Normandy Restaurants: La Licorne Royale in Lyons-la-Forêt

A perfect stop if you’re heading to or from a Channel port, the La Licorne Hôtel in the stage-set pretty little town of Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy also makes for an ideal weekend out of Paris and a good country base from which to visit nearby Rouen. This handsome inn, which dates to 1670, was renovated in 2007 with interiors by the Flemish design house Flamant and has a small but pleasant Nuxe spa. The reason I like it, though, is for its excellent restaurant, La Licorne Royale, which serves the sort of beautifully cooked and presented French ‘cuisine bourgeoise’ that’s not easy to find anymore.

To be sure, talented young chef Christophe Poirier, who won a Michelin star this year, adds a contemporary touch here and there, but the sensibility of this kitchen is decidedly that of the great 19th century chef Auguste Escoffier, who famously observed that “the greatest dishes are very simple”.

This dictum came to mind over lunch on a sunny Saturday when we were served a poached egg in the shell with a lightly creamed sauté of morel mushrooms and fine-wands of bread topped with ham from a nearby farm – dressed up French toast ‘soldiers’, if you will.

Simple but deeply satisfying as part of a good-value €47 menu, this dish had the logic of the surrounding terroir, the Norman countryside from which its ingredients were sourced, and was also generously served.

An excellent John Dory with baby peas in a light, saffron-infused jus was also impeccably cooked. A nicely made slice of crème caramel came with a violet-scented sorbet that reminded me too much of the effluvia of my great-grandmother’s dressing table but, overall, this was an excellent meal at a charming hotel.

La Licorne Hôtel, 27 place Isaac Benserade, 27480 Lyons la Forêt. Tel: +33 2 32 48 24 24.  Open every day. Prix-fixe menus €39, €47, €69 and €89. Average à la carte €80.

Based in Paris, restaurant columnist Alexander Lobrano has published a new book, Hungry for France, along with a new edition of his popular Hungry for Paris. Find these books and more in our bookstore.

From France Today magazine