AU LAVOIR

AU LAVOIR, Rue du Lavoir, 34440 Colombiers

I never stop being surprised about all these gourmet restaurants that one can find in the smallest villages in France. A few days ago we visited the restaurant Au Lavoir in Colombiers, a little village along Canal de Midi.

It was really a nice surprise. The restaurant was very nicely decorated in a subtle way. The food was excellent, with a few dishes that we don’t find in most restaurants. Of course foie gras was present in many dishes, both in starters and main courses. I had a fried fresh foie gras as this is not always present on menus. The ladies, Anna, Ann-Katrin and my wife were more traditional and had foie gras the traditional way. None of us were disappointed. Two of us had pigeon and two of us had lamb. I notices that they also had wild duck on the menu and many other things to try for next time. The cheese trolley was impressive, full of beautifully aged cheese. I myself had a delicious desert.

The only complain I have is the prize of the wine. Most restaurants here add 100% on the prize from the vine-yard, but her it was at least 200% add-on. I do not appreciate that in the middle of a wine district. The prize of the food was however correct and there was both two set menus and one choice were you could choose one, two, three or four courses from the “a la carte” selection. All four was 35 euros.

Revisited January 2015: We were five very demanding people celebrating my wife's birthday. We all agreed that it was the best meal we have got for a very long time.

Revisted January 2017: Like always a fantastic experience with excellence food and good friends

Revisited March 2018: Disappointment! We had my birthday lunch here today as it is a favorite. It has changed a lot in a year. Foie gras for starter was overcooked until it has shrunk into a little lump. The plate for the second course was so stained and greasy so we lost the appetite for it. The before fantastic desert was totally changed into something much simpler. The pieces of cheese from the trolley was cut without removing the dry part of the cheese that occur when it is left in air for a while.
Minor problems was that they did not offer us to taste the wine before poring and that their understanding for our complaints were minor. About the stained plate they said that some fingerprints were normal on a plate. We said that fingerprints do not normally stick.
They charged us a little less than normal prize despite we did not ask for it, which was good.

Web: http://www.au-lavoir.com/
Latest visit: March 2018
Number of visits: 9

RISTORANTE TOSCANO IL BUCO

RISTORANTE TOSCANO IL BUCO – Via S. Ignazio, Roma

This photo of Il Buco dal 1901 is  published 

with kind permision by TripAdvisor.

As I have admitted I have a special relation to Italian food. Il Buco however was a really good experience. We were recommended this restaurant by our Norwegian friends, that was a double edged thing. The first visit was at lunch together with our Norwegian friends. We were received like royalties and were placed in the Norwegian room with a glass of spumante while they fixed a table in the already full restaurant. We heard that the restaurant is a place where the Norwegian expats in Rome goes – especially those with resources and taste for good food.

The habit among them were to let the restaurant choose what to eat. It was a good choice when it came to taste. We got salad on fresh mushrooms that was delicious which was followed by three small pasta dishes generously sprinkled with white truffles. The wine was a well matured local Lazio wine. As it was a late lunch we settled for these to dishes and promised to come back for dinner.

The bill was however a small surprise. They had served us the most expensive of everything and I must say 60 euros for two small dishes and wine for lunch is a little too much for us. Now I understood why they were talking so much about how rich Norwegian people are.

At dinner we – Englishmen and us from Sweden - decided to choose from the menu and the Norwegians followed our example. The bill was much more reasonable and the food as good as at lunch. We also made it absolutely clear to the patron – an absolutely charming man – that some of us were ”poor people” from England and Sweden and not stinking rich people from Norway.

Round the table we had sea-bass, rabbit, Ginny foul, veal and a few other things – all delicious. The wine, for a reasonable prize was even better than the one from lunch.

A funny thing was that the waiter looked like a twin to Sylvester Stallone and he had even put his voice and accent exactly like Rocky’s.

Web: http://www.ilbuco.it/
Latest visit: 2013
Number of visits: 2

Those who read Swedish can go to Några dagar i Rom and read about our visit to Rome

LA TAVERNA DEI FORI IMPERIALI

LA TAVERNA DEI FORI IMPERIALI – Via della Madonna dei Monti 9, Roma

This picture of La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali is used
with kind permission by TripAdvisor

It does not take long to go to Rome from Languedoc. I must admit I am not the greatest fan of Italian food. My main complaint is that you are supposed to fill you up with a enormous plate with pasta from start so you can not enjoy the more subtle delicatessen of Italian food. The second problem I have is the habit of cooking good meat until it is grey and totally dry. So – admitted that you must understand that the restaurants I recommend are really good – according to my taste.

The restaurant La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali is located on a little parallel street to Via Cavour, just a few steps from Forum Romanum. It is very typical Italian. We were seven people of three nationalities and we were all very satisfied with the food. We actually went there two times and both times I had very good pasta for starter, which I surprisingly finished as it was not enormous. My main course was something extra the first visit. It was wild bore with a sauce with blueberries and juniper – delicious. Next time I had the chef's special meat-loaf that was really good. I heard from my wife that the chocolate desert was lovely and my Baba Rum was very good as the pear-desert I had the second time.

The environment is very genuine and the service friendly and professional. The second time we were attended by the chef himself, which was very nice.

Web: http://www.latavernadeiforiimperiali.com
Latest visit: 2013
Number of visits: 2

Those who read Swedish can go to "Några dagar i Rom" and read about our visit to Rome

LE BLEU

LE BLEU - 19 ave de la Mediterranée, 11370 Leucate - La Franqui

There are a number of restaurants at La Franqui Plage and we tried the largest one last time we were there. It was not good - the food was of not so good quality and the service unpleasant. This time we went a few steps down the street and found the little restaurant Le Bleu, which has a few tables in the shadow under some palm trees and looked quite nice. It is not a gourmet restaurant, but a very pleasant beach restaurant. The service was very friendly and the food was of good quality and well made.

My wife had a whole grilled dorade that was big and perfectly cooked. I had an entrecöte, that was not an entrecôte, but more a sirloin. It was however tasty and perfectly cooked to my liking. The home made deep-fried potatoes were delicious.

The restaurant had also a good selection of desserts, drinks and other small thing and, most important for a beach restaurant, they were open all day.

It is only one little thing we did not like. 19 euros for an entrecôtes that is something else and 23 euros for a grilled fish, even if it was large and well cooked is a bit too much. Compared too the other place we have tried along the avenue it is however to recommend.

WEB: http://www.bar-lebleu.com
Latest visit: 2013
Number of visits: 1

LA PENICHE

LA PENICHE - 19, quai des Tonneliers, 11200 Homps

As we did not want to disturb Restaurant En Bonne Compagnie across the canal we went to La Pénich that we had been to a couple of times before and found quite pleasant. The service is good and friendly. Many of the staff can speak English which is almost necessary around the Canal du Midi nowadays. The food is good and it is the kind of no-nonsense cuisine that you might appreciate for lunch. They have a large selection of pizzas and a couple of set menus with traditional French food.

There is an inside restaurant and a few tables on the side of Canal du Midi. The main part of the restaurant is in the back garden which is divided into one open part there you can smoke and a glass-walled part what is possible to cover if the sun is to disturbing.

WEB: http://www.restaurantlapeniche.fr/
LATEST VISIT: 2013
NUMBER OF VISITS: 3
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CAFE BRASSERIE LA PROMENADE

CAFE BRASSERIE LA PROMENADE - 8 Bvd de la Promenade, 11220 Lagrasse

Cette photo de Café Brasserie la Promenade
est fournie gracieusement par TripAdvisor 

There are quite a few restaurants in Lagrasse and several along La Promenade. One of the least remarkable on the outside might be Café Brasserie la Promenade. It is basically a bar, but also a café and brasserie and the combination makes it quite noisy inside during lunch,

Do not hesitate to try it. The food is excellent and the service nice and quick. We were there the other day with some friends and had their 19 euro set menu. The entrécôte was tender and perfectly cooked and my confit de canard was very tasty. The salad and plate of charcuterie we had for starters were rich and very good and the desserts were good as well.

Revisited September 2014: This is one of the places we always get good traditional food. They are open only for lunch, but every day of the week.

WEB: www.cafebrasserielapromenade.com

LATEST VISIT: 2014
NUMBER OF VISITS: 4

LE VITALIANO (Closed)

LE VITALIANO - Cours Mirabeau 9, Narbonne

The large open area around Canal de la Robine in Narbonne is now finished and has come out quite nice. A number of new and existing restaurants have appeared from the cement-dust and machinery noice. One of these that has suffered seriously from having a big hole in front of their entrance for months is restaurant Le Vitaliano.

We visited the restaurant the other day and was very satisfied. They served two excellent pieces of meat – an entrecote for me and a piece of lamb to the ladies. Both were tasty, perfectly cooked and tender. The service was nice and professional. We will certainly return to this place again.

WEB:
LATEST VISIT: 2013
NUMBER OF VISITS: 1

RESTAURANT PIERRE

RESTAURANT PIERRE - 7 - 9 rue Dufour, 71000 MACON 

We found a very good gourmet-restaurant in Macon. The name is Pierre and is owned by Christian and Isabelle Gaulin. The restaurant is well designed and the service professional and nice. We had their least expensive set menu and it was really good. I would not be surprised if they get a star in Guide Michelin soon, but they might not want that. At the moment they are awarded two knives and forks.

The little teasers we got to warm up was excellent and the starter based on bresaola was as well. The main dish was lamb cooked slowly at low temperature accompanied by perfectly cooked vegetables. It was very good. My wife, as usual, asked if she could change the dessert to cheese. Normally cheese was an add-on to the set menu. It was no problem and no extra charge. My dessert was copious, but I could not resist anything. My wife could have a free choice from the cheese trolley. As if that was not enough they came with a big selection of goodies to have with the coffee. 

There was just one problem that the restaurant could not help. During starter a party of four American couples entered the restaurant and made it impossible to eat, talk or relax. They were yelling, laughing and made such noise that the rest of the guests could not stay. The staff was apologizing, but could not tell them to lower their voices.  They instead evacuated the rest of the guests to an inner room so the Americans were on their own in the main restaurant. Interesting enough they did not seem to notice that all guests were passing by their table with their wine glasses, going somewhere else.

It is important to say that it was not young overexcited people, but middle-aged, well dressed normal couples, there especially the women could not talk without screaming with a high pitch voice and were constantly laughing their heads off. It is not the first time we had had this problem with Americans in restaurants, but of all our numerous American friends we can not imagine they would behave like that. Strange?

WEB: http://www.restaurant-pierre.com/
Latest visit: September 2013
Number of visits: 1

LA COURTINE

LA COURTINE - 4 Place Marcou, 11000 Carcassonne

La Cité in Carcassonne is full of restaurants, but quite a few are not really worth the prize. There are however some who are very good. We found one the other day – La Courtine. It is situated in the corner of Place Marcou, there you find lots of restaurants, most of them not worth a visit.

As we had our grand-children with us we were looking for a restaurant where they served spaghetti- This Italian restaurant did so. Ourselves we had their menu of the day and it was a good choice. The meat was tender and cooked to our liking and the chips and the salad was perfect. The dessert of the day was delicious. My wife however took a cheese-platter and I had café gourmande. The cheese was of very good quality which is not very common on less expensive menus. The restaurant also had pizzas which they had earned a prize for. We might try that next time.

The service was nice and friendly. The bill was however a small chock. They had added 16 euros together for my upgrade of dessert and my wife’s cheese. When we pointed it out they corrected it and gave us 10 euros back. It was probably a mistake this time, but it is too often in the summer that such mistakes happens to tourists. They might not think tourists are observant enough or do not master French enough to complain.

WEB:
LATEST VISIT: 2013
NUMBER OF VISITS: 1

LE PRE ST JEAN ♥

LE PRE ST JEAN - 18 Avenue du Marechal Leclerc, 34120 Pézenas

There are quite a few restaurants in Pézenas' Historic Centre, but the quality is uneven and it is mostly difficult to get a table during summer. A little more than 100 meters from Centre Historique on the main street we found  Restaurant Le Pré St Jean- a gourmet restaurant with reasonable prizes.

It was a very pleasant experience -  the food was excellent and the service friendly and correct. We all had fish dishes that were delicious. The interior of the restaurant is pleasant and has a more formal style than most restaurants in the Historic Centre. This will certainly be a favourite when we go to Pézenas.

Revisited January 2014: This time we had meat. Starter was with quail and main dish was guinea fowl. Both were delicious. This is turning into a real favourite restaurant.

Revisited April 2014: A simple but delicious two-course lunch this time and a glass of wine each. We both had quail for starters and I had rabbit and my wife veal as main course. It was perfect and we feel that we can give this restaurant a hart even if we have been there just three times. The only little mistake was that my wife got a little jar with cold milk with her cafe noisette.

Revisited June 2014: We  visited the restaurant with our friends from Norway. As always the food was lovely and the service perfect. We had a bottle of the fantastic rosé wine from Mas Jullien made by the famous vine-maker Olivier Jullien. The wine comes from north part of Herault and is an AOP Terrasses du Larzac. Very few restaurants serve the wine so we can 't resist it when we have the opportunity.

WEB: www.restaurant-leprestjean.fr
Latest visit: June 2014
Number of visits: 4

LA COLOMBE d’OR

LA COLOMBE d’OR – 06570 Saint-Paul-de-Vence

We were recommended this restaurant by an artist friend.  It is the place for artists in the area and also for the “beautiful people”. The indoor areas are full of the most fantastic painting of famous artist and many of the now living can be seen here. Now, everybody was sitting in the beautiful garden which was absolutely full. 

The service is perfect – they even park the car for you. The food is good, but not as good as it should be for the prize. You visit this restaurant of other reasons – the environment, the beauty of the place and maybe for the chance to get a glimpse of someone rich and famous. Maybe we saw some but we would not recognize them. We however saw some interesting characters – famous or not.

WEB: http://www.la-colombe-dor.com/indexEN.html

LATEST VISIT: 2013
NUMBER OF VISITS: 1

Those who read Swedish can follow our entire trip in Provence on http://france-midi.blogspot.fr/2013/06/resa-i-provence-forsta-etappen.html and on http://france-midi.blogspot.fr/2013/06/provence-andra-etappen.html

LA TREILLE MUSCATE

LA TREILLE MUSCATE – Place de l’Eglise, 04360 Mustiers-Ste-Marie

Den här bilden på Restaurant - Bistrot provencal La Treille Muscate
används med tillstånd av TripAdvisor

We were recommended this restaurant of the owner at our hotel. The location was great with the water-fall as a background. We were sitting outside and were taken care of what we thought was the owner. She had very firm opinions about thing so we felt that we had better following her advice, which was not entirely good.

The food was all right, but not great for the prize. As we always drink local wine when possible, we asked the owner to recommend something on half liter bottle. She said a wine for 30 euros was very good. I hope so I said – for that prize. You asked me what was our best wine and I answer you was the answer. It might be true in five years, but the 2011 wine we got was too young and not at all pleasant to drink. I was about to complaint but my wife said I better not.

WEB: http://www.la-treille-muscate.com/

LATEST VISIT: 2013
NUMBER OF VISITS: 1

Those who read Swedish can follow our entire trip in Provence on http://france-midi.blogspot.fr/2013/06/resa-i-provence-forsta-etappen.html and on http://france-midi.blogspot.fr/2013/06/provence-andra-etappen.html

GRAND CAFE

GRAND CAFE - Les Allées de la Liberté, 06400 Cannes

We just had a salad at this place, but what a salad. It is difficult to know were to go along the Croisette in Canne so we just dropped into a place that looked good. The service was not great, but the salad was. It is amazing how many ways you can arrange the vegetables on a place to make a salad. This was generous, beautiful and tasty. I had a tomato mozzarella salad and my wife had a Waldorf salad.

As too many times in Provence, we however got a bill that they pretended belonged to another table. Of some reason they are always bigger than ours.

WEB: http://www.le-grand-cafe-cannes.fr/plan
LATEST VISIT: 2013
NUMBER OF VISITS: 1

Those who read Swedish can follow our entire trip in Provence on http://france-midi.blogspot.fr/2013/06/resa-i-provence-forsta-etappen.html and on http://france-midi.blogspot.fr/2013/06/provence-andra-etappen.html