My own definition of a keeper is a place I’m going to keep in my address book, somewhere I’ll want to go back to again! The two restaurants in this article both fall into that category!!
On a recent visit to Montpellier, I had wanted to have lunch at L’Heure Bleue, an antiques store cum restaurant cum tearoom on Rue de la Carbonnerie. The last time I had been to L’Heure Bleue was a few years ago. I had fond memories of it’s cozy and kitsch decor and the delicious food! The concept was fun – everything in the restaurant was for sale: the tables, the chairs, the china, literally anything around you could be bought and taken home, if you so wished. When I pushed the door open on my most recent visit, there was none of the usual hum, and nobody was seated at the tables. Perhaps I was a little too early? Alas I was too late! When I asked about having lunch, the owner said that they had stopped serving food about a year ago. 😦 He could see how disappointed I was (he probably was too), and suggested that I try another Salon de The just around the corner – L’Appart’The. So off I went, down Rue de la Carbonnerie, turning right into Rue de l’Aiguillerie, and finally left into Rue Glaize. I was so pleased when I spotted L’Appart’The, that I almost went flying when I missed a step outside the restaurant! 😲
There were tables outside the restaurant, and even though it was a nice and sunny day, it felt a little too cool for me to be sitting outside. Inside, the dining room was small but bright, with a lovely warm feel to it. There was space for only eight persons at four tables for two. A counter at one end of the room separated the kitchen from the dining room, and allowed me to watch the chef preparing the dishes. There were already some people seated and I felt a little too self-conscious to take photographs.
The menu was very simple: a choice of three starters, two main courses, and four desserts. My dining companion and I both opted to have the fresh ravioli for our starters. The ravioli were filled with mountain (raw cured) ham and curd cheese, and served with a creamy sauce. The ravioli were very delicious!
For his main course, my dining companion chose the slowly braised pork chop:
I had the roast beef:
Both of the main courses were delicious! What we really liked was that for once there was a good amount of vegetables on the plates – that happens so rarely in restaurants in France. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and totally appropriate for the season: turnips, carrots, cabbage, sweet potato and regular potato.
From the five desserts on the menu I chose the apple tart:
and my companion chose the apricot dessert with a caramelized top:
Both desserts were very yummy!! When I came to pay the bill at the counter (the menus were 25,50 Euros for three courses), I saw that there was a second room to the side, which was set up as a lounge with sofas, armchairs and coffee tables – very cozy and perfect for afternoon tea!
I came across another “find” recently on a visit to Capestang. Again, I wasn’t able to go to the restaurant I had hoped to go to, which was La Galiniere. I had timed my trip badly, it was the day off for the restaurant. I knew that there were several restaurants around the main square in Capestang, so I walked there and had a look. Le Caveau de la Place looked interesting and there were a couple of people outside, enjoying a drink in the sunshine, so I decided to give it a whirl.
The word caveau usually denotes a wine cellar where you can sample and buy wine. The interior of the restaurant made the wines a prominent feature:
The lunchtime menu was simple and straightforward – three courses, no choice of dishes, but what was on offer suited me fine. The first course consisted of deep-fried squid nuggets with a little green salad. The batter around the squid was very well seasoned, and the olive oil on the salad was wonderfully tasty. The portion was very generous, almost a meal in itself!
For the main course there was blanquette de veau, veal in a creamy sauce with carrots and mushrooms, and accompanied by a creamy risotto. The veal was lovely and tender, and oh-so-tasty!!
Dessert came in the form of a lemon meringue tart – not home-made I’m guessing, but good all the same!
To go with the food, I had a glass of white wine from Domaine Saint-Georges d’Ibry, a winery near Abeilhan. In the photo below, the white wine was the bottle in the centre.
The three-course lunch with a (very generous) glass of wine came to €17.80 – great value!
When I arrived back in Saint-Chinian there was a rainbow on the horizon – if you look carefully, you’ll be able make out the start of a second rainbow. Just perfect!! 🙂
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