L’Auberge Pyrénées Cévennes

Time Out says

Tue Nov 13 2012

Adventurous eaters and fans of offal come here to let it all hang out, a relaxed sort of place where the patron leans on the bar chatting with customers while sausages swing silently from the rafters overhead, waiting patiently for their turn on the checked tablecloths below.

The set menu (€30.25) is a sort of greatest hits of a neighbourhood joint in old Lyon: a salad with lardons, herrings with fried potatoes or a lentil salad to start, then a choice between the incomparable hot sausage with pistachio, breaded pig’s foot, fried veal liver, veal sweetbreads, andouillette sausage or quenelles of pike.

Or there's the cassoulet, which lives up to its reputation, as does the famous house terrine. And if you’re one of those more adventurous diners, partial to culinary curiosities, try the tablier de sapeur – literally, ‘sapper’s apron’ – a piece of beef stomach marinated in white wine, then breaded and fried. For dessert, lovely profiteroles, and a no less lovely rum baba. The venue calls to mind the old Lyonnais saying dans la vie, on fait ce qu’on peut, mais à table, on se force – in life, we do what we can, but at the table, you make an effort ­– here it’s followed to the letter, and with charming service.

This restaurant serves one of Time Out's 50 best dishes in Paris. Click here to see the full list.

By IS/EH