[France: Saint-Vrain] A Missed Opportunity at Le Doyenne

June 16, 2025

[France: Saint-Vrain] A Missed Opportunity at Le Doyenne

Rating: 3.5/5

Follow me to Le Doyenne - a farm to table restaurant located 40km away from Paris in Saint-Vrain. Set on the historical grounds of Château de Saint-Vrain, chef-owners James Henry and Shaun Kelly have converted the site into a restaurant, guesthouse, and farm. Using regenerative agricultural practices, the potager has been revived after lying dormant for years and the vegetables grown onsite form the culinary foundation of the restaurant. The menu follows the seasons with fresh vegetables picked from the farm everyday which are complemented by other ingredients such as meat and seafood from France. The wine pairing features predominantly natural wines but if that doesn’t float your boat, they have a wine list as well. Guests can stay overnight in one of the 11 guest rooms, and breakfast is included on the next day.

The restaurant is charming and quaint for sure, but the overall experience was somehow lacking. A few things would have made it better - for example, a garden tour to help better understand the ethos of the restaurant since that is the selling point. Even during the meal, there was no explanation about the which ingredients had come from the farm onsite - I only read about this by myself afterwards. Also, the kitchen wasn’t ready until half an hour after our reservation time. The food was decent and rustic - apart from the duck which was a bit too dry - but not really strong enough by itself to make this a destination restaurant. Since we had rented a car and stayed overnight, I was expecting more. Personally I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here just to eat but maybe if it’s on the way to somewhere else.