Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - A few recommendations for Lyon

Have just returned from a long weekend in Lyon. We used to live there so we spent most of our time catching up with friends and family, but we did come across a couple of places that I thought it might be worth mentioning here.

Le potager des Halles, rue de la Martinière, 1st arrondissement (not far from Place des Terreaux)
Friends took us here for dinner on Friday night and we were blown away. Imaginative, interesting seasonal menu (four choices of starters, mains and desserts - 32 euros for the three courses), friendly service, laid back atmosphere and pleasant decor. Our starters included pumpkin soup with seared scallops (creamy and delicious with a wonderful rich flavour from the scallops), white fish carpaccio (can't remember the fish, unfortunately) and artichoke hearts with foie gras; mains included cod steak with vegetables "en nage", red mullet with beetroot, and braised pork cheeks with mashed potato (declared utterly heavenly by my husband and our friend); for dessert we had creme brulée with a tuile biscuit and chocolate sorbet, rice pudding with fruit, and the star of the show, a "deconstructed" lemon and raspberry tart which came served in a tall sundae glass, layering up a rich lemon cream, raspberries and crunchy "pie crust" pieces. This place is excellent value and I would highly recommend it. It would be wise to book.

Raconte moi la terre, on the corner of rue Grolée and rue Thomassin, just off rue de la République/place de la République (2nd arrondissement) (http://www.raconte-moi.com/Mundocafe/index.html)
This is a travel bookshop with a café/internet café upstairs that is a lovely place to stop off for a bite or a cup of tea and something sweet. They do serve a few main courses (salads, brochettes, bagels) though they are slightly overpriced in my opinion. HOwever, they have a great selection of teas and fruit juices, and lots of tasty cakes and biscuits. There are comfy armchairs and low tables set around the windows plus a few magazines in English and lots of travel magazines in French which you can peruse while you sip your tea.

Gaston, "Restaurant Agricole", rue Mercière (2nd arrondissement)
We've eaten at this restaurant a few times before but I don't think I've ever remembered to give it a mention on this board. A good place to go for lunch - it's fairly cheap and cheerful and the cuisine is uncomplicated "rustic" French cooking - we always go there for the spit-roasted chicken which is served with your choice of gratin dauphinois, French beans or fries. From various reviews on the web I get the impression that the place can be a bit hit or miss, but we've always found it to be good value (portions are generous!) and a pleasant place to stop for lunch. I don't think I'd go there for dinner though.

Lastly, though it's been recommended many times on this board, I'd just like to add another thumbs up for the Hotel la Résidence on rue Victor Hugo. I've stayed there before (as have my parents) and was very pleased, so this time when we decided to opt for a hotel rather than staying with friends, this was our first choice. The location is excellent, and it's great value at 78 euros a night for a double - our room was actually a large triple. Plenty of room for our things, large bathroom with corner bath (and shower but no curtain so showers were taken sitting down!) and separate toilet. The room overlooked the street but wasn't too noisy. Breakfast was great value at 7 euros, with a nice selection of breads, pastries, eggs, bacon, yoghurt, cheese, etc. And we particularly appreciated the free internet (PC in the lobby) with free use of a printer (very handy for printing our boarding passes when checking in online for our return flight to Brussels). They also have free Wi-fi access, though we only found this out on the last day.