### [Cassis (Mâcon)](https://www.cassisrestaurant-macon.fr/)

74 Rue Joseph Dufour

71000 Mâcon

France

BY NEAL MARTIN | JULY 23, 2021

### The Food:

Gougères with beef and pork _pâté en croute_

Corn and potato gazpacho with mussels

Quenelle of crab with melon

_Ombre chevalier_ (Arctic char) with carrot purée and sugar snap peas

Veal with “shabu-shabu” bouillon, grilled artichoke and artichoke purée

Fresh strawberries with _petit pois_ and fromage frais

**The Wine:**

2018 Domaine Nadine Ferrand Saint-Véran 90

It had been a long, traumatic day, not for this writer but rather for the winemakers who welcomed me in Mâconnais. A humid morning had turned to spontaneous deluges by lunchtime, and then a vicious hailstorm ripped through Fuissé, just minutes after I arrived at Domaine de Beauregard. I will always remember proprietor Frédéric Burrier’s thousand-yard stare out the first-floor window, a wordless and helpless spectator as Mother Nature flicked the switch and turned rain into vine-lacerating ice. Three minutes and the courtyard was covered in hail. Burrier went out and returned with shredded vine leaves, estimating that four-fifths of his crop would be destroyed. My next appointment was nearby at Domaine Robert Denogent. I was still processing what I had witnessed and its ramifications. Would they even want to see me? Yet, I found Nicolas Denogent sanguine about events, even cracking jokes. I could not work out whether he’s the most optimistic winemaker in the world, or it was just a coping mechanism. A bit of both? He inquired what I might be doing that evening and recommended a nearby restaurant, Cassis, one of the few open on a Monday night.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1627054079832-cassis+frontage_copy.jpg)

_The Cassis Frontage_

Following Denogent’s advice was one of my better decisions. Innocuous as it is from the outside, I would have overlooked this wonderful restaurant in the heart of Mâcon. The décor is modern, perhaps a little generic, the rustic stone walls contrasting with rather Eighties-inspired furniture. Don’t let that put you off. I found the ambiance cozy and the service exemplary, unfussy but attentive. Cassis offers a four- and seven-course “surprise” menu. That was fine with me, though I asked if they could veer toward fish, if at all possible. As it turned out, the standard was so good that I couldn’t have cared less what was served.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1627054156840-pate+croute_copy.jpg)

_Gougères with beef and pork pâté en croute_

The gougères with two homemade beef and pork _pâtés en croute_ were a good omen. The moist gougères oozed cheesy goodness, and the pâtés were perfectly seasoned, with a light, fluffy crust – some of the best I have eaten. (It was only afterward that I discovered their _pâté en croute_ came third in the world championship in 2016.) This was followed by a delicious small bowl of corn and potato gazpacho with mussels. It was an inspired combination, the sweetness of the corn pairing beautifully with the salinity of the mussels.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1627054200788-gazpacho_copy.jpg)

_Corn and potato gazpacho with mussels_

Next came a quenelle of crab served with two small boules of melon in a melon soup. I was not completely convinced by this combination, perhaps because the crab was so delicious that the melon seemed distracting, as if it had wandered in from a starter.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1627054230701-chevalier.jpg)

_Ombre chevalier (Arctic char) with carrot purée and sugar snap peas_

The next course consisted of three medallions of _ombre chevalier_ (Arctic char), a deep-water fish that you don’t see often. The medallions were beautifully cooked, not unlike scallops in consistency, and seasoned with a judicious pinch of paprika. They came with carrot purée, sugar snap peas and a shard of dried char skin that lent welcome texture and salinity to the dish.

The main course comprised thin slices of veal served in a bouillon described as “shabu-shabu.” Clearly, this was Japanese-influenced, though I overheard the server advise a nearby table that it came from China. The broth was perfectly seasoned and whisked me to some _izakaya_ in the suburbs of Tokyo – it was _that_ good. The veal was accompanied by slices of grilled artichoke and artichoke purée, though the latter missed a little seasoning and dissolved in the bouillon, so maybe a bit of tweaking there would not go amiss.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1627054252291-shabu_copy.jpg)

_Veal with “shabu-shabu” bouillon, grilled artichoke and artichoke purée_

Skipping the _fromage_, I went directly to dessert: strawberries served with _petit pois_ and fromage frais. I don’t think the _petit pois_ belonged in this dish; the strawberries were so ripe and delicious that they felt unnecessary.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1627054273967-strawberry_copy.jpg)

_Fresh strawberries with petit pois and fromage frais_

The wine list features the Mâconnais and Beaujolais, as you would expect and hope, although the selection could be extended further given that both regions are surfeit with great wines. Prices are very reasonable, but don’t expect blue-chip producers or mature vintages. I opted for a 50cl bottle (such a useful size when dining _tout seul_) of **2018 Saint-Véran** from the ever-reliable and probably underrated **Domaine Nadine Ferrand**. It’s fresh and crisp on the nose. The palate is tensile and zippy, demonstrating fine weight and fruit concentration, grapefruit, mango and citrus notes vying for attention. It is also surprisingly saline on the finish. Is it complex? No. Is it delicious? Yes. Will you want another bottle? Most definitely. I loved it.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1627054295579-ferrand_copy.jpg)

Cassis is a restaurant that does nothing other than serve delicious food at reasonable prices with the minimum of fuss. At €42 for the four-course menu, this was an absolute bargain given the quality of sourcing; the origin of every ingredient was listed on the reverse of the menu. A few adjustments are necessary in the kitchen, but perhaps that is just a question of time. The town of Mâcon has its fair share of tourist-trap restaurants, so finding this gem thanks to sage advice made this dinner even more enjoyable. Walking back to my hotel, I reflected upon the beleaguered winemakers in Fuissé who had already suffered frosts earlier in the year. Enjoying such a delicious meal almost felt immoral. Yet, as I learned from Burrier and Denogent, you just have to keep calm and carry on.

_© 2021, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism._



Vinous Table: Cassis, Mâcon, France

Vinous Table: Cassis, Mâcon, France (Jul 2021)

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