--- title: "La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau)" description: "La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) in Saulieu: two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 guide. The chef, the menus and a private driver from Beaune there and back." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-cote-d-or-saulieu lang: en updated: 2026-10-02 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/restaurants/la-cote-d-or-saulieu.png --- # La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) > La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau): Bernard Loiseau's house in Saulieu: two stars and a century of Burgundian grand cuisine La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) is in Saulieu (Côte-d'Or), 57 min by road (70 km) from Beaune. 2 MICHELIN stars · Menus from €155 · Private driver there and back from Beaune: €360 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. La Côte d'Or is the two-star restaurant of the Relais Bernard Loiseau in Saulieu, on the edge of the Morvan, with Louis-Philippe Vigilant in charge of the kitchen since 2023. Few French dining rooms carry as much history, and it remains the place to taste the clear, product-first style that Bernard Loiseau made famous. ## Key facts - Type: Starred restaurant · 2 MICHELIN stars - Where: Saulieu · Côte-d'Or - Location: 55 km north-west of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.2799, 4.2321 - 57 min from Beaune - 2 MICHELIN stars - Menus from €155 - Chef: Louis-Philippe Vigilant - Cuisine: Modern French in the Loiseau tradition - MICHELIN Guide 2026: [guide.michelin.com](https://guide.michelin.com/fr/fr/bourgogne-franche-comte/saulieu/restaurant/la-cote-d-or) - Official website: [bernard-loiseau.com](https://www.bernard-loiseau.com/en/bernardloiseau-gastronomy.html) - From Beaune: ≈ 57 min · 70 km - €360 there and back from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ## Getting there - [Driver to dinner and back](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 57 min by road (70 km) each way, €360 there and back for the whole car. Coming by train or plane? [Transfers from stations and airports](https://www.cote-privee.com/transfers) Book your table with the restaurant, then the car for the same evening. Your driver waits while you dine, up to 3 hours, and drives you back. Estimates per vehicle for up to 4 guests, tolls included. Your price is confirmed when you book. ## The story The house, a former coaching inn turned hotel, was bought by Paul and Élise Budin in 1904 and won its first MICHELIN star in 1926. Alexandre Dumaine bought it in 1932 and held three stars from 1935, making Saulieu an obligatory halt on the old road south from Paris. Bernard Loiseau arrived as chef in 1975, bought the property in 1982 and regained the third star in 1991. After his death in 2003, Dominique Loiseau kept the house going, with Patrick Bertron at the stove for two decades; the third star was lost in 2016, and the restaurant took back its historic name, La Côte d'Or, in 2019. Louis-Philippe Vigilant left his native Martinique at seventeen to train in mainland France and spent around fourteen years within the Loiseau group before succeeding Bertron in September 2023. His wife, Lucile Vigilant, is in charge of desserts. The two stars were confirmed under his name in the 2024 guide and again in the 2026 selection. ## The cooking The kitchen keeps the Loiseau creed: the ingredient first, flavours that read clearly, and intense jus and reductions in place of heavy cream and butter sauces. Vigilant works with the house's long-standing producers, including foragers from the Morvan, and allows himself some land-and-sea pairings, while the à la carte still offers Bernard Loiseau classics such as frogs' legs with garlic purée and parsley. A vegetable tasting menu, first devised by Loiseau in 1984, runs alongside the main tasting menu, and the cheeses come from the Meilleur Ouvrier de France affineur Ludovic Bisot. Lucile Vigilant builds each dessert around one dominant flavour and keeps sugar in check. The cellar runs to some 15,000 bottles and about 900 references under executive sommelier Eric Goettelmann, Meilleur Ouvrier de France 2019, and Burgundy is its backbone. ## Good to know Saulieu lies about an hour's drive north-west of Beaune, so this is a proper excursion, and many guests stay the night at the Relais, a five-star Relais & Châteaux hotel with a spa. The September 2026 menu lists a lunch menu from about 155 euros on certain weekdays, with longer tasting menus at every service; opening days change with the season, so check the website and book well ahead. A chef's table inside the kitchen takes up to five guests by reservation. Dress is smart. With a private driver you can say yes to the sommelier's pairing and be taken back through the Auxois to your hotel on the Côte without a thought for the road. Telephone: [+33 3 80 90 53 53](tel:+33380905353) ## Did you know? The house first won three MICHELIN stars in 1935 under Alexandre Dumaine, 56 years before Bernard Loiseau earned them again in 1991. ## How the evening works 1. **Book your table**: Directly with the restaurant. Weekends, the harvest and the Hospices de Beaune auction in November fill up weeks ahead. 2. **Book the car**: Choose the restaurant on our booking page: pickup at your hotel at the time you like, and a fixed price for the return trip. 3. **Back to your hotel**: Your driver waits nearby while you dine, up to 3 hours, then drives you home. Nobody has to drive. ## Around La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) What to see before dinner at La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau), nearest first. ### Things to do - [François Pompon Museum (Musée François Pompon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-francois-pompon), 1 km away: Sleek animal sculptures by the Saulieu-born artist who made the famous White Bear. - [Basilica of Saint-Andoche, Saulieu (Basilique Saint-Andoche)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/basilique-saint-andoche-saulieu), 1 km away: A Romanesque church on the old Paris to Lyon road, famous for its carved capitals. - [Museum of the Resistance in the Morvan (Musée de la Résistance en Morvan)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-de-la-resistance-en-morvan), 10 km away: The story of the Morvan maquis, told in the heart of the forests where they fought. ### Châteaux - [Château de Missery](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-missery) (11 km away): An 18th-century château set on a moated medieval platform, framed by its old round towers. - [Château de La Roche-en-Brenil](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-la-roche-en-brenil) (12 km away): A moated château on the edge of the Morvan, saved from demolition by the writer Charles de Montalembert. - [Château de Mont-Saint-Jean](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-mont-saint-jean) (13 km away): A hilltop medieval stronghold with a keep and ramparts, above a village of old stone houses. ## Questions about La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) ### How many MICHELIN stars does La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) have? La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) holds two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide France. ### Who is the chef at La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau)? The kitchen of La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) is led by Louis-Philippe Vigilant. ### How do we get to La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) from Beaune? La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau) is about 57 min from Beaune by road (70 km). With a private driver, the return trip from Beaune, with the car bringing you back after dinner, starts at €360 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. → [Driver to dinner and back](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) ### Can the driver wait and drive us back after dinner? Yes. Book the return trip: your driver takes you to La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau), waits nearby while you dine, up to 3 hours, and drives you back to your hotel. Nobody in your party has to drive. ### Do we need to book a table at La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau)? Yes. Book your table directly with the restaurant, well ahead for weekends, the harvest and the Hospices de Beaune auction weekend in November. We book the car, not the table. Its official website (bernard-loiseau.com) has the booking details and opening days. ### How much is dinner at La Côte d’Or (Relais Bernard Loiseau)? According to the restaurant, menus start at €155 per person. Prices change with the seasons, so check before you go. ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=restaurant:cotedor): Return trip from Beaune from €360 · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - --- Canonical page: