Chez Colette Bar · Restaurant · Tapas · Takeaway Chauvigny · Vienne · France
Push the door open. We walk you through a day at our restaurant in Chauvigny, at the foot of the medieval town, from the morning market to the last round.
8:00 · Market day
Market mornings
Chauvigny market fills the town every Saturday morning, one of the largest in the Vienne. We open at 8:00: the coffee before the shopping, the break after, and somewhere to set the bags down.
No set lunch on Saturday: the kitchen switches to tapas from 11:00, small plates to pick at rather than a choice between starter and main.
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings the market comes back smaller, the food one with local growers - fresh local produce that turns up on the plate at lunch. We open anyway, at 9:30.
12:00 · The lunch service
At noon, we keep it swift
No sprawling menu. One set lunch, starter - main - dessert, dictated by the morning market. Served fast, never rushed.
The market decides, the menu follows. What we find in the morning ends up on the plate: a new set lunch every week, posted here as soon as it is settled.
We are in the town centre, right below the medieval city: the upper town, its ramparts and its collegiate church start just above us. Handy for lunch between the morning visit and the rail bikes, or dinner after the Giants of the Sky show.
19:00 · As evening falls
Welcome, make yourself at home
In the evening, we slow down. We welcome you like family: a room that blends old and new, offbeat just enough, tables to linger at and no one to rush you.
More often than not it is Matthieu who seats you.
When the weather is kind, the terrace opens onto the street. Not a secret garden, but the best seat for a drink in the sun and watching Chauvigny go by.
19:30 · The first round
Time for a drink
We start with a drink, carefully chosen. Time to settle in before sitting down to eat.
Wines
A fine list, growers we love, by the glass or the bottle. A Morgon, a Vacqueyras, a Pic Saint-Loup, a Cahors.
Beers
Good draught beer, pulled with care: Affligem blonde, La Chouffe. And a few chosen bottles.
Cocktails
Well-made classics and a few house ideas, until late. Moscow Mule, Hugo spritz, limoncello spritz.
Mocktails
Alcohol-free, but not character-free. No one goes thirsty.
The wall of bottles is part of the decor: pick your bottle, your draught, let us guide you. The cocktails and mocktails come straight from Matthieu's hands, behind the bar.
20:00 · At the centre of the table
Small plates to share
In the evening, it is tapas time. Sharing is the whole point: crafted small plates that parade across the middle of the table, that you pick at together and order again without counting. You do not come to eat each in your corner: you come to share a moment, and it starts on the plate.
21:30 · The nightcap
We linger
The kitchen closes at 9.30pm, the mood does not: we carry on at the counter. Themed nights, big matches, happy hour, a hum of music and time slipping by.
An events page is on its way: the nights coming up, the matches on the screen, the happy hour windows, what we line up on the music side. Alive, updated week by week. We have no shortage of ideas, and one wish behind them all: making Chez Colette a proper local haunt, the place you drop into unannounced because something is always going on. An idea for a night to suggest? .
22:00 · Takeaway
It all comes as takeaway
Lunch or dinner, what comes out of the kitchen can go out in a box. We pack it up, you head home: all that is left is setting the table.
The set lunch when the break is too short to sit down, the boards and the evening plates when you fancy a proper dinner but not the cooking. You call, we get it ready while you finish your day, you swing by to pick it up, and dinner is sorted.
Order on the phone
22:15 · Our story
Colette's restaurant, in Chauvigny
Colette is a grandmother's name. The one whose kitchen smelled good, whose door opened without warning and whose table always stretched for one more.
Here, we pay tribute to her. To her and to all the old folk: the taste for good things, the sense of sharing, and that very French idea that we know how to welcome.
At the helm, Matthieu: in the room to welcome you, behind the bar for the cocktails and mocktails. In the kitchen, a real chef: traditional cooking, simple but crafted, local produce picked fresh, and the urge to surprise as the seasons turn.
Yesterday's tradition, today's table. Gestures that come from afar, an execution of our time. Just like home, but we do the dishes.
Chez Colette is the new restaurant in Chauvigny: the house opened on 25 July 2026, in a town of art and heritage that was not short of either. French cooking, served by people from here.
Le bar restaurant L'Imprévu devient Chez Colette à Chauvigny
22:30 · See you soon
We will keep you a table
A table for tonight, or to celebrate something? It happens in person with Matthieu: one call, and he keeps you the best seat.
Book on the phone
And what if, before calling, the answer was already here?
Are you open on market mornings?
Yes, and early: 8:00 on Saturday for the big Chauvigny market, 9:30 on Tuesday and Thursday for the growers' market. A coffee before the shopping, a break after, and tapas from 11:00 on Saturday.
How does lunch work?
One set lunch, starter-main-dessert, no menu: whatever the market gave that morning, never quite the same two days running. Nothing rigid though - an allergy, a diet, a table of colleagues or a working lunch, and we adapt.
In the evening, is it a classic restaurant?
No, and that is on purpose. You do not come to dine on a plate of your own: you come to share small plates that parade across the middle of the table. You pick, you order again, you linger. And we promise: no one leaves hungry, or thirsty.
Do you do takeaway?
Yes, lunch and dinner. The set lunch and the evening boards travel: one call, we get it ready, you swing by to pick it up. We also take the whole place private for up to 40 people; catering off site will come later.
Do I need to book?
Recommended, especially at weekends. Booking happens on the phone, in person with Matthieu on the phone - online booking is coming soon.
Which payment methods do you take?
Card, contactless and cash. French meal vouchers not yet: it is planned, and we will say so here as soon as it is in place.
Do you take groups? Can the place be booked out?
Yes, up to 40 people, the whole house to yourselves: a birthday, a leaving do, a team dinner. Easiest is to call so we can set the date together.
Is it wheelchair accessible?
No: there are steps at the door, and there are no toilets outside. The terrace itself is on the level. Call us before you come and we will tell you what is possible.
Where can I park in Chauvigny?
The car park is a step away from the house, and it is free. No stress about parking.
What is the Wednesday Apérosé?
A pinsa of your choice and a bottle of rosé for €30, every Wednesday evening, eat in or take away. Do book. The offer runs until 1 November.
