Chapeau Rouge, 2 Michelin star restaurant in Dijon France

Last month, we stacked up a total of 5 Michelin stars in 2 days! To warm up for the 3 star La Lameloise the next day, we started our week-end with the 2 Michelin Star Chapeau Rouge on the Friday night.

We left Zurich a bit before 4pm when the kids finished school, had a bit of traffic on the highway although we made sure we avoided Basel by going through Lorrach in Germany and then through Mulhouse and arrived at 8.30pm in Dijon, greeted by the Valet. What a relief after such a long trip!

What I liked

• Free Valet Parking
• Value for money: the 4 course Discovery Menu is only 80 euros which is more than reasonable for a 2 star experience
• The private room: we were 12 this time: 7 adults and 5 kids with prams and stuff. Again it made us feel comfortable knowing that the other guest wouldn’t be annoyed by our kids
• the Sommelier: he is a story teller. He goes around the region at least once a week to meet with the wine producers and stay up to date. He told us with passion why the place was called “Chapeau Rouge” (Red Hat), I won’t spoil it here 😉
• the Maitre d’O was very open about how they had to downsize from 50 to 40 seats in order to provide the service that helped them get their second star
• My favourite dish was definitely the seared foie gras with maple syrup glazed turnip, yum yum! Unfortunately my picture for that dish turned out blurry 🙁
• Their cheese trolley included many varieties from the region and what it seems to be an unlimited number of cheese allowed on your plate. In fact we shared one plate for two and the staff was open to both of us choosing all the pieces we wanted

What I didn’t like

• The contemporary decor. I feel much cosier in a room with thick curtains, wood and mirrors. Here it felt a bit cold. Mind you, I felt the same at Testuya’s in Sydney. Just my taste and craving for old world charm.
• Fabric flowers and fake plants. They had another room with a vegetal wall, and when I asked, the staff said “of course it’s not a real one, it would be such high maintenance”. Well, I’ve seen a few real ones including the one in the first class lounge at the Sydney Airport and it didn’t seem so hard, while conveying so much luxury! Likewise, there was a 1 meter tall vase in the bathroom but the plant in it was not a live one. Yes I did dive my hand down the vase to touch it, in fact, my friend’s 5 year old daughter could even tell how fake it was without touching it!
• The hotel lobby, again was modern with its brochure stand and white lighting. It’s a Best Western Hotel with room priced at 105 euros up to 159 euros, you could clearly tell it’s not a Relais et Chateaux although they call themselves 4 star hotel.
• The rest of the menu was nice, not amazingly memorable

Details

Restaurant Chapeau Rouge, William Frachot

• 5, rue Michelet – BP 52408  – 21024 DIJON Cedex – France. It’s located in the city centre of Dijon, you can also spend the night at their Hotellerie
• Tél. : +33 3 80 50 88 88
• email: contact@chapeau-rouge.fr
• Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday lunch: 12h-13h30 and dinner: 19h30-21h30

 More reviews about Chapeau Rouge Restaurant

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!