meurette, but my love for snails was too strong.

The snails are in tempura, a little smoky but the tempura is light and unobtrusive. The asparagus is meltingly tasty.

The charm of this dish lies in the perfect blend of garlic and herb sauce.

The sauce is very light, almost airy.

Excellent.

Cod, mother-of-pearl back with Dijon mushrooms, oyster mushroom royale with smoked soya, fine woodland broth steamed with lovage

The fish is more than melt-in-the-mouth but can be a little lukewarm. The broth brings an earthy, seaside flavour with the lovage, but is perhaps a little strong in taste.

I’m impressed by the variety of oyster mushroom preparations (royal, snacked, etc.).

In the end, very fine and tasty … and very present in the mouth.

Veal from Clavisy, pink fillet, Noilly Prat jus, green asparagus and egg yolk sauce Bernard Loiseau style, with Saint-Jean truffle

Hollandaise sauce is one of Bernard Loiseau’s signature sauces. It is complemented by a Noilly Prat sauce and a truffle sauce.

The potatoes are stuffed with truffles.

It smells strongly of truffles.

The meat is melting. The Noilly sauce is discreet, but as soon as you add truffle, it’s fine and powerful.

The potatoes are nice and light, but not very tasty except when you come across the truffle. On the other hand, the hollandaise is a delight. The sauce is quite fresh, light and lemony.

I don’t know which sauce goes with what so I try combinations and it works pretty well either way.

Once again excellent.

Cheese platter from the Porcheret cheese dairy.

I’m not a fan of Crottin in general but this is excellent quality.

Comté: a classic, but very good.

Délice de pommard: cow’s milk, mustard, now that’s a discovery. Like a cheese mousse with mustard. Surprising and I like it a lot

Langres: soft and good.

Braised Sucrine: excellent.

Red fruit chutney: Really good.

Pavlova, ice cream with fleur de sel and cloud of milk jam, sour sauce

There’s a salted butter caramel center and in the end it’s a bit like eating a nougat.

I’ll finish with a coffee, accompanied by two delicacies.

Lemon-mango and pistachio-red fruit tart: fresh and perfect to finish the meal.

The atmosphere

Nothing to report. Calm and relaxed.

The service

Very pleasant and professional staff. A bit of a wait at one point during the meal, but nothing serious, and the pace of service was perfect.

Bottom line

Traditional but not too traditional, creative but not too creative, a form of simplicity, very accomplished. One of my best Michelin-starred restaurants in a while.

The articles about this trip to Dijon

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