Restaurant & Wine Review: Le Richebourg in Vosne-Romanée

Hôtel Le Richebourg

Hotel, Restaurant & Spa

Rle du Pont

21700 Vosne-Romanée, France

Tel. +33 3 80 61 59 59

The dishes

Marinated salmon with citrus fruits, herbs and rhubarb from the garden (Saumon mariné aux agrumes, herbes et rhubarbe du potager)

Box of vintage sardines, grilled bread, butter and lemon (La boîte des sardines millesimées à partager, pain grillé beurre et citron)

Burgundy snails in their shells from L’Escargot Dijonnais -6 pieces (Escargots de Bourgogne en coquille de chez l’Escargot Dijonnais – 6 pièces)

Burgundy snails in their shells from L’Escargot Dijonnais- 12 pieces (Escargots de Bourgogne en coquille de chez l’Escargot Dijonnais – 12 pièces)

Burgundy style beef stew with red wine from Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret and “home style” garnish (Bœuf bourguignon au vin rouge du Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret et sa garniture grand-mère)

Proudly stating it is a supporter of “Savoir-faire 100% Cote-d’Or” (the blue and white logo of which is clearly visible on the menus and at the entrance), the Richebourg in Vosne-Romanée prides itself on using local Burgundian ingredients. And it’s market-oriented fresh cuisine will have you savouring aromas and flavours that I find to be generally more precise and focused than those of many other Burgundy restaurants of a similar quality level.

The chef is Romuald Sikorski, a native of France’s North (Pas-de-Calais) who has travelled extensively in the country to hone his craft, working in numerous noteworthy eateries such as when he was the second in command (second de cuisine) under Jean-Pierre Gillot at his one star Michelin restaurant in Chalon-sur-Saône.

Besides the excellent food and wine list, the Richebourg is noteworthy for its upscale and refined, modernist-sleek feel. It’s housed in a four star hotel that is very bright and airy throughout, offering spa services (of the famed VineaSpa brand) and a very comfortable, modern-looking environment, bereft of the “country-side dowdy” look and feel of some other dining spots in Burgundy’s many quaint towns and villages. So if and when one is looking for a more modern stay while on vacation in this wine country, the Richebourg seems to push all the right buttons.  And the restaurant is also bright and airy, all white and glass, opening up onto the terrace in the spring and summer for more romantic al fresco dining.

I ate lunch at the restaurant during my September visit to Burgund’s domaines, and frankly had a very good time. The place is packed with what seem to be very well-heeled visitors and knowledgeable locals; in general, people are well-dressed and the volume of the conversations are good-manneredly low, such that you can talk to and hear what the people at your table are saying. The sommelier is very knowledgeable and helpful, as is the waitstaff. Add to that the sheer excellence of the food (both the sardines and the Boeuf bourguignon were standouts; personally, I would have liked my snails more garlicky, but they were fine as is). The wine list features many of Burgundy’s most famous domaines and prices are, for the most part, quite fair. On this day we had bad luck for the white Burgundy we had opted for was corked, but given that we had already had over thirty-five wines that morning during winery tastings, with two more winery visits scheduled in the afternoon, we skipped on ordering a second bottle and did without wine with lunch altogether. A rare event indeed!

By the time my lunch was over, I was actually sorry it had been so quick and short because of all the scheduled winery appointments I really couldn’t stay too long, but that has only left me wishing to get back to Le Richebourg as soon as possible, say for for dinner, so as to try more of the dishes on the enticing menu.