Restaurant in Montbellet, France
Rural one-star that justifies the detour.
A 2024 Michelin one-star on the Tournus road in southern Burgundy, La Marande combines a €€€ price point with a serious Burgundy wine list, a landscaped garden patio, and a kitchen that prioritises generous, produce-led cooking. It earns a detour for anyone routing between Lyon and Dijon, particularly for a weekend lunch or special occasion dinner.
La Marande holds a 4.8 Google rating across 540 reviews — a number that carries real weight for a rural address in the Saône-et-Loire. Combine that with a Michelin star awarded in 2024 and the picture becomes clear: this is not a charming local restaurant that got lucky. It is a destination that justifies a detour, and for anyone travelling between Lyon and Dijon, it should be on the shortlist ahead of passing through Tournus without stopping.
The name itself sets the frame. In the local Burgundian dialect, marander means 'go and eat' — a verb that implies the act is worth the trip. Owners Élisabeth and Philippe Michel have built the house around that idea, and the Michelin recognition confirms they have delivered on it. For a special occasion dinner or a longer weekend in the region, La Marande at the €€€ price point offers something the Paris three-stars cannot: a genuinely residential scale, a Burgundy stone house set in a landscaped garden, and a patio that functions as a proper outdoor room rather than a pavement afterthought.
The physical setting here is one of the strongest arguments for choosing La Marande over a comparable urban one-star. The house reads as a home , contemporary inside its stone shell, with a landscaped garden that makes the patio a serious asset from spring through autumn. If you are booking for a celebration or a milestone dinner, the environment does real work. The intimacy of a converted Burgundy farmhouse at this price tier is harder to find than a polished city dining room, and it changes the register of the meal in ways that matter if the occasion calls for it. This is not a room where you feel processed through a tasting menu operation; it is a room where the format feels proportionate to the building.
For guests staying in the area, the address on the Tournus road makes La Marande a logical anchor point. Our full Montbellet hotels guide has options nearby if you want to make an evening of it rather than driving back after dinner. The combination of a serious meal and a night in the Mâconnais is one of the more underrated ways to experience southern Burgundy, and La Marande provides the centrepiece.
La Marande operates Thursday through Sunday from 9 AM, which positions it for both weekend lunch and the kind of late morning arrival that can blur into a long afternoon. If brunch or a midday meal fits your schedule, the weekend lunch slot is worth considering seriously. Michelin-starred cooking at €€€ at lunch tends to offer better value than the dinner equivalent , you are often accessing the same kitchen at a lower menu price, with the added benefit of the garden in daylight. The patio, which Michelin's own notes single out as a highlight, reads differently in afternoon light than after dark, and for a celebration that does not need the drama of an evening service, weekend lunch is the format to book.
Monday and Tuesday closures are firm, so do not plan a mid-week visit without checking. Thursday is the first available day of each operating week, and for anyone routing through the area on a Thursday or Friday, La Marande represents the kind of stop that justifies adjusting a travel schedule around it rather than the reverse.
The 2024 Michelin one-star entry describes the kitchen as producing dishes that are 'rich in generosity' , which, in Michelin language, signals a style that prioritises substance over minimalism. The produce focus is explicit in the citation, with an emphasis on premium Burgundian ingredients. The wine list is singled out specifically for its Burgundy coverage, which matters here: you are in the Mâconnais, within reach of Pouilly-Fuissé and the southern Côte de Beaune, and a cellar that takes the local bottles seriously is not something to take for granted even at this price tier.
For context on the broader regional one-star tier, Maison Lameloise in Chagny is the benchmark three-star address in Burgundy proper, and Georges Blanc in Vonnas anchors the Bresse corridor to the south. La Marande sits below both in terms of formal recognition but significantly below them in price, and for a first serious Burgundy meal the value calculation is direct. You can also reference the wider French one-star field , Auberge du Vieux Puits in Fontjoncouse and La Table du Castellet are southern French comparators at a similar tier , but in Burgundy specifically, the combination of starred cooking, serious wine list, and residential scale at €€€ is not easy to replicate.
For a wider view of what the region offers across price points, our full Montbellet restaurants guide covers the local options. And if Burgundy wine is part of the reason you are here, our Montbellet wineries guide is a useful companion for planning a fuller day.
Book hard and early. A Michelin one-star with a 4.8 Google rating in a rural setting does not have the seat volume of a city restaurant to absorb demand. Weekend tables, particularly Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch, will be gone weeks in advance. If your dates are flexible, Thursday lunch is the path of least resistance. No phone number or direct booking link is available in our current data, so use Google or a local reservation platform to secure the table rather than assuming you can call ahead last-minute.
The address , hameau de Mirande, route de Lugny , puts La Marande outside the main Montbellet village centre. Driving is the practical approach. Check our Montbellet experiences guide for what to pair with the visit, and our bars guide for post-dinner options if you are staying locally.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Marande | In the local dialect, ‘marander’ means ‘go and eat’. On the Tournus road, this handsome house, built out of Burgundy stone and set in a landscaped garden, is definitely worth a gourmet halt before a good night’s sleep. The owners, Élisabeth and Philippe Michel, are clearly determined to bequeath the tradition of hospitality and the love of premium produce to their team in this elegantly contemporary house that feels like a home. In the kitchen, the chef consummately and delicately curates striking dishes rich in generosity. The stonking choice of Burgundy wines and the knock-out patio add the final flourish to this excellent establishment.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | €€€ | — |
| Plénitude | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Kei | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
How La Marande stacks up against the competition.
La Marande is a 2024 Michelin one-star set in a stone house on the Tournus road in Montbellet, Saône-et-Loire — not a city address, so you are committing to a trip rather than a casual drop-in. The Michelin citation flags generous, striking dishes and a strong Burgundy wine list, which sets the expectation: this is a regional produce-driven kitchen, not a minimalist tasting-menu operation. Come on Thursday through Sunday; the restaurant is closed Monday through Wednesday. A 4.8 Google rating across 540 reviews confirms the quality holds consistently.
Book at least three to four weeks out for weekend slots, longer if you are targeting a Saturday dinner. A rural Michelin one-star with a 4.8 Google rating has limited covers and no city footfall to absorb last-minute cancellations, so availability fills faster than the location might suggest. Thursday and Friday lunch are your best shot at shorter notice. No online booking link or phone number is currently listed on major platforms, so check directly via the venue's own channels.
At the €€€ price point, La Marande delivers a Michelin one-star experience with a Burgundy wine list described in the Michelin guide as a 'stonking choice' — the wine pairing alone offsets the premium relative to non-starred regional alternatives. The value case is strongest if you are already travelling the Tournus corridor or building a Burgundy itinerary, where it functions as both a meal and a destination. If you are driving specifically from Lyon or Dijon purely for dinner, weigh whether a city one-star with easier logistics suits you better.
The venue is a converted stone house with a landscaped garden and patio, which suggests a layout that can flex for small groups, but confirmed private dining capacity is not documented in available venue data. Groups of four to six travelling together on a Burgundy trip are the natural fit here. Larger parties should check the venue's official channels to confirm table configuration and any group-booking terms before committing travel plans around it.
Lunch has a practical edge: arriving when the patio is in daylight makes full use of the landscaped garden setting that the Michelin guide specifically flags. Service runs from 9 AM Thursday through Sunday, giving enough window for a long, unhurried lunch without the pressure of an evening finish. Dinner works well if you are staying overnight locally, as the Michelin entry frames La Marande as a natural pairing of good meal and nearby accommodation.
Yes, with the right expectations. The Michelin one-star, strong Burgundy wine list, and house-like setting make it a stronger choice for an intimate occasion — anniversary, birthday dinner for two or four — than for a large celebration requiring a private room or event infrastructure. The atmosphere reads elegant and residential rather than formal and ceremonial, which suits couples and small groups more than corporate or large-party bookings.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
