Auprès du Clocher

A Village Table at the Centre of Burgundy's Wine Country

Pommard sits roughly four kilometres south of Beaune along the D974, the road that threads through the premier cru vineyards of the Côte de Beaune. The village itself is compact and unhurried: a church tower, stone walls patched with centuries of repair, and the kind of quiet that only settles over places where wine, not tourism, remains the primary industry. Auprès du Clocher takes its name from that tower, it stands at 1 Rue de Nackenheim, in proximity to the church that has oriented this village for generations. The physical setting signals something before you even step inside: this is a restaurant that has chosen to be in a wine village, not in a city, and every aspect of its proposition follows from that choice.

The Côte de Beaune already has dining options anchored to the prestige of its appellations, but most cluster in Beaune itself, where wine tourism creates a reliable audience. A standalone table in Pommard is a different kind of commitment, it assumes guests will make a specific journey, and it asks the kitchen to justify that detour on culinary terms alone. Auprès du Clocher has earned that justification through Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025, alongside a 2023 recommendation from Opinionated About Dining in their Classical category. For a village restaurant of this scale, that combination of Michelin and OAD recognition represents real traction in two distinct critical frameworks.

The Kitchen's Frame of Reference

Modern Burgundian cooking occupies a specific position in the wider story of French regional cuisine. It is neither the baroque classicism of pre-Nouvelle Cuisine nor the maximalist creativity of the three-star Paris houses, places like Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen or Mirazur in Menton operate at a register of ambition and resource that village restaurants cannot and typically do not attempt to match. What a kitchen like Auprès du Clocher can do, and what the OAD Classical designation specifically rewards, is apply modern technique to the actual produce of the region without abandoning the flavour logic that Burgundian cooking has refined over centuries.

Chef Rémi Genot operates within that tradition. The Michelin Plate classification, held consistently across the 2024 and 2025 guides, marks a kitchen that the guide considers worth noting: technically sound, producing food of genuine quality, even if it sits below the starred tier. In the context of the Côte de Beaune, where dining options at this price point range from direct brasseries to wine-list-heavy maisons, a Plate-level modern kitchen in a village address occupies a reasonably distinct niche. The comparison set is less the three-star rooms and more the serious mid-level tables found elsewhere in provincial France, kitchens like those at Auberge du Vieux Puits in Fontjoncouse or Au Crocodile in Strasbourg, where regional identity and technical seriousness intersect without chasing the top tier's scale.

The OAD Classical designation is worth pausing on. Opinionated About Dining's Classical category rewards cooking that respects a recognisable tradition, technique and product over novelty, coherence over spectacle. At a time when parts of the French fine dining world have moved toward more experimental registers, as seen in kitchens such as AM par Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille or the long lineage of innovation running through houses like Troisgros in Ouches and Bras in Laguiole, the Classical recognition signals a deliberate positioning. Auprès du Clocher is not trying to reinterpret Burgundy from first principles; it is applying focused craft to what the region already does well.

Wine Country as Dining Context

Eating in Pommard is inseparable from the appellation itself. Pommard produces some of the Côte de Beaune's most structured reds, Pinot Noir of considerable grip and aging potential, quite different in character from the more elegant expressions found in Volnay one village south. That wine culture shapes what a serious local table must do: the wine list is not incidental but the primary lens through which many diners will experience the meal. While specific list details are not available here, a Michelin-recognised restaurant at the €€€ price point, in the village that gives its name to one of Burgundy's most recognised appellations, operates under specific expectations around local provenance and pairing logic. Diners arriving from Beaune, a short drive north, or from the wine estates themselves, will benchmark the table against what the region's own producers are serving in their own caves and domaines.

For those building a broader Burgundy itinerary, Pommard makes practical sense as a dining base. Beaune's restaurants are well-documented, but the village tables of the Côte de Beaune offer a quieter register and, at their leading, a more direct relationship with local produce and wine. Our full Pommard restaurants guide covers the broader field; for context on where to stay, the Pommard hotels guide and wineries guide are useful alongside it. The bars guide and experiences guide round out the village picture for multi-day visits.