La Table de Chapaize

My wife and I dined at La Table with our friends last week on a very stormy night in burgundy. We were fortunate enough to have a table at the front by the entrance as I do not like being in the back room and do think it needs alteration. That aside our welcome was good and whilst we can speak a little french our friends preferred english and this most ordering and staff conversation was in english. I found the menu a little dull on this occasion, 2 or 3 (1 veg) choices for each course and I do not like being asked to choose my dessert when I order my starter and main, that seems so obvious as you have no idea what the meal sizes will be or tastes that make an impact so how do you know what you would like for dessert!! This is purely to allow the chef to finish I would say. 3 choices for starter we had them all fois gras enjoyed but tiny, scallops good but not very plump, beetroot ceviche was the best. I suspected the food was a little pre prepared. There is a good choice of wines as always and by the glass and a local beer but no pression. Main course arrived 2 as beef and 2 as prawn curry it was not what we ordered bit we settled on the beef for my friend who didnt want to wait for the prawn dish. Prawn curry was bland a very tame curry and 3 or 4 prawns in shells on top I am really not convinced that is took a lot of effort. Beef looked good initially , however I feel it was pre seared and possible baked in the oven to bring it to temperature, this is ok but my overriding experience was that the filet of beef was eventually a little slimey in the mouth. It's hard to explain but I didnt expect it and again I though well the work was done before and heating up was all it needed. I have savoured beef filet all over the world and this was not ideal, accompanied by a tiny portion of sauteed potatoes not enough for the beef. Desert 2 chocolate fondant and 2 cheese. The chocolate was well received but my cheese plate was so unimaginative , cheve, epoisses and comte. Le manoir in oxford has a 12 cheese selection that changes every day or week so why the limitation and boredom all of these are available in the most mundane of shops? We had a tricky situation when the main course arrived as one was wrong but my friend accepted it, I would have thought something complementary could have returned the favour. The strangest part at the close of the evening was the owners dog being allowed to howl from the terrace outside, ok there was a storm but the owner (guess) was in the restaurant so why not go and keep your dog company. The issue was a very loud howl in the entrance of the restaurant where we were sitting and that rather destroyed the atmosphere. In summary chapaize is a lovely hamlet with a choice of 3 restaurants, we have been coming to the TdC for 10 years and it has lost a little charm, I do expect in a good restauran0t that charges appropriately if the menu is limited for the chef to put in max effort to each dish and make it as ordered in time with fresh ingredients and delivered as a new creation each time. There we are a reasonable price paid bit our food could have been a little more imaginative and certainly cooked with a little more bang of freshness and flavours in mind and at hand

The food was very good. I had cold minestrone soup to start and it was delicious. I had the fish of the day and molten chocolate cake for dessert. They make all their desserts in house and they suggest you order them first so you don’t miss your choice. My husband and some friends had the lamb kebabs that were tasty and a special apricot crumble for dessert. The only miss was the chicken salad as chicken was dry. The server was superb. Warm friendly place! Make reservations!

Beautiful setting, just steps from l’Eglise! Two menus to choose from. High in flavour and ambitious in simplicity. Good choice of local wine. Chairs were uncomfortable on the patio. You can ask for a better chair, a few patrons around us did!

Remarkable cuisine in a lovely setting and excellent service. The wine list is also excellent. We have eaten here twice this month and each time a different menu. A few years ago we were deeply impressed when we had a vegan member of our party and the chef rose to that splendidly.

The food was exceptional, starting with an amuse of beetroot gazpacho. One of us had an asparagus ‘crême brulée’ with cheese topping, the other has foie gras with excellent chutney. All this was very inspirational. Our souris d’agnesu was something else again, because of the special couscous with fine pickled lemon a good chase plate completed the meal. Good Morgon by the glass. Impeccable service with a happy smile. This was an excellent surprise in Châpaize, where you would have to go anyway for the very special romanesque church. Both the church and the restaurant will remain in your happy memories forever.