Dinner at Brasserie L’Ouest

Having been to one of Paul Bocuse's restaurants, we wanted to try another, especially since it wasn't too far from where we were staying in Lyon. Dressed appropriately this time, we walked along the river to the Brasserie L'Ouest.

I warn you ahead of time though: if you plan on walking like us, please realize that this restaurant is around almost nothing else, except new apartment complexes and construction areas.

Once we arrived, we were seated inside, right in front of the open kitchen, which I was very excited about. During our meal, we got to watch the chefs prepared all the dishes and we were able to see the way that everything was timed. The kitchen was divided into cold food preparation (seen below), which was mostly appetizers, hot food preparation, which was the meats and main courses, and desserts, which interestingly enough, was only place in the kitchen where I saw female chefs.

This place was much more contemporary than the other brasserie, with a large, stylish bar on one side, and a big open dance space (wood floor). There were also four mounted flat screen TVs on the wall above the open kitchen, and one very large, mounted TV screen by the bar (this took up almost the entire wall). But don't worry; the TVs are turned down in volume, so it isn't obnoxious, and when I was there, I believe they had somehow managed to close-caption everything, which was nice. All the TVs do show the same thing, and it ranged, during our meal, from footage of cooking in the kitchen, music videos, and the World Cup game.

A three course meal here will cost you 22€90, that's with an appetizer, main course, and dessert.

We also enjoyed a jambon et melon appetizer that came with the formule. It was simple: sweet cantaloupe and delicious ham.

For our main courses, my mother ate a salmon tartare that she enjoyed very much (a main course, 17€90) and that my sister had a carpaccio de boeuf. The carpaccio came with lettuce and thick cut, fried potato wedges. I ordered a côte d’agneau rôti au thym (26€90), which delicious. The meat was juicy and succulent, and the mashed potatoes and bruschetta were a nice addition. My father order some sort of meat dish, which can be seen at the very top, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called. My sincerest apologies.

Here you can see the potato wedges, the lamb chops, the unnamed meat dish, and the carpaccio.

While we waited for our desserts, I walked over to the part of the open kitchen where they were making dessert, and watched for a bit. It was amazing to see how organized the chefs are.

This clafoutis de cerise (part of the formule), was not exactly a traditional clafoutis; it was far too cakey. Ignoring the lack of custardiness (not a word, yes I know), it was a fairly good dessert. I was pleased that the level of sweetness was just right. Most desserts fail because they are too sweet. This one did not have that problem; it was just right. The coulis was a nice touch.

All in all, a fun meal.

Brasserie L’Ouest
1 Quai du Commerce
69002 Lyon, France
Tel: 04 37 64 64 64