There’s nothing fancy about one of the last remaining authentic bouchons* in Lyon, Café des fédérations, but that’s exactly how I like some restaurants these days.

Though founded in the beginning of the 20th century, Café des fédérations is now owned by Yves Rivoiron. It’s considered a very typical bouchon with its hanging sausages, checkered table cloths and old world decor, and was specifically recommended to us by a pastry chef who bows down to the establishment.

It’s not a place for vegetarians and even some carnivores would cringe at the menu. There’s a lot of very fatty items and some offal-y offerings like tripe, andouillette, tete de veau, and something called Gras double à la lyonnaise, which is a big slab of fat. A double dose of it to boot! At least that’s how it was described to me. I didn’t order that but I do like fat especially in the Lyon saucisson sec served as appetizers. Yes, the fat globs makes those things come together perfectly. YUM.

For appetizers, we had charcuteries lyonnaises, pieds de veau (calf’s feet) and a flavorful though undercooked caviar de la croix rousse, which is a lentil salad.

The “safest” thing on the menu for a main dish if you aren’t feeling particularly adventurous would be the chicken. It’s delicious.

^{Poulet au vinaigre / Chicken in a vinegar sauce}
I had the blood sausage with apples, which were the best blood sausages I’ve had. Disclaimer: This was the second time I’ve ordered blood sausage. hee.

^{Boudin noir aux pommes / Blood sausage with apples}
My dessert photos are too blurry to show. We had tarte aux pralines roses, a tarte aux citron and gateau au chocolat.

Based on our visit, I’d have to say that Café des fédérations offers a peek at and experience of the authentic bouchon scene in Lyon – a lively atmosphere, nostalgic surroundings and simple home-style cooking.

Café des fédérations
8 rue du Major-Martin
69001 Lyon
Telephone: 04.78.28.26.00
You must reserve in advance.

* A bouchon is a type of restaurant in Lyon, France, that serves traditional Lyonnaise cuisine, such as sausages, offal, duck pâté or roast pork. Compared to other forms of French cooking such as nouvelle cuisine, the dishes are quite fatty, and heavily oriented around meat. There are around 20 officially certified traditional bouchons, but a larger number of establishments describing themselves using the term.

According to Le petit Robert this name derives from the 16th century expression for a bunch of twisted straw. A representation of such bundles began to appear on signs to indicate restaurants, and by extension the restaurants themselves became known as bouchons. The more common use of “bouchons” as a stopper at the mouth of a bottle, and its derivatives, have a different etymology. [from wikipedia]