Gourmet restaurant
Built in 1927 by the Zurstrassen family, wool barons from Verviers, our beautiful manor became a restaurant and then an inn in 1989 under the direction of Chef Michel Lafarque († 2003) and his wife Agnès. It was the golden age of Michelin stars, and the walls still remember the grand and sumptuous gastronomic meals, accompanied by bottles as fine as they were prestigious. Everything was served on double tablecloths by hand-picked, impeccably dressed maîtres d’hôtel and sommeliers. After the passing of Mr. Lafarque, Hostellerie Lafarques resumed service under the leadership of Chef Samuel Blanc and successfully earned a new Michelin star.
The restaurant is open for lunch from Wednesday to Friday & Sunday, and for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday.
Our history
“ The Vesdre is a torrential river that flows through Verviers and Chaudfontaine to Liège through the most delightful valley in the world! In this season, on a beautiful day, with a blue sky, it is sometimes a ravine, often a garden, always a paradise. ” It was in these glowing terms that the writer Victor Hugo described the Vesdre valley—“Vis Ara” in Celtic—in 1839.
The French poet was far from the first to fall under the spell of the area: occupation of the Vesdre valley actually dates back more than 100,000 years! This is evidenced by remains from the Neanderthal era found in the caves of the Forêt de Goffontaine and the Chantoire.
Nearly two centuries later, Hugo would not feel out of place if he returned to this part of the valley. The old railway line, the neo-Gothic castle, and its gatehouse tower, which welcomed Sunday strollers with great fanfare in the 19th century, have retained an incredible charm and romanticism. A magnificent destination for a stroll to work up an appetite before succumbing to the gourmet charms of Lafarques.
The Lafarque legacy
But where does this name, associated with this locality for nearly 30 years, come from? It was in 1989 that Michel Lafarque, originally from Chaineux, and his wife Agnès moved into the building that once housed the Goffontaine boarding school. Building on the success of the first restaurant he founded in Pepinster ten years earlier, where he earned his first Michelin star, the Lafarque couple built, through patience and hard work, what would become a true gastronomic institution whose name is still associated with many events and emotions today. Birthdays, weddings, communions… Lafarque was part of the lives of families who came to celebrate their most beautiful moments here. In the mid-90s, the couple, who embodied the culinary arts, held two Michelin stars and three Toques in the Gault & Millau guide (17/20). People traveled from afar to share this table and enjoy the hospitality of the couple, him in the kitchen and her in the dining room. And they returned, time and time again.
Michel Lafarque passed away in 2003, but his philosophy, his sense of taste, and his hospitality found a worthy spiritual son in Olivier Tucki, who is committed to preserving the “hostellerie” spirit of the establishment—meaning “hospitality” in the etymological sense of the term. And it is with great emotion that the current Chef evokes the memory of his predecessor: “ More than rights, one has duties in a house like this. ” We look forward to seeing you (again) soon.