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! Â 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. Â Inside, the dining room was small but bright, with a lovely warm feel to it. Â There was space for only eight persons at four tables for two. Â 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. Â 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. Â My dining companion and I both opted to have the fresh ravioli for our starters. Â The ravioli were filled with mountain (raw cured) ham and curd cheese, and served with a creamy sauce. Â 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! Â 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. Â 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!! Â 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. Â Again, I wasn’t able to go to the restaurant I had hoped to go to, which was La Galiniere. Â I had timed my trip badly, it was the day off for the restaurant. Â I knew that there were several restaurants around the main square in Capestang, so I walked there and had a look. Â 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. Â The first course consisted of deep-fried squid nuggets with a little green salad. Â The batter around the squid was very well seasoned, and the olive oil on the salad was wonderfully tasty. Â 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. Â 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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