If this place were in Paris I might only give it a three. It was recommended by a few different people so I get the impression it's the 'nice' place to eat in grenoble. I can't decide if it's a case of big fish/small pond or if it's just honest to goodness nicely done food.
For starters, it feels a little like they are trying to be a little more upscale than they are: you have to push a button to slide open the entry door, they serve a nice selection of regional cheeses (but don't know what they are when asked), nice wine glass came to table but with chunk of cork floating in it. Industrial (ie not fancy) looking tables dressed up to look more 'design'
That said the service was very friendly and chatty. I started with the crispy salad which brought way more to the table than your usual french salad: turnips, carrots, crunchy croutons, various other crisp root veggies - all topped off with an Asian inspired sauce (think sesame, soy - offbeat for france maybe but not super original - but still well done) Other half had a courgette gazpacho with small strips of smoked salmon on top. Good texture and seasoning on the soup - not sure how much the salmon added.
For mains he had the filet mignon and I had rumsteack. Both good - but that was (I think) two of three options. So kind of uninspired choices. BUT both cooked to perfection. And the steak came with a really interesting purée made with roasted potatoes. So it just continues to feel like a two steps forward, one step back situation.
It's not a destination restaurant but a definite great bet if you're in the area (and reserve ahead of time) and I gave it a four in the end which I think says something.
Oh - and the price is nice. 27 Euros for 3 courses.
(and one minor gripe that's' not really a gripe: I couldn't sub cheese for a dessert, which is mildly annoying...people who want to swap everything out are also annoying...but if there's one substitution I'll ask for, it's cheese instead of dessert on a menu - when the cheese costs less than the dessert a la carte - but they weren't having it!) read more