La Basse Cour

The terrace of this stately home overlooking sprawling grounds and a 17C plane tree features in a novel by French author Michel Houellebecq. Mauritian chef Franco Bowanee crafts fine contemporary cuisine, strewn with discerning exotic touches. He doesn't mess around: his delicious dishes shine the spotlight not only on premium ingredients, but also the vegetables from the estate's kitchen garden. Surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass, the dining room slots into the surrounding nature perfectly.

Château de Courban is an elegant 19C mansion with a burnt sienna-coloured façade, looking out over its grounds. Preceded by a plush lounge with a crackling fireplace, the restaurant is housed in the property's converted barn, which boasts a beamed ceiling in the regional style, chandeliers and mirrors. In the manner of a skilled craftsman, the chef shapes his raw materials – excellent ingredients – into delicate seasonal dishes, the leitmotif of which is flavour: tomato confit and its three condiments; line-caught cod with sauce bonne femme; Racan pigeon, pigeon-foie gras sausage, cabbage and

At this restaurant, the name of which means "vine branch", a pair of chefs work in tandem to cook up honest, unpretentious cuisine. The ingredients and produce – particularly the vegetables – retain all their flavour in dishes such as iced pea soup with goat's cheese and Thai basil. The desserts, too, are meticulously made, a case in point being the strawberry, almond and Timut peppercorn pavlova. The menu-carte features mouthwatering suggestions!

You soon forget the road just outside, as you snuggle up near the fireplace of this pleasant Auberge! The menu stars simple dishes of Burgundian inspiration that are nicely crafted and packed with flavour: slow-cooked egg and snails in a red wine sauce, guinea fowl supreme, puréed potato, braised endive, Bourdaloue tart – and the bill won't break the bank.

Mathieu Sagardoytho, the new owner-chef of the Zinc, signs a creative menu that pays tribute to painstakingly sourced ingredients (mackerel from Trinité-sur-Mer marinated in mirin, lamb from Clavisy farm, plums from Yonne). Remarkable list of Chablis (and other Burgundies).

This contemporary bistro with an understated decor has blossomed in an old cellar belonging to Domaine Laroche, famous for producing Chablis. Trained in Tokyo and some top-flight French establishments, the Japanese chef invites his customers to partake in cuisine inspired by regional dishes revisited with imagination. Good value for money.

Le Garde Champêtre stands practically at the foot of Notre-Dame des Vignes and within spitting distance of the renowned Les Riceys vineyards. This railway warehouse has been turned into a sustainable farm restaurant with greenhouses and an organic vegetable garden by a group of partners who have also teamed up with two local winegrowers. They serve fresh and fortifying cuisine based on top-notch ingredients sourced locally or from the garden: parsnip tartlet, smoked stracciatella, la-yu and cashews; pollack, pil-pil sauce, carrot cream and puntarelle salad; citrus fruit, crémet d'Anjou, almond