After Le Musée and La Meunière, let’s pick up our pilgrim’s staff again and head to another spot that has also seen the cream of Lyon’s society come and go. How many pike quenelles or chicken with morels have come out of this bouchon’s kitchen? Well, as many as the people who walk through the doors of Café Comptoir Abel with a smile on their faces, because here, even before you sit down to eat, you already know you’re in for a treat!
Café Comptoir Abel, a journey through time
This bouchon is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary… that’s truly remarkable! Even though other institutions in the capital of Gaul serve as its “big sisters”—such as Brasserie Georges for dining or Maison Baudière for crafts— Café Comptoir Abelexudes just as much (if not more) authenticity.
Forget the QR code and the plasma TV behind the bar; Café Comptoir instantly transports you a century back in time, to 1930s Lyon. It feels like stepping into a world straight out of Pierre Lemaitre’s novel *Au revoir là-haut * or the film *A Very Long Engagement*.
What strikes you upon entering is the omnipresence of wood, as if it were bursting forth. On the walls, old illustrations sit alongside mirrors, chalk-marked blackboards, and coat racks that must have supported an army of anoraks since the very beginning. None of it looks like a cardboard set; rather, it gives the impression of stepping into a home that has lived a full life.
The headquarters of Lyon’s gastronomy
The cuisine at Café Comptoir Abel is just like its setting: timeless. Here, they don’t mess around with local traditions, starting with its famous pike quenelle gratin “Abel,” recognized as the best there is.
Veal sweetbreads with morels in cream sauce and chicken with morels in cream sauce are the alpha and omega of the menu, two must-try dishes. If you’re not really into cream-based dishes and morels, point your finger at the menu toward the chicken with rice or the crayfish gratin: two excellent alternatives. Café Comptoir Abel also offers three set menus ranging from €28 to €45 for an in-depth exploration of this Lyon institution.
Today, “La Maison Abel” comprises four locations in the capital of Gaul. In addition to Café Comptoir Abel, which we just mentioned, there is Bistrot d’Abel at 49 Rue de la Bourse, as well as two delicatessens in the 6th and 2nd arrondissements, which round out this quintessentially Lyon-style family portrait.
