Lunch à La Tour Rose

The Tour Rose is actually three buildings dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.  The Tour Rose houses a four star hotel as well as apartment-residences for longer stays, four

La Tour Rose

restaurants and a large, cozy bar.  Its name comes from the central pink tower that is very visible up and down the street, rue du Bœuf.  It is located in the heart of Vieux Lyon (Old Town), a UNESCO world heritage site.  We have walked by the Tour many, many times, and Anna has been curious about what’s inside. 

On October 3^rd she got a chance to find out.  Dominique had suggested she and Anna meet for lunch at the AVF office (also in Vieux Lyon), and they strolled through the area looking for a likely lunch spot.  They came to the Tour Rose, checked out the posted menu, went in to inquire about having lunch there (one always does that without reservations), and, voilà, found themselves seated at a table on a lovely terrace.  (In order to get to the terrace, we climbed up multiple winding, worn stone, stairways as people have for centuries.)  The weather was quite pleasant, the setting was lovely, and the service was great.  We had a nice, leisurely lunch and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  We left with brochures about the Tour Rose, and Anna thought this would be a great place to take David for lunch.

The Outside Terrace

 

A Side Note:  the menu for the Terrace is printed daily and consists of options for a Formule.  A Formule offers multiple combinations of menu items for a fixed price.  For instance, at the Terrace, there are four Formules to choose from:

·         Salade du jour + un verre de vin (the salad featured that day + a glass of wine)  15 €

·         Entrée + Plat du jour (an appetiser and main dish)   15 €

·         Plat du jour + Dessert du jour)    14 €

·         Entrée + Plat du jour + Dessert du jour     19 €

Pretty reasonable pricing, actually.

So the propaganda began – Anna really wanted to return for another delicious lunch.  Armed with a lovely brochure that explains the history of the place (Molière staged the preview for “L’Etourdi” there!), she told David about her lunch experience.

Well, yesterday was our last day in our Décourverte de la France (Discover France) class so we our Maîtresse and good friend, Andrée-Anne to lunch.  Again, we were just around the corner and down a couple of blocks from the very visible, Tour Rose.  The posted menu of the day looked good to all three of us, and so we went in.  This time we went up a different, shorter, winding, worn-stone stairway and came to a different terrace.  This one had a glass ceiling and 3 glass walls and tables with linen table cloths and napkins.  Very nice!  David started us out with glasses of Champagne and our leisurely, two-hour lunch began.  We all chose the Plat + Dessert option; David’s plat was a salmon dish, and Andrée-Anne and Anna both had duck breast.  (Anna had just prepared Lacquered Duck Breast with Caramelized Pineapple the night before, but this was a totally different preparation.)  We all remarked about the sauces – delicious!  We each had a glass of Rosé with lunch, also.  Then came dessert:  David had le Mœlleux au Chocolat (a small chocolate cake with molten chocolate center), Andrée-Anne had Café Gourmand (coffee with several small desserts), and Anna had Salade de Fruits Frais (pieces of fresh fruit).

We ate at this table.

 

Interestingly enough, neither Dominique nor Andrée-Anne had eaten there before.  That will give you an idea of how many great restaurants are in Lyon and especially in Vieux Lyon.

Another side note:  This first time she was there, Anna heard Janis Joplin in the music track and this last time it was BB King!  (Our waiter confirmed both and seemed a little impressed and amused that she recognized them.  Ya just never know…)