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.
Open until 3pm.
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.
Saturday breakfast does not go in a paper bag: you sit down, the tray comes to your table, and you stay as long as you like.
Saturday, hour by hourOn Saturday the set lunch is there like any other day: starter, main, dessert, from 12:00 to 14:00, with the morning market on the plate.
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 as soon as it is settled.
This week's set lunchWe 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. We have written down how long each visit takes, and when to eat around them.
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 - or not: the bar stands on its own, and nobody will ask you to order food to stay.
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, the tapasserie takes over. 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.
In summer, boards, pinsas and plates that change with the market; in winter, fondue, raclette and Mont d'Or, set down in the middle of the table. We steer you, you share, you go back for more. And if the evening is at yours, much of it travels.
See the winter menu
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. We have written down what travels and how to order.
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: it 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 ChauvignyAnd what our guests say about it
We read every review - and where Matthieu has answered, his reply is there too. They talk about the welcome, the quality on the plate, the room: the things a restaurant cannot write about itself on its own site.
4.7 out of 5 · 36 Google reviews
Une très belle découverte pour une soirée Tapasserie ! Nous avons adoré avec mon conjoint! Et la Pinsa mélange Burrata/Nectarine un vrai délice !😋😋😋 Je recommande et hâte de venir découvrir la carte de l'hiver qui s'annonce plus que dingue !!!
Our reply La Pinsa Burrata-Nectarine, c'est notre coup de cœur aussi ! On est ravi que vous ayez passé un bon moment en couple. On espère vous retrouver vite pour la carte de l'hiver. 😉
Allez-y les yeux fermés ! Super adresse que nous avons testé ce midi pour une table de 15. L'ambiance est très sympa, chaleureuse et la cuisine fait maison est très bonne. Le poisson du jour...un délice ! Nous avons hâte de revenir tester les tapas le soir. Dommage que nous soyons si loin mais c'est une super cantine pour les locaux !
Our reply Merci pour ces mots ! On est ravi que vous ayez passé un bon moment. Le poisson, on l'aime aussi ! On espère vous revoir bientôt pour les tapas. 😉
Un grand merci à Matthieu et l'équipe pour l'accueil et l'organisation de notre tablée d'une quinzaine de personnes. La cuisine est top, les quantités sont juste ce qu'il faut, l'assaisonnement est parfait, l'ambiance est bonnenfant. Nous allons maintenant essayer l'esprit tapas! Longue vie à Colette, allez y !
Our reply On est ravi que vous ayez tant apprécié votre repas en groupe ! Chez Colette, on aime partager et faire plaisir. On espère que vous allez aimer l'esprit tapas. 😉
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?
Which days are you open?
Tuesday to Friday 9.30am-3pm and 5.30pm-9.30pm, Saturday 8am-10pm. Closed Sunday and Monday. The kitchen serves from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 21:30; after lunch the bar stays open until 3pm and opens again at 5.30pm, and so does the terrace.
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 the set lunch from 12:00.
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 place 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.
Can I come just for a drink?
Yes, this is a bar too: a coffee in the morning, a pint in the afternoon, a cocktail in the evening, with nothing to eat. The counter and the terrace are there for that, all opening hours.
Where can I park in Chauvigny?
The car park is a step away from the restaurant, and it is free. No stress about parking.
