Auberge De La Grenouillere

After a bit of a mix up with our booking (apparently I had mistakenly booked for another local restaurant) ... we managed to secure a table outside on a warm night. Ordered the Escargot (brilliant) but was recommended to try their frog legs .... am glad I was put onto it ... absolutely wonderful .... we shared plates of both varieties ... in garlic parsley and with a cream sauce ......

A couple of friends had a stall at a vide grenier in the little village of La Truchère and we went to dinner at La Grenouille on the banks of the river Seille with them in the evening. La Grenouille has been a restaurant here for many years now, but unfortunately it does itself no favours as it is in need of a serious make over. There is a raised terrace giving a good view across the river to the meadows opposite, but the seating and decor is very dated and careworn, and it is quite difficult to give the food the attention it merits. My mignon de pork on the white plate was a good looking dish, but the garish tablecloth does rather distract the eyes as the photo shows. At the end of the day it is the food that is important, but the surroundings do influence what you think of the meal. As one would expect in a village where the original raison d’être was catching frogs there are cuisses de grenouilles on the menu indeed, the restaurant name gives a clue too. Also the little ablettes (whitebait) from the river. However there are plenty of other options for people not into such fare. There is a 25€ menu with entrée, plat, and cheese or dessert, and a 30€ one with cheese and dessert. There is a certain amount of overlap between the dishes on them and we opted for the 25€ one. I started with the Terrine Bressane aux Foies de Volaille and my wife had the Gateau de Foies de Volaille, two different treatments of chicken liver. My terrine was garnished with the jelly and parsley; the little side salad had quite a gentle dressing rather than the harsh vinaigrette you so often get. I’d had a really ghastly grey Gateau de Foies de Volaille in the nearby town of Tournus recently, but my wife’s looked really good, with a rich tomato and basil coulis. I continued with Filet Mignon de Porc in mustard sauce, and again quite a bit of attention had been given to the purée vegetables and little stack of chips that went with it. My wife’s Petite Friture d’Ablettes were well cooked and a very generous portion. They came as so often they do with a little sachet of chemical hand wipe, but she was brought a dish of warm water with lemon slices without quibble when she asked for it. I finished with fromage blanc à la crème; my wife had a crème brulée, but did note that it had cornflour added as stabilising agent. Although we did not have cheese ourselves we did see that you get quite a wide selection from a tray rather than just 3 or 4 small pieces on the plate with no say in the choice which seems quite common now. The wine list is quite brief, but the 1er cru Givry Steinmaier was in decent condition and reasonably priced. The meal was not outstanding, but overall we were all happy with it. There are obviously a lot of locals who eat here regularly, but there are also a lot of visitors to the village, particularly for an event like the vide grenier. There are three restaurants to chose from and I’m sure La Grenouille could make itself a lot more attractive to potential custom if they wished. .

After a bit of a mix up with our booking (apparently I had mistakenly booked for another local restaurant) ... we managed to secure a table outside on a warm night. Ordered the Escargot (brilliant) but was recommended to try their frog legs .... am glad I was put onto it ... absolutely wonderful .... we shared plates of both varieties ... in garlic parsley and with a cream sauce ......

Room remade during the covid, pleasant frame. menus .trois , memory 25 30 and 36 € . frogs for menu at 25€ without input . then menu at 36 with input. but no frogs with menu entry at 30€, it's a bit of a shame. but it is always, at affordable prices. We're going back, of course.

We weren't disappointed. The dishes are copyy and good. We were celebrating with frogs, fries and meat. the frame is very pleasant. We were able to eat outside with the bird sting in background music. The bosses are charming and helpful.