to say we were excited to discover what lyon had to offer us foodies, would be an understatement. still we managed to not make reservations for our night in the city until very late, and when we walked by the restaurant where we originally had planned going, we were utterly underwhelmed by its appearance and lack of other guests dining.

so at the very last minute, we called up têtedoie to see if they would take us. we weren’t exactly dressed to go to a michelin star restaurant – both on sneakers – but lacking the time to go by the hotel for a quick change of clothes, we decided to risk not abiding by the strict dress code on têtedoie’s website. judging by the friendly phone call, the warm welcome at the restaurant and the excellent service that we enjoyed that night, i don’t think they were too bothered by our all stars and nikes.

i did feel a little disrespectful, as têtedoie is a classy place in every possible way. i loved the architecture, the view on lyon from its floor to ceiling windows and the wonderful bottles of wine and champagne on display everywhere you could see. we loved christian têtedoie’s modern take on the typical cuisine lyonnaise and generally just had a wonderful time. i must say i’m not insensitive to little details like a voiturier service either, though i don’t know if it’s because of the inherent luxury of not having to walk to your car, or because it always makes me feel like i’m in l.a.

photos by stephanie duval