--- title: "La Côte Saint-Jacques: 2-Star MICHELIN Restaurant in Joigny" description: "La Côte Saint-Jacques is a two-Michelin-star restaurant and five-star hotel on the River Yonne at Joigny, in northern Burgundy, about two hours from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-cote-saint-jacques-joigny lang: en updated: 2026-10-02 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/restaurants/la-cote-saint-jacques-joigny.png --- # La Côte Saint-Jacques > La Côte Saint-Jacques: Three generations of the Lorain family on the banks of the Yonne, with two stars and a long record of sustainable cooking. La Côte Saint-Jacques is in Joigny (Yonne), 2 h 08 by road (199 km) from Beaune. 2 MICHELIN stars · Menus from €112 · Private driver there and back from Beaune: €875 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. La Côte Saint-Jacques is a two-Michelin-star restaurant and five-star hotel on the River Yonne at Joigny, in northern Burgundy, about two hours from Beaune. Jean-Michel Lorain, who now shares the menus with his nephew Alexandre Bondoux, also earned the Michelin Green Star, an award the guide retired in May 2026. Go for refined classical cooking, a cellar of some 800 wines and a riverside setting that suits an overnight stay. ## Key facts - Type: Starred restaurant · 2 MICHELIN stars - Where: Joigny · Yonne - Location: 150 km north-west of Beaune · Yonne - Coordinates: 47.9834, 3.3853 - 2 h 08 from Beaune - 2 MICHELIN stars - Menus from €112 - Chef: Jean-Michel Lorain - Cuisine: Modern French, classic signatures - MICHELIN Guide 2026: [guide.michelin.com](https://guide.michelin.com/fr/fr/bourgogne-franche-comte/joigny/restaurant/la-cote-saint-jacques) - Official website: [cotesaintjacques.com](https://www.cotesaintjacques.com/) - From Beaune: ≈ 2 h 08 · 199 km - €875 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): 2 h 08 by road (199 km) each way, €875 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 Marie Lorain opened a family guesthouse here in 1945, and her son Michel turned it into a serious restaurant. His son Jean-Michel, who trained with the Troisgros brothers in Roanne, at Taillevent in Paris and with Frédy Girardet in Switzerland, joined him in 1983 and won the third star in 1986, at the age of 27. The house lost that star in 2001, regained it in 2004 and has held two stars since 2015. Alexandre Bondoux, Jean-Michel's nephew, joined the kitchen in 2019 and now signs the menus with his uncle, while the family also runs a bistro, Le Bistrot des Générations, and an 800-square-metre spa. ## The cooking The cooking is refined and generous, with house signatures such as the lobster blanquette and veal sweetbreads with ginger served alongside newer seasonal dishes. A kitchen garden, close ties with local producers, natural and organic wines and a serious policy on waste earned the Green Star in 2021. The cellar lists around 800 references from France and beyond, under head sommelier Axel Thomas. ## Good to know Joigny is about two hours from Beaune by the A6, so this is a full day out or, better, an overnight stop on the way to or from Paris or Chablis. At lunch, menus start at €112 from Wednesday to Friday and €132 from Wednesday to Sunday; the longer menus cost €235 to €320, with wine pairings available. The restaurant is closed on Monday and at Tuesday lunch. Book well ahead, and let a private driver take the long motorway stretch so that the whole table can enjoy the wine. Telephone: [+33 3 86 62 09 70](tel:+33386620970) ## Did you know? Jean-Michel Lorain was just 27 when La Côte Saint-Jacques won its third star in 1986. ## 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 Saint-Jacques What to see before dinner at La Côte Saint-Jacques, nearest first. ### Things to do - [Muséum d’histoire naturelle d’Auxerre](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/museum-histoire-naturelle-auxerre) (25 km away): Auxerre's free natural history museum, in a 19th-century house with a formal garden, with changing exhibitions on nature and science. - [Saint-Germain Abbey, Auxerre (Abbaye Saint-Germain d’Auxerre)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/abbaye-saint-germain-auxerre), 25 km away: A great Carolingian abbey whose crypts hold the oldest known wall paintings in France. - [Saint-Étienne Cathedral, Auxerre (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne d’Auxerre)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cathedrale-saint-etienne-auxerre), 25 km away: A Gothic cathedral above the Yonne, with 13th-century glass and a rare painting of Christ on horseback. ### Restaurants - [Erre](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/erre-chassy) (17 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Starred nine months after opening, on a golf and spa estate west of Auxerre. - [La Madeleine](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-madeleine-sens) (25 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Patrick Gauthier's market cooking, on an island in the Yonne at Sens. ## Questions about La Côte Saint-Jacques ### How many MICHELIN stars does La Côte Saint-Jacques have? La Côte Saint-Jacques holds two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide France. ### Who is the chef at La Côte Saint-Jacques? The kitchen of La Côte Saint-Jacques is led by Jean-Michel Lorain. ### How do we get to La Côte Saint-Jacques from Beaune? La Côte Saint-Jacques is about 2 h 08 from Beaune by road (199 km). With a private driver, the return trip from Beaune, with the car bringing you back after dinner, starts at €875 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 Saint-Jacques, 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 Saint-Jacques? 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 (cotesaintjacques.com) has the booking details and opening days. ### How much is dinner at La Côte Saint-Jacques? According to the restaurant, menus start at €112 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:cotesaintjacques): Return trip from Beaune from €875 · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - - --- Canonical page: