In the starting blocks… The team of the new Roanne bistro establishment opening opposite the train station is ready. The place, based on a concept combining catering, bar and events, will welcome its first customers from lunchtime service, this Thursday, July 4.
They are smiling and impatient. The managers of the MAGE Hotels group, at the helm of this new concept, like their colleagues, are waiting for the official kick-off which will be given this Thursday. This opening has been in preparation for months.
On the premises side, everything is finalized. The different spaces have been designed in a style combining modern lines and touches of retro: inside, on nearly 400 m², three spaces have been defined (a typical restaurant area, a bar area and a cozy lounge). Outside, the terrace nestled away from prying eyes also offers different atmospheres. A corner for eating, more relaxing spaces for having a drink…
“The idea of the Dome is to create a warm, festive place, where people feel good and navigate,” the investors explained to the Pays a few weeks ago, unveiling their concept based on three pillars: “bar restaurant and events”. “We want to make this new address a chic and trendy place, lively all day long,” they had specified. “There will really be something for everyone and for all budgets. People can simply come for a drink, share a pastry or a meal,” they summarize today.
To bring this place to life, 16 people were recruited: experienced profiles (read elsewhere) and very involved young people. “Many are natives of Roannais and had gone to work outside. They were won over by the adventure we are offering them”, emphasize Adrien Couvert and Geoffrey Maisonhaute, evoking a “dynamic, smiling and warm team. There is very good cohesion”, the managers congratulate themselves a few hours before the opening. “We have our heads down and we will have to hold on for the long haul. It is a long-distance race”.
What types of catering and menus?
Starting this Thursday, customers will be able to find different options: at lunchtime, a weekly menu will be offered from Tuesday to Friday with a duo formula (starter-main course or main course-dessert) at 22 euros and a trio formula at 28 euros. The seasonal menu, renewed every two months, will also be available at lunchtime and in the evening. The “Le Dôme” menu will be offered on Saturday lunchtime and in the evenings from Tuesday to Sunday, with prices ranging from 39 to 43 euros depending on the formula. On Sunday lunchtime, there will be no catering but it will be possible to nibble on dishes to share.
“We position ourselves on a bistronomic, refined and quality cuisine, both in terms of the selected products, fresh and local as much as possible, and the presentation”, emphasize the managers.
In the afternoon, the premises will be a tea room (with homemade pastries). As for the bar, it will be accessible throughout the day, with classic and signature cocktails and mocktails (non-alcoholic cocktails) (from 8 to 12 euros). Note the presence from this Thursday at the end of the day and evening of a DJ in residence.
Aurelie Marchadier
Practical : Le Dôme, Place Jean-Troisgros, open from Tuesday noon to Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday noon. It is already possible to book at 04.58.98.08.25. Le Dôme can also be privatized for various events: weddings, seminars, etc. A Facebook page has just been created.
For the rest, see you in the second half of the year…
MAGE Hotels is carrying out another hotel project on the floors above the Dome: the opening of suites. Nine will be offered. Work is continuing. Launch planned for the second half of the year.
Passionate people in the kitchen and at the bar
Metin Goktekin, head bartender at the new Dôme, sees this new professional adventure as “a superb challenge”. The man who created the cocktail and wine menu here from A to Z has a solid background. After training for many years in the UK (he worked in England for nine years), discovering the world of spirits, which he has made a speciality of, he returned to France where he worked at parties for the Cannes Film Festival or at major Michelin-starred restaurants and palaces. Until very recently, he was still a trainer at a bartending school in Lyon. “I want to share my knowledge of products with the people of Roanne, help them discover new things, introduce them, with delicacy, by sometimes offering surprising things”, explains the man who is pleased to be able to give free rein to his creativity”. “The art of the cocktail is a work of precision and regularity”, he recalls.
“A real challenge”
In the kitchen, it is chef Valdemiro Bernardo who will lead the brigade, in places he knows well. It is indeed here that he learned his trade when he was younger, as an apprentice in the Michelin-starred establishment. “Le Dôme, for me, is a real challenge”, says the man who, in his career, has worked in season in Saint-Tropez and Courchevel, before working for various restaurants in Roanne (he was chef at Now Why). “I am given carte blanche. What we are going to offer here, no one else does”, says the man who enjoys mixing French, Asian and African flavours.
