The options for dining out in Beaune are plentiful. During our week long stay we managed to cram a lot of eating (and drinking) into our “busy schedule”.
A couple of words to the wise. I would recommend booking regardless of the season. Even though we were there in June, we still found it difficult to get a table on the weekend. Be early for lunch! We often found that lunch was over by 1:30pm. If you aren’t seated by then you might not be having lunch at all.
The following is our pick of the best restaurants and dining experiences on our Burgundy-fuelled adventure.
Maison Du Colombier
It has to have one of the best winelists in Beaune. Surely. Though I didn’t check everywhere. It would be very hard to beat their incredible selection of over 800 wines (according to their website – I didn’t count). So whilst Nicholas was face first in the Grand Crus I was sipping a cracking glass of Chablis for just 6€. The kitchen offers a selection of what they call ‘tapas’, small plates, as well as entrées and larger plats on the chalk board. Seating ranges from tables on the terrace overlooking the Collégiale Notre Dame, hightops with a view of the open kitchen or low tables surrounded by booth seating or armchairs in all the nooks and crannies. There is a cozy spot for everyone. We ate here twice during our week in Beaune we loved it that much. For us, stand out dishes were the quality charcuterie selection, a beetroot and red berry salad and the most tender veal shoulder you could imagine, served with chanterelle and cep mushrooms. After much deliberation, we drank a 2008 Beaune Premier Cru Greves from Albert Morot as we had hiked past the vineyard earlier in the day. The second visit was accompanied by the 2014 Hudelot-Noellat Nuits St George Premier Cru Les Murgers (again, after much deliberation… sigh!).
Maison Du Colombier – 1 Rue Charles Cloutier, Beaune
La Dilettante
Just on the outskirts of the walls you’ll find this wine bar. The concise food menu is a single chalk board with about ten savoury options, all of which are great for sharing. Here, the philosophy seemed very simple, the produce is the star. Dishes are French, but with a Japanese influence. A simple salad of green peas, zucchini, carrot and feta was glorious in its freshness and simplicity. The tataki de boeuf charolais was outstanding with thinly sliced charred steak, slivers of parmesan, hazelnuts and tataki sauce. 
Lining the walls, you will find a good selection of natural wines as well as a solid list of wines by the glass. We grabbed a bottle of 2015 Marc Delienne ‘Abbaye Road’ Fleurie which Nicholas thought was ‘F%%%$$ delicious for a (bretty) natural wine’. By the time dessert rolled around (we’re not huge dessert eaters) we were ready to call it a night. But the mention of burrata in roasted peaches had us hooked. Intrigued, then surprised, we were certainly not disappointed.
La Dilettante – 11 Rue du Faubourg, Beaune
Le Bistrot Bourguignon
For a tasty, frill-free feed head to Le Bistro Bourguignon on Rue Monge. The interior decorations are quirky and fun and the tables on the pavement are great for people watching. The menu is a list full of the usual French bistro classics. Both the steak tartare and the fillet of beef were right on the money and were perfectly washed down with a fruity Santenay Premier Cru Clos Rousseau for just 47€.
Le Bistrot Bourguignon – 8 Rue Monge, Beaune
La Buissonnière
This restaurant divided us. Nicholas was not really impressed but I loved our dinner at La Buissonniere. The menu is written on a big chalkboard in the main dining room or in English on a paper menu delivered to the table. Dishes again had a Japanese influence. We cruised through some chorizo toasts, chicken liver pâté and sea bream tartare. We were lucky enough to pick up the last Plat du Jour of crispy tempura sardines on confit tomato and red peppers. All super tasty and great produce. My favourite dish, however, was the sweetbreads. Now I’m not real big on offal (except for liver of course… give me all the pâté), but sweetbreads are one of those things that can really go either way. They can either be transcendent or akin to chewing on an eraser depending on the chef. These ones definitely fell into the former category. Caramelised in a sweet soy, the bite sized pieces were firm textured but melt-in-your-mouth delicate at the same time. To compliment these tasty morsels, we ‘settled’ on a 2015 Volnay Premier Cru Clos des Chênes by Fontaine-Gagnard from a well-priced and comprehensive wine list.
La Buissonnière – 34 Rue Maufoux, Beaune
