After tending their permaculture garden in the Monts du Lyonnais, Guillaume Grégoris and Raphaël Quentin sowed a new seed: Semo, a charming, eco-minded restaurant (shelves lined with house ferments and preserves, terracotta light fixtures, wooden furniture, vintage crockery, dried flowers) that champions their sustainable philosophy: thoughtful, plant-forward creations steered by chef Constantin de Hauteclocque (ex-Les Maisons Marcon), using produce from their own garden or sourced hyper-locally. That lunchtime, with picture-postcard views of the Rhône, things kicked off with: an amuse-bouche of persimmon coulis, creamed cime di rapa and a delicate tuile topped with cherry chutney; a vibrant melon carpaccio layering fresh and lightly charred slices, bathed in a white miso sauce, dotted with zingy basil gel and crowned with crispy prosciutto chips from Tête Bech butchers; followed by a knockout beet salad with beet leaf tempura, green beans, pickled cherries, trout gravlax and a sharp cherry gel. For dessert, tea-poached figs nestled into fig marmalade and semolina cake, encircled by verbena cream and a buckwheat biscuit. Come evening, the menu shifts to a more communal rhythm, as any organic waste heads back to the meadow – and the circle is complete! · Ama Pola

FEELING THIRSTY? Organic grapes harvested and vinified within 150 kilometers: a syrah from Nicolas Badel (€7 a glass), a savagnin from Domaine de la Pinte (€62 a bottle) or a chatus from Lionel Brenier (€36). Otherwise, sip local with an Alpine Negroni (€11), a Cola des Gones soda (€5 for 330 ml) or Kombuch’Alpes (same price).

PRICE: Dish of the day €14, set menus €19-26 (lunch) and €28 (Sunday lunch), plates €8-25, desserts €10-12 (dinner).