Meurthe-et-. Restaurants: these surprising tables

Meurthe-et-. Restaurants: these surprising tables
Meurthe-et-Moselle. Restaurants: these surprising tables

You should never trust your first impression. When you arrive at Auberge Francine, you could easily find the setting uninviting. After all, the restaurant is located on the side of the road, on a road heavily used by cars and inside, the decoration is rustic to say the least with its tables with gingham tablecloths, ageless tiling and a bar at the old covered with fornica.

“It’s true that people who don’t know are a little afraid when they arrive,” laughs Jean Walch, co-manager of the establishment with his partner Julie Aubert.

“It’s okay, you don’t really miss the fries?” »

A judgment quickly re-evaluated when the guests sit down at the table. For a competitive price (21.90 euros or 28 euros for a menu with starter, main course and dessert), customers are entitled to refined cuisine that will delight the taste buds. “When customers arrive, they stop and say to themselves: 'there are no fries, no choice'. We see them eating and we see that they are smiling again” continues Jean Walch, “I often say to them, laughing: “That’s okay, don’t you really miss the fries?” »

A restaurant created 64 years ago

Auberge Francine has not always put refinement on the menu. When it was created sixty-four years ago by Francine, Julie Aubert's grandmother, and her husband, it mainly had a clientele of truckers who inevitably took this route to get to the Vosges. “It was a roadside restaurant which offered traditional, family cuisine, with dishes that we put on the table, the cheese that we pass around… A la bonne franquette” says Julie Aubert.

When her grandmother died almost three years ago, she decided to continue the activity with her partner. “I wanted it to stay in the family, not to change,” she continues.

Owner of several wine cellars and passionate about cooking, Jean Walch got started after being trained for several months by a restaurateur friend. In October 2023, the establishment reopened its doors with a narrowed menu of a few starters, a few main courses, a few desserts, and the desire to favor short circuits and quality products as much as possible. “At 90%, we are on local” says Jean Walch, “for fish, we will only work with fish from fish farms such as trout and arctic char”..

“It will always remain a little in its juice”

A bias that pays off. Today, the establishment is regularly full a little over a year after its reopening. “We operate solely on word of mouth,” notes Jean Walch.

A success which gave ideas to the co-managers. In the pipes? The opening of a wine cellar in the second room, the creation of a reception room upstairs where truck drivers could sleep in the past when the establishment also offered rooms, the installation of a summer terrace behind…

But there is no question of touching the first room, the one that customers discover when they open the doors of the establishment. “Since the restaurant is 60 years old, there are plenty of customers for whom it brings back memories,” continues Jean Walch, “they like this “old restaurant” feel. It would be a shame to remove this stamp.” “It will always remain 'vintage', a little in its original form” confirms Julie Aubert.

But we will have understood, we must not trust appearances and first impressions which are often misleading…

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