Brasserie Le Saint-Georges

The train station is an unlikely place to find such a high quality restaurant. The waitress, Delphine, was delightful and efficient and spoke good English. The wine list was extensive and there was a variety of accompaniments for the main courses. The cod was delicious and the gourmet hamburger was a seriously upmarket dish. The fries were a taste sensation on their own. They serve complimentary appetisers which were really tasty. Definitely worth a visit.

We were passing through Chalon and on failing to get a booking at the top restaurant in town, tried this as it came out well on trip advisor. Rubbish!The 34 euro per head menu was very boring and completely unimaginative. The service was awful. Many mistakes and parts of order forgotten or too late to be useful. The wines were good but overpriced. There was no offer of an aperitif and no Amuse Bouche which I would expect at this price, Total bill with relatively cheap wine and digestive - 161 euro. To make things worse, the service for the French couple next to us was much more attentive. (We spoke only French and understand well, proper French manners) By French standards this was pretty bad, and really cannot be recommended to anyone looking for the joys of Gastronomie Bourgogne.

This restaurant is run by Georges Blanc, who has a Michelin 3-star establishment in Vonnas near Bourg-en-Bresse. We went for lunch, and split an entree of escargot Bourgignon (in a creamy green sauce - tarragon?), and a main of frog legs, after an amuse-bouche of caviar? mousse on incredibly light pastry sticks. I can still taste it now, three weeks later.The service was impeccable without being intimidating or snobbish (we walked in with out a reservation, dressed for travelling, but did address the maitre-d in French). When I remarked that the food was the best I'd ever tasted, the maitre-d said "Of course!" The prices were way less than you expect to pay in even a Michelin recommended place. We speculated that this was a training restaurant but perhaps lunch in the provinces is always reasonable. I have to thank the fellow traveler who recommended this gem over breakfast at our hotel.

I had lunch and dinner here with colleagues while I was staying at another hotel. The staff in the brasserie were helpful and spoke English. However the meals all had one fish course for starter and main course, along with another option - very limited in choice especially if you do not eat fish.

Located in the Hotel St Georges, opposite the train station in the center of Chalons sur Saone, it serves an inspired list of "local" dishes, many of which originated in the owner's 3-star restaurant, also located in Burgundy ( Georges Blanc in Vonnas ).So it's a great value-for-money deal !