After going to the Christmas markets in nearby Place Carnot on a Saturday night, we were a bit too lazy to trudge back in the cold to the old town and so stumbled in here upon the suggestion of my hungry husband, who risked getting cranky from increasingly getting hungry. When we first walked in, it was a bit like walking into a time warp - the restaurant had a really "old school" feel as if it hadn't been redecorated since the 1970s. In a way, it was quite charming! The waitress pointed us to a table in the corner that was a bit squished up in between the bar/coffee machine area and the next table, but once we dived into the menu we weren't too bothered. There was an interesting array of both dishes and set menus, which were incredibly good value and plentiful in choice. For EUR 16, choices for the starters included saucisse et pommes vapeurs (hot sausage and steamed new potatoes), tete de veau (rather gelatinous so not for everyone) and salade lyonnaise (with boiled egg and lardons). Portions were pretty generous and full of flavour, compensating for the fact that dishes were served in old-fashioned crockery that was chipped in several places and probably in need of replacing (e.g. broken handles to little serving dishes etc). Mains included blanquette de veau served with rice, pot au feu (a beef soup pull of carrots and potatoes) and a saffron fish dish. Other choices included escargots for starters, and steak for mains. By the end of the mains, we were pretty stuffed and were pleasantly surprised to find that we all had dessert included in our set menus (for EUR 16!) and had a choice from the whole range - from apple pie to chocolate cake. Desserts weren't amazing - especially strange was watching the waitress do a quick "decorating" of desserts with some sad-looking cream before serving - but it was nice nonetheless to be offered it! Our waitress made a conscious effort to speak English with my parents and other half, which was endearing - and she always had a smile despite rushing around the now-full restaurant (many tables turning over twice and looking to be filled with satisifed locals). Along with a bottle of local white wine and 4 communards (kir with red wine) the bill came up to a ridiculously cheap EUR 100 for four - satisfaction all round in a restaurant that clearly was not for tourists but had more retro charm - well worth a visit if you don't seek pretentious food in fancy surroundings that is...