Restaurant in Puy-en-Velay, France
Two Michelin years. Worth the Auvergne detour.
Le Chamarlenc holds a Michelin star for 2024 and 2025 under chef Yoan Delorme, making it the strongest creative dining option in Puy-en-Velay at the €€€ tier. With a 4.7 Google rating across 607 reviews and an intimate room that suits special occasions and small groups, it is the clear first booking in town. Reserve three to four weeks out minimum.
At the €€€ price tier, Le Chamarlenc is one of the more compelling arguments for planning a detour through Puy-en-Velay. Chef Yoan Delorme holds a Michelin star for the second consecutive year (2024 and 2025), and a Google rating of 4.7 across 607 reviews suggests that performance is consistent, not occasional. For a creative restaurant in a provincial pilgrimage town that most visitors treat as a one-night stop, that combination is worth taking seriously. If you are travelling through the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes corridor and want a serious meal without the Paris price ceiling, this is the booking to make.
Puy-en-Velay sits on volcanic rock in the upper Loire valley, better known for lentils and lace than for ambitious restaurant cooking. Le Chamarlenc, at 19 Rue Raphaël, occupies a position in that context that would be unremarkable in Lyon or Paris but is genuinely rare here: a kitchen operating at Michelin standard with a creative menu under chef Yoan Delorme. The Auvergne has a tradition of feeding pilgrims simply and well; Delorme is doing something different, and the star confirms it.
The physical setting rewards attention before you consider the food. The room at Le Chamarlenc is intimate in scale, which shapes everything about the experience: sightlines to other tables, the pace of service, and crucially, how the space performs for group or private dining. At this capacity, you are not eating in a bustling brasserie — you are in a room where the kitchen's choices are audible in the details, where a table of four occupies meaningful floor space, and where the atmosphere is closer to a private dinner than a restaurant floor. For explorers who want to feel the full weight of a chef's creative intentions, that spatial compression is an asset rather than a constraint.
On the question of private or group dining specifically: the intimacy of the room is a significant factor. Le Chamarlenc is not a venue with a dedicated private dining suite in the manner of a large Paris establishment, but the small room count means that a booking for a group effectively reshapes the atmosphere of the whole space. For a special occasion with four to six guests, that can work strongly in your favour — the room becomes yours in a way that a 60-cover restaurant never allows. For larger groups or corporate events requiring a partitioned private room, the format is likely too small. Contact the restaurant directly to clarify capacity before committing.
The creative cuisine format under Delorme is the core reason to book. Creative menus at this tier in France typically run to set menus or tasting formats with limited à la carte flexibility, which means the kitchen is presenting a point of view rather than accommodating every preference. If you want to eat exactly what you choose, this is not the right format. If you want to hand the kitchen the decision and eat something with genuine authorship behind it, the two-year Michelin record suggests Delorme earns that trust. For dietary restriction handling, advance notice is always advisable at a restaurant of this format , see the FAQ below.
For the food and wine explorer travelling through central France, Le Chamarlenc sits on a useful mental map. The Auvergne is not a canonical wine region in the way that Burgundy or the Rhône are, but the region's Saint-Pourçain and Côtes d'Auvergne appellations are increasingly interesting for natural wine drinkers. A creative kitchen at this level will typically curate a list that reflects regional producers alongside broader French selections, though the specific wine programme is not confirmed in available data , ask about regional pairings when booking.
Booking difficulty is rated Hard. A one-star restaurant with a small room and strong local reputation in a town with concentrated tourist seasons (the pilgrimage routes bring visitors from spring through autumn) will fill weeks out, not days. Book as early as possible , a minimum of three to four weeks ahead is prudent, more for weekend evenings or the summer pilgrimage peak. The absence of an online booking system in publicly available data suggests reservations may be phone-first; plan accordingly and have your dates confirmed before arriving in town. For hotels and bars in Puy-en-Velay to build your itinerary around a dinner here, see our full Puy-en-Velay hotels guide and full Puy-en-Velay bars guide.
For context on the broader regional dining picture, Le Chamarlenc is part of a small but growing group of creative kitchens operating at Michelin level outside France's major cities. Comparable ambition in the region can be found at Bras in Laguiole, which operates at three-star level about 90 kilometres to the south and sets the benchmark for Auvergne-adjacent creative cooking rooted in landscape and produce. For a one-star creative table at a comparable price tier in a similarly non-urban setting, La Table du Castellet in Le Castellet offers a useful peer comparison in southern France. If your trip is structured around collecting serious creative restaurants across the country, Le Chamarlenc pairs well with a visit to Flocons de Sel in Megève as part of an Alpine-Auvergne loop. Wider creative reference points at the leading of the French category include Arpège in Paris and Troisgros in Ouches, both of which demonstrate the ceiling of what French creative cuisine can deliver if Le Chamarlenc leaves you wanting more. For creative cooking beyond France, Mirazur in Menton, Quique Dacosta in Dénia, and Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona are the natural next steps.
Within Puy-en-Velay itself, the comparison set is thin at this level. L'Émotion is the other address worth considering for modern cuisine in the town. For a complete picture of where to eat here, see our full Puy-en-Velay restaurants guide. If you want to extend your stay, our Puy-en-Velay wineries guide and experiences guide cover what else the area offers.
| Detail | Le Chamarlenc | L'Émotion (Puy-en-Velay) | Bras (Laguiole) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Tier | €€€ | Not confirmed | €€€€ |
| Michelin Stars | 1 Star (2025) | Not confirmed | 3 Stars |
| Booking Difficulty | Hard | Moderate | Hard |
| Cuisine Type | Creative | Modern Cuisine | Creative |
| Location | Puy-en-Velay town centre | Puy-en-Velay | Laguiole (~90km south) |
| Group / Private Dining | Intimate room; no confirmed private suite | Not confirmed | Dedicated private options available |
Book well in advance , this is a small, starred restaurant with limited covers and high demand relative to the local competition. The creative format means you are in for a set or curated menu rather than broad à la carte choice. Arrive with an open mind about what the kitchen will serve and budget for €€€ per head, which at a one-star level in a provincial French town represents genuine value compared to equivalent Paris addresses. If you are new to the Puy-en-Velay dining scene, pair your visit with a look at our full Puy-en-Velay restaurants guide to plan the rest of your trip.
Yes, with a caveat about the room format. The intimate scale means a booking for two or a small group on a birthday or anniversary will feel genuinely private and considered , you are not one of sixty covers in a grand hotel dining room. The two-year Michelin record and 4.7 Google rating across over 600 reviews suggest the kitchen delivers consistency, which matters when expectations are high. At €€€, the spend is appropriate for a special occasion without requiring the €€€€ budget that Paris counterparts like Plénitude or Le Cinq demand.
A creative kitchen at this level will typically accommodate restrictions with advance notice, but the format is built around the chef's menu rather than flexible à la carte options, which means the earlier you communicate restrictions, the better. Contact the restaurant directly before booking to confirm. Phone and website details are not confirmed in available data; reach out through whichever channel is listed on your reservation platform or booking site.
L'Émotion is the main local alternative for modern cuisine in the town and is the address to consider if Le Chamarlenc is fully booked or if you want a different style. Beyond the town, Bras in Laguiole operates at three-star level and represents the ceiling of the Auvergne region's creative cooking , worth the drive if you are making a dedicated food trip. See our full Puy-en-Velay restaurants guide for the complete local picture.
It depends on your comfort with the format. A creative, intimate restaurant is a strong choice for solo diners who enjoy focused attention on the food and are comfortable eating alone in a small room where tables are close together. The counter or bar seating question is not confirmed in available data , contact the restaurant to ask whether solo counter seating is available, which would make the experience more interactive. At €€€ per head, the solo spend is meaningful but proportionate for a Michelin-starred meal. Compare with Les Prés d'Eugénie in Eugénie-les-Bains if you are planning a solo gastronomy trip through provincial France and want to evaluate the options.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Chamarlenc | Creative | Michelin 1 Star (2025); Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Plénitude | Contemporary French | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | French, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Kei | Contemporary French, Modern Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | French, Modern Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
How Le Chamarlenc stacks up against the competition.
Book ahead and expect a creative tasting format rather than a la carte choice. Le Chamarlenc holds a Michelin star for both 2024 and 2025, which signals consistency — not a one-year fluke. Puy-en-Velay is a detour destination, so pair the meal with an overnight stay. At €€€, it is one of the few serious cooking addresses in the entire Haute-Loire.
Yes, and it is one of the stronger arguments for celebrating in the Auvergne rather than driving to Lyon. The Michelin star (held in both 2024 and 2025) gives the meal an objective credential, and Chef Yoan Delorme's creative approach means the menu feels considered rather than formulaic. At €€€ per head, the price tier is appropriate for a milestone dinner without reaching Paris-level spend.
Phone and website details are not available in our current data, so contact via direct reservation channels before booking. That said, Michelin-starred creative kitchens in France routinely accommodate dietary requirements when notified in advance — flagging restrictions at the time of booking is standard practice and rarely a problem at this level.
There are no direct Michelin-starred competitors within Puy-en-Velay itself, which is part of the point: Le Chamarlenc is the destination-level option for the town. If you want comparable creative cooking at a higher tier in the region, you are looking at a trip to Lyon or Paris. Within the Auvergne, options at this level are sparse, which makes the value case here stronger than it would be in a major city.
Solo diners fare well at Michelin-starred creative tables — the tasting menu format is designed around the individual experience rather than sharing. At €€€, the solo spend is manageable compared to Paris equivalents. Given the limited dining options in Puy-en-Velay at this tier, it is also worth booking as the anchor meal of a solo trip through the upper Loire.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
