Le Garet

Traditional Lyon cuisine that is hard to find and very comforting if you're open to it. I tried the veal head which was succulent and tender, cooked to perfection. Portions are a good size so save room for deserts.

Chef was friendly and helpful throughout the experience. Atmosphere is homely. We ate quite a lot there and you probably can't go wrong with their specials and standard menu. Recommended to make a reservation. Places like this need to be treasured while they are still around.

Quelle susceptibilité !
Accueil très susceptible qui n'a pas accepté de nous changer de table pour notre première expérience alors que nous avions réservé bien à l'avance et que l'établissement n'était pas plein quand nous avons formulé normalement notre demande. Manifestement, le plaisir de leur nouvelle clientèle n'est pas leur première préoccupation. Étonnant !

Le Garet was super rustic, full of flavor and full house with locals on a Monday night. This is better than any Michelin Star or celebrity chefs, because it is hard to come by during a trip to be able to taste local food that reflects the food culture. You can find hearty dishes such as braised beef, calve liver, potatoes in a casserole. All dishes were execute perfectly, surrounded by locals having a good meal and a good time.

Food is very good, go there for traditional lyonnais food. I had an andouillette which was prepared differently than what I'm used to. Service is friendly. Would probably come back once in lyon again.

This is a very well know restaurant in the city, specializing in Lyonnaise dishes, which are quite unique to the area. Best tip it seemed to me, was to order what was on the chalk board as opposed to the menu.

The menu is a little hard to figure out, but makes sense eventually. You sit amongst old tables and wooden booths. To some degree it feels a little kitsch, even with some of the framed photos of sport and Euro personalities signed on the wall. Not to be out done, some bike parts are thrown in, but they actually look like they belong there. The upstairs is very quaint, it feels like eating someones old home.

With that being said, I played it safe as I am not so much into sweetbreads or organ meats, but there is plenty to choose from. The problem for me was much of the items involved a sharing with your dinner partner, who didn't want any of it. Instead we both ended up ordering the classic quenelle, a staple of Lyon which is a fish dumping. Plump and rich, it's also served in subtly slightly lobster like seafood sauce. Mouthwatering, and great with the table wines served. Never a bad salad to be found, I just went nuts over salad when in France.

But I really felt I missed out. The froglegs of plates that went out of the kitchen looked great, it's just that I never get much of a meal out of eating them in my past experience. I passed a server carrying the house maison de boeuf for 2, it's a pink perfect stewed hue, steaming in a pot with a perfect pink centre walking up the stairs... away from me... that aroma..

Why oh why could I not convince my dining partner to eat this with me?

But luckily even the best was to come. Looking at the menu, digestif was definitely needed. I ended up with a great waiter who gave us great conversation, as I was slugging back French early 1980s grappa from a nearby well known vineyard, and aged Chartreuse! You can't get aged chartreuse in the US, and this stuff is the absolute bomb!

A giant magnum, pulled out of the freezer, encrusted with ice, tipped towards my fancy. As our waiter lamented how much he enjoyed Boston, all I could say was you need to just keep pouring more of this!! And how could I get this home?

You go here, you will eat well, and it will be memorable, trust me. I just wish I could have eaten something else.

Staff was unbelievably rude - there are plenty of other places in Lyon with better food.

Second time I have been here and Jesus is it heavy! If you want to eat anything with over 60% fat or weird cuts this is the place to go. Just don't expect it to be delicious. There is so much fat it's hard to finish the meal.

I have had frog legs, lamp special, sheep trotters, Lyon offal salads and tripper de sapeur here and I just left feeling sick despite the fact that I am quite adventurous.

This is a terrific experience of a Lyonnais bouchon. Stop in the day before and book for the following night, and don't come for lunch - the food is heavy, dinner fare. The place is too small to accommodate many walk-ins on the day itself, as we learned. It's got a Michelin bib gourmand listing, and no surprise.

We loved our chat with the gregarious, warm owner, who frequently made the rounds. We began with a communard (red wine with crème de cassis) while we perused the menu. Note that the portions here are big - we got an entree, two plats, a cheese, and a dessert, and we basically needed to be rolled home. We shared quite a lot of red wine throughout the meal, and took our time as we ate, looking at the homey décor.

First we shared the sausage and potatoes - rich, hearty sausage sliced thick, with boiled potatoes. Lyon knows how to do pork, and this was no exception. Divine. Big enough to be a main, we were both already filling up after sharing it. Then we got the steak and the quenelle, which is like a fish dumpling, it's a Lyon speciality. The steak was cooked perfectly and was meltingly tender, but we both agreed the meat had less flavour than we expected! No idea why. If it had been a more flavorful steak, the dish would have been absolutely perfect, but as it was, we hoped for just a bit more. The baby potatoes served alongside, however, were gorgeous. Possibly the best potatoes I've ever had. You don't realize how amazing a potato can be until you have them in a place like this. Neither of us were hugely taken with the quenelle. I know it's a speciality so maybe you feel you must order it, but we didn't care much for it. The sauce tasted, I think, like cinnamon in a rather odd way, and we mainly ate the steak and picked at the dumpling. Just not our thing.

We had a bit of two cheeses instead of a lot of one. One was totally soft and creamy, actually more whipped than anything else, with chives and such in it. Neither of us cared much for this, but the hard cheese was fantastic and we ate that whole piece with bread. Gorgeous bread, of course. The dessert was a berry sorbet of sorts, but they poured a liqueur over it so it was boozy as all get-out. The ice cream was lush, the booze was intense, but hey, it's traditional!

Honestly, keep that in mind when you're here. You may not like everything you eat, though you will like most of it, but you are getting an introduction to true Lyonnaise cuisine. The atmosphere is second-to-none, they know what to do with pork, the bread, cheese, and wine are divine, and I can only recommend with plats that you stick to things that sound good to you, and don't order something just because it's a local tradition or speciality. But no matter what you order, you won't regret eating here. We were utterly charmed by this bouchon and would recommend to all.

Amazing food! Great atmosphere. We had the lamb special and the pork jowels and they were sinfully rich. The lamb was one of the best dishes i have ever had. Didnt have enough room for dessert! Our waitress, Oriane, explained all of the menu items and took the time to give us recommendations for other things to do in Lyon.

Words alone cannot describe the fantastic dinner that we had at Le Garet! Not only was the food true to its Lyonnaise culture, but the hospitality of the owners can put any five star hotel to shame. Be prepared to take your time for the hearty meal, and plan ahead by making a reservation beforehand, because the place filled up by 8 p.m; the restaurant is a cozy one that makes you feel like you're in your own living room, and indeed, the owners do make you feel right at home!