La Table du Square

26 Bd Maréchal Foch

21200 Beaune

France

BY NEAL MARTIN | MARCH 6, 2026

The Food: 

Confit of milk-fed lamb shoulder 

Chicken with ceps and potatoes 

Chocolate mousse

The Wines:

Milk. 

Fed. 

Lamb. 

Maybe I will leave it there. Publish the shortest Vinous Table ever. 

The exterior of La Table du Square.

It would be a disservice to this bistro not to sprinkle it with bon mots. La Table du Square is located directly on the Beaune ring-road and was once known as “Bistro du Coin.” Its former iteration was never reputed as one of the town’s best places to dine. If memory serves, it dished up rustic fare for locals who popped in for a beer and a cigarette. Bistro du Coin attracted many winemakers, not because they smoked necessarily, but because it lay away from the town’s touristic centre. Now owned by Romain Escoffier and renamed La Table du Square, it retains a bucolic ambiance, and you might still bump into a couple of winemakers. The interior is simple, with wooden floors and tables, striped walls, black-and-white photographs and dishes chalked up on a blackboard. The wait staff is young and hip, the service usually friendly and attentive without being overbearing. 

No white tablecloths. 

No starched white shirts. 

No pretence. 

What has changed is the standard of cooking, and perhaps the selection of wines, too. Each time I return to La Table du Square, I appreciate its charm more and more. Plus, the milk-fed lamb has become one of Beaune’s must-eat dishes, alongside Bistro de l’Hôtel’s Poulet de Bresse and La Lune’s mi-cuit tuna. 

Confit of milk-fed lamb shoulder.

I had enjoyed two previous dinners so much that I rebooked La Table du Square to savour that milk-fed lamb shoulder one more time before departing back to Blighty. The dish feeds two or three, depending on the space that needs to be filled in your stomach, though be warned that it is so delicious, you will regret divvying portions between too many, even if they are your loved ones. Put another way, you will never regret ordering too much. As such, we skip starters and head straight to the main event, the lamb shoulder, confited for 36 hours, served with roasted potatoes and vegetables. 

It is just…awesome. So succulent and flavoursome, the meat just falling off the bone. 

Chicken with ceps and potatoes.

We order a leg of chicken served with a cep mushroom sauce, mustard and roast potatoes. This is actually outstanding and does not deserve to play second fiddle to the lamb—perfectly cooked and seasoned, the sauce brimming with flavour.

To be honest, the desserts remind you that this is no Michelin-starred restaurant, and never quite light the same fireworks as the lamb, or indeed, the shared côte de boeuf that I have devoured several times. My chocolate mousse comes with chocolate sorbet, chocolate crumble and slices of blood orange. Not bad at all, but just a bit of a comedown following the mains. 

La Table du Square boasts one of Beaune’s finest wine lists. It leans more towards the natural side, which makes it a little predictable and limits choices for the legions who prefer traditionally made wines. However, the bistro does receive direct allocations, so you can find some prices far below the secondary market. On my first visit, my “Vin et Vinyl” friend, Marcus, ordered the 2018 Meursault Les Luchets from Domaine Guy Roulot. An astute choice. It shrugs off the warmth of that year’s summer with an almost clinical bouquet in terms of freshness and delineation, just the perfect subtle reduction lending tension and frisson. Hints of grilled hazelnut and blood orange manifest as the bottle opens over an hour. The palate is beautifully balanced with plenty of tension and energy. Frankly, this Village Cru is easily a Premier Cru in terms of complexity, with an almost penetrating, potent finish. Superb.

On the second visit, I opt for an entry-level cuvée from a top producer, the 2021 Bourgogne Côte d’Or from Cécile Tremblay. Bingo! Crisp and quite saline on the nose, what this lacks in complexity it makes up for in energy. It is almost sorbet-like in its vitality. The palate is beautifully balanced with a brightness that it did not show out of barrel, where I clearly underestimated its potential. Dark black plum commingles with strawberry and a bright, marine-tinged finish. It is really everything you want from a Bourgogne Côte d’Or and is drinking perfectly at now o’clock.

It is easy to see why La Table du Square is one of Beaune’s most popular places to dine, or just hang out in the adjacent bar. There is always a lively, almost boisterous, slightly bohemian atmosphere. It is therefore not the place for a quiet, romantic meal, though upstairs is a little calmer than the ground floor. Since Ma Cuisine, owned by Escoffier’s father, Pierre, has temporarily closed its doors, La Table du Square is the closest you can find in traditional regional cuisine. Set dinner prices are far cheaper than fancier restaurants in central Beaune. Since they have refined their cuisine, La Table du Square has rapidly become one of my favourite places to wind down after a hard day of tasting, soak up the atmosphere, indulge in some fine Burgundy and order that 100-point confit of lamb.

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