Taverne du Château
43, rue d'Italie
Cuisines: European
About
Built in 1681, this large stucco building is a lot more elegant today than when it was originally constructed as a farmer's grange. One of the most elaborately gentrified buildings in town, it has a large carved beam extending out over one of the top-floor windows. A pulley was attached to the beam to transport supplies to the upper floors. Over the pavement hangs a wrought-iron and gilt sign with a picture of a horse and two men fighting. Many of the menu items focus on seafood, served in well-prepared, intensely rehearsed ways. The menu might include such mouthwatering specialties as a sauté of freshwater crawfish with tomatoes and parsley, sea wolf with basil and sweet-pepper sauce, warm sautéed duck liver, a gâteau of pigeon, an aromatic rack of lamb with herbs of Provence, and chicken supreme cooked in a pinot noir sauce. In autumn the menu features many game dishes. For many gastronomes, this restaurant is a required stopover along Lake Geneva.