With its 700 m² of floor space and seating for over 350, this is quite simply the largest brasserie in France. Since 1836, it has been serving sauerkraut (the star dish) and has seen a lot of people come and go! Émile Zola, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Édith Piaf, Jacques Brel, to name but a few. This behemoth, yet as finely tuned as a Swiss watch, continues to run at full speed and fascinates the whole world. In fact, it was once listed as one of the world’s most legendary restaurants…
Brasserie Georges, a Lyon institution celebrating its 190th birthday this year
Its doors opened at the height of Lyon’s effervescence, during the Canuts revolts. In 1836, photography had barely been invented, Victor Hugo had just written Notre-Dame de Paris and Vincent Van Gogh hadn’t even been born… A different era, then. That’s what makes the “BG” (or “Georges”) so mythical.
Here, you’ll find mouth-watering specialties such as the indestructible choucroute garnie, which has remained on the menu ever since its inception. For although the Brasserie is Lyonnaise, its founder, Georges Hoffherr, was Alsatian. Almost 200 years later, the brotherhood between our two regions continues with the recent opening of the first Alsatian bouchon. Its owner, a certain Jacky Gallmann (also of Alsatian origin), will have spent 20 years at the helm of the Brasserie Georges!
France’s largest brasserie
A brewery that’s about to celebrate its bicentenary is a brewery that doesn’t shy away from a challenge. In 1996, to celebrate its 160th anniversary, the brewery embarked on the biggest Norwegian omellette possible. The result: 34 meters, a world record. On December 8, 2012, for the Fête des Lumières, Brasserie Georges served no fewer than 3245 covers. It’s the record that stands to this day.
If Brasserie Georges impresses with its age, it also impresses with its size! Just imagine: a room the size of a handball court that never lets up, from lunchtime to evening, with nearly 3,000 dishes served every day! Here, the to-and-fro between staff, suppliers and customers is worthy of a thousand-beat waltz. Whatever the case, whether or not you like the hustle and bustle and the comings and goings of the place, you can’t remain insensitive to the charm of its history, which will continue to spread through Lyon’s stomachs for another 200 years… at least!