Bistrot des Falaises – Saint Romain

We had driven past Bistrot des Falaises on many occasions when we visit Saint Romain for some of the best coffee in France at Saint Romain Coffee, which we visit whenever we are in the area and have some time free to indulge in the beautiful Ethiopian Coffees that are available there.

However, in driving past the Falaises imposing restaurant building, the last thing that we imagined was that we might have been able to indulge in a bottle of natural wine while having lunch there.

Well, on our most recent trip through France we turned up for coffee in Saint Romain and found that the tiny cafe was closed for an event at Chassignolles (which we regard as one of our favourite venues in France for rest and recreation).

After a quick look on the Internet we were surprised to find that the Bistrot des Falaises food menu sounded interesting and that some of the wines mentioned were natural. We noted that Falaises advertised lunch as starting at 12:15 and it was 12:13 when we arrived at the building to find the door locked. Two minutes later, exactly at 12:15 the door swung open and we were able to secure a table.

The first thing we noticed as we entered the dining room at Bistrot des Falaises, were posters from the most famous natural wine cartoonists were prominently displayed around the room.

This almost seemed incongruous in such a setting but a glance at the two wine fridges sitting prominently in the corner of the room next to the table we had been assigned to resulted in us sighting a wine from Jura producer Tony Bornard with the fox symbol displayed prominently on the label.

In fact, we were so intrigued that we ordered the bottle before we had decided on the food we wanted to try.

We know this wine well as we have been importing it into Australia for well over a decade and it is a particular favourite.

The name means “full stop” and that is because it is made from the famous Jura grape variety Ploussard – full stop! No additives of any sort, no sulphites, no added yeasts, no poisonous sprays – just Ploussard.

Ploussard generally results in lighter style red wines which go very nicely with most foods and Tony Bornard spends a lot of time in his vineyards ensuring that the soils are healthy and generous for the vines as demonstrated by this wine.

Having ordered the wine, our attention changed to the chalk board listing the items for the day’s lunch.

Our attention immediately focussed on the second dish namely “Ablettes de Saône” which was tiny fish from the Saône river that had been deep fried in such a way as the fish was pleasantly crunchy and could by eaten whole.

It was a very pleasant start to the meal and the lightness of the wine was a good accompaniment.

The fish had been deep fried at the correct temperature to ensure that the batter which covered the fish was properly cooked and crunchy enough to provide the required contrast to the softness of the tiny fish.

We also ordered the two dishes in the “Plats” section. The first was the lamb (Gigot d’Agneau) served with eggplant cooked with tahini and anchovies.

The other dish was the fish of the day which was served with a stew of white beans and treviso leaves both of which were perfect accompaniments. By this stage we were starting to discuss when we could return to Bistro des Falaises

We have included below photos of some of the dishes to give you an insight into the presentation. The photo below shows the fried river fish looking delectable!

The first dessert

The second Falaises dessert

We finished our meal with an Ethiopian coffee supplied by Mat from Saint Romain Coffee which is about 100 metres down the road.

We should add that about 10 minutes after we arrived and were seated the dining room (which is quite large) was completely full, so we would advise anyone thinking of going to give the restaurant a call before taking the trip out there.

We will be happy to add this venue to our list of places in France where you can order natural wines to accompany your meal.

You can check when they are open on the Bistrot des Falaises Web site here.

We will also add this venue to our story about where we eat in France outside Paris.