Le Saint Martin - Chapaize

There were 13 of us for lunch, and we hadn’t reserved, but the friendly staff managed to re-arrange some tables for us inside so we could sit together. Everything was cooked to order so there was a bit of a wait but the food was...very good. They use locally sourced fresh ingredients whenever possible and I chose a fish that had been supplied that morning by a local fisherman. I would happily eat here again if I ever return to this part of Burgundy.

What else is there to wish for than sun, a good glass of wine and some tasty food when you’re visiting the Bourgogne? This place has it all we ate on the terrace during lunch it was busy but the waiters were...friendly and in control. As the decor of the old village you’re in, everything is not super polished but genuine and authentic. The lamb was tasty and the (goat) cheeses were local. A define ‘go to’ if you’re around!

We ate at the restaurant after the concert at Eglise Chapaize. There were 30 of us and they served incredible food. People said “It’s the best meal I’ve ever had.” The service was superb! We had organic veal pate and pulled beef with fresh peas...that was divine. The creme brûlée was the best I’ve ever eaten superb! I highly recommend this restaurant.

We were on a tour around some of the major Clunisoise sites and at lunchtime found ourselves in Chapaize. Opposite the beautiful 11th century church dedicated to Saint Martin, is the Restaurant ‘Le Saint Martin’. It’s inviting from the outside and the proprietors are incredibly...welcoming. We didn’t want a big 3-course lunch, and asked whether just having an Entree would be fine. No problem! They did offer to make it a slightly larger portion and we agreed, opting for the intriguing Profiteroles aux Escargots. What arrived was a beautifully presented dish that was accompanied by an equally beautiful side dish of vegetables. Both were delicious. The cuisine is clearly very creative and stumbling upon such a gem in the middle of the countryside was a wonderful surprise. As we visit Burgundy regularly, we’ll be sure to be back.

Chapaize is an attractive little village with about 170 inhabitants. There are two restaurants and a bar selling bio snacks so they are spoilt for choice for eating out on their own doorsteps. There is also a handful of stalls forming a small Sunday market, a group of potters and a couple of galleries, and a church dating from the C9, but that’s pretty much it - no ubiquitous tabac, coiffeuse or pharmacie. As with most such villages I suspect the downside as far as the Chapaiziens and Chapaiziennes are concerned is the large number of tourists who crowd the streets in summer.We added to the crowd, visiting on a hot Sunday for lunch at the restaurant Saint Martin - not to be confused with the church of the same name opposite of course. We did eat here several years ago, and felt it was time to pay another visit. Trusting to the meteo forecast we booked a table on the terrasse, and arrived early enough to bag one in the shady passage to one side.There are no set menus, and the dishes are listed on boards on the wall. As readers of previous reviews will know, my wife loves fish. As I am not so keen she tends to make the most of her chance when we eat out, and here there were several choices; quinoa salad with crab and wasabi mayonnaise or salad with crispy whitebait as starters, and three mains - medaillon of lotte with cream, chorizo and peppers, or omble chevalier with a spicey sauce (which I always think should be sea horse but know is actually the trout-like char), or risotto with cuttlefish ink, squid, Dublin Bay prawns, and cockles. She chose salade croquante friture de la Saône (whitebait), followed by the risotto.She voted her whitebait as probably the best she’d ever had. They were crispy but lightly cooked, retaining the fishy taste so often lost when they are overcooked. She did feel that although the salad was a good salad it would have been greatly improved with a little lemon in the dressing. Her risotto gained top marks, with a great variety of flavours and importantly also of textures.A green pea gaspacho with goats cheese sounded appealing as the sun was so hot, and I had rolled local sourced breast of limousin veal with vegetables as a main. The gaspacho - effectively cold green pea soup in this variant - was fine but unremarkable. The veal was very good indeed, with a handful of lightly cooked vegetables and light jus.Chef/owner Luc Ory himself came to the table to tell us the choice of desserts of the day, and we had a chocolate gateau with raspberries and a deconstructed lemon meringue pie. I would far prefer a really good lemon meringue pie in its original form, but I guess that is not really a very cheffy dish in a restaurant, so deconstructed it has to be.My wife is happy with a light red wine to go with her fish when I’m eating meat, but this time I chose a Viré Clessé vielles vignes from vigneron Jean-Marie Chaland (white of course, as only chardonnay grapes are grown there).Reading the menu choices you can see that although we are in rural Burgundy, the cooking is far more eclectic. Luc Ory may be an alumnus of the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon and have Burgundian roots, but here he is not frightened to introduce a wide range of flavours, mostly with great success.Another place for us to come back to.