A business lunch is not a lunch: it is a meeting held at a table, with an end time. It needs three things — being able to hear each other, being served without waiting, and leaving at the stated time. Les Variétés, 33 boulevard du Maréchal Foch, in Angers, has been hosting lunches like these for a long time.
Hearing each other, first of all
That is the real constraint, and the one least talked about. A brasserie lives on background noise, so you need to choose where you sit. Arrière Foch, seventeen seats set back from the entrance, is the quietest space in the house: it is the one we give when the conversation matters. Ask for it when booking; it goes quickly at lunchtime.
The lunch set menu, Monday to Friday
It is available on weekdays only. It is the quickest and clearest format for a business lunch: a limited choice, a well-kept pace, a predictable bill. On Saturdays, the full menu takes over, but the pace is no longer that of a business lunch.
Tell us what time you are leaving
A 2 pm meeting is prepared when booking, not over coffee. State the time: the service is built around it, and the pace is adjusted from the starter onwards. It is the only sentence that really changes how the meal runs, and it takes two seconds.
For two, four or eight
A business lunch is rarely held for twenty. For two or four, a table is enough and online booking will do. From six or eight, call: we will choose the space according to the noise level you want rather than the space available.
Paying discreetly
Meal vouchers — titres restaurant, chèques déjeuner, Sodexo and Bimpli — are accepted, credit and debit cards too, American Express included. An invoice in the company’s name can be requested when paying. If you are the host, say so on arrival: the bill will be presented to you and not in the middle of the table.
In the centre, so on foot
Boulevard du Maréchal Foch is within walking distance of the place du Ralliement, the château, Saint-Maurice cathedral and Saint-Laud station. For a meeting with someone arriving by train, it is the simplest address to give: any local can point the way, and a visitor finds it first time.
What is on the plate
French cooking made on the premises: French meat, fish from Maison Savia in Saumur, vegetarian options, home-made desserts. The menu can be viewed online with allergens dish by dish — useful when you are inviting someone whose constraints you do not know.
What we do not promise
Silence: this is a brasserie, not a drawing room. A private room for two people. And the lunch set menu on Saturdays, when it is not served.
Booking
Online for a table; the group request or +33 2 41 88 46 62 for a group, or to ask for Arrière Foch. State your leaving time: that is what counts.
Frequently asked questions
The answers
to your questions.
Can we arrange a lunch with clients?
Yes, subject to availability. Contact the team with your practical details.
Does the menu suit different preferences?
It offers a range of brasserie dishes; check the updated menu and the allergens before you come.
Let’s prepare your group’s meal.
Tell us the date, the numbers and your programme: we will reply the same day.