Pic may well be the best restaurant in the World. Now, there's a bold statement, but you'd be hard…read morepressed to identify a finer place. Pic is my pick for the best there is, anywhere. I urge you to bust the piggy bank and pick Pic too. Be advised that dinner will deliciously last 4 1/2 hours. Settle in the bar and do your stomach stretching exercises. Before your wiggle into your elegant wing back chair a tiny Shrimp Papaya Tart, Peanut Marshmallows, Vegi-chips and a few Yuzu Bon Bons shows up. To call these bar nibbles is sacrilegious. Push the handmade linen cocktail napkin under your Aperitif, nibble away and wait for your table which will be ready when you are. (Topped off, I was ready for the check by the last Yuzu crumb). You will be ushered to your table by a phalanx of staff. The tables are far enough apart to park your Maybach between them and there is no rock loop of Francis Cabral's Greatest to interrupt the professional servers waiting to wait on you. They are standing by, hands on cloches, ready to uncloche in unison and reveal the Veal or whatever the next course of magic will be. Pic is in the same league at The French Laundry and even though TFL is arguably the best in the USA (and it is) Pic makes it seem like the French Laundromat. Pic is what you'll find at the end of the rainbow. Leaf through the Menu cards that describe what's coming. There is professional cover girl photo of each dish as if it were a Japanese food stall in Tokyo Station. There are 3 set menus from Petit to Superhero. (See my bib, shovel and expando shorts? I am Food Man). Read the menu. Four years at the Sorbonne and three years at the Langley Language Immersion Program won't fully describe what you're about to have. An Amuse-Bouche of micro curls of Carrots and Beets settled into a Carrot Puree opens the door to culinary paradise. It resembled a beautiful Best of Show flower. And, each plate is made especially for each dish. Aren't yours at home? After your Champagne (Pic's own Billecart-Salmon Brut), the Somm and a helper will bring the Wine List. Remember to lift with your legs as it weighs as much as a bag of bowling balls. It is daunting at over 100 pages which is more than I read in 7 years of graduate work. At home I open the fridge, twist the spigot on the carton and, voila, the wine drips into my Dixie Cup. I suggest you smile at the Somm and say in your best pidgin French."Fais moi, s'il vous plait". Even though your menu has a menu-ette of courses the Chef will send out surprises such as a lovely Brie D'Maux with Vanilla (a ramekin of melted Brie Soup with a savory Tuile). Oooh baby was that spiritual just like you was at the Pope's own High Mass. Say a small prayer that you can finish. Never mind, just enjoy the bottomless basket of rolls and breads. Lemon Bread, Coffee Bread, Gluten Free Bread for the Californians, and mini Baguettes all served with cultured butter from a willing neighborhood cow laced with Madagascar Pepper and Tonka Beans. By now, your stomach will have stretched to the size of Goodyear Blimp or the cow that gave it up for you. Half way through the meal out comes the Chinese White Tea to energize the taste buds. Now that those babies are perky again, out comes a meat course. Then you get another palate CPR dish. A cold Plum in Rose Sauce with Meringue. Think of this as the ultimate honeymoon where you want to take your time and savor everything. 1. Assorted Baby (seedless) Tomatoes (how'd they do that?), Murcott Mandarins, Chloe Berry, Sage Consumme, with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Tomato haters, I defy you to hate this dish. 2. Berlingots (mini pasta purses) stuffed with Smoked Banon (local cheese) which could have been Julia Child's last request...or mine. 3. Langoustine, Dashi, Honey, Kerorima (Ethiopian Grains of Paradise), Angelica Pepper, with Yuzu Zest. You'll never order Walnut Shrimp in Mayo at Man Fook Lo again. 4. Oysters with Coffee, Whiskey and Rhubarb Compote sounds like a nasty child made it up but it is truly divine. The sauce is made table side and then goes to the kitchen where it is transformed into it's final stage like having the neighbor kid put your IKEA dresser together. 5. John Dory with Abalone, Sage, Lemon Balm, Leeks, and Cream. Yup...it's the Balm. 6. Blue Lobster (probably the water was cold) with Smoked Dashi, Raspberry-Barberry Chutney and Lavender (from the Amenity basket in the room?) 7. Smoked Squab, Vanilla, Roasted Barley, Phuc Ouoc Pepper was as complicated as a Breguet Tourbillon. 8. Sweetbread Medallions Sauteed in Coffee, Gruyere Caramel, Baby Artichoke and Fried Capers. 9. Lamb with a hedgerow of Artichokes. 10. A Cheese Cart the size of a school bus filled with artery clogging wonders. And to my Internist I say "Bite Me". 11. Chocolate Honeycomb fit for a Queen Bee. 12. Raspberry with Cinnamon, Chocolate, and Coffee Cream. You'll scream. 13. Bilge Pump and EMT's. Pic is my pick.

What a stay! First of all, the pool photos on TripAdvisor are old. They now have a gorgeous long…read morelap pool surrounded by olive trees and covered cabanas. It's absolutely stunning. The greeting was warm and lovely. They parked our car for us, walked us to our room to showcase the amenities, sent bags up to our room, and greeted us in the room with a lovely amuse bouche and sparkling beverage. We had room 4 and it was absolutely stunning and huge with a lovely outdoor terrace (albeit not very private, you're basically hanging out with the neighboring terrace. There were plenty of outlets at the desk behind the bed, I don't know why that complaint is so frequent on this forum. I'm a gadget nerd and I was more than fine. The room has a small foyer with a secondary door to block out even more noise from the hall. The bathroom is gorgeous travertine everywhere with a wonderful shower. The toiletries are Hermes. The minibar was stocked with complimentary beer, juice and waters. The property itself is plush and beautiful but also cozy. Since it's such a small hotel, walking down to the front desk feels like you're just walking down to your own kitchen at home. The grotto is very pretty. The staff is so wonderful and attentive and fast. I asked for more toiletries and my room buzzed in less than a minute. The wifi is BLAZING fast - 100mbps up and down, rock solid connection and two seconds to log in. My only issue was with the air conditioning. Granted we were in a heat wave and the staff chalked it up to "French-style air conditioning" but I suspect I was being BS-d. I just wanted some air circulation, and barely anything came out of the vents when setting the fans to high. It was a balmy 80 degrees F in our room in the middle of the night, and we were not able to sleep very well. There is a night shift person, but they are not equipped to help with much. More of a doorman/custodian. He did not speak English and was not able to do anything about the A/C situation. Of course, the main reason to come here is for the restaurant which was a tremendous experience and as good as any tasting menu experience I've ever had. But don't sleep on the "grill," Andre - which was an INCREDIBLE meal with an absolutely lovely staff. We had a blast.

From the owner: Le Bar Restaurant "Le Montagnard" est situé à borée, un village de l'Ardèche dont le point…read moreculminant est le Mont Mezenc. Venez découvrir l'accueil chaleureux du montagnard et sa cuisine qui ravive les papilles ! Un panorama exceptionnel est offert depuis la terrasse : le cirque des Boutières sur lequel veillent les trois vieux soldats : le Gerbier de Jonc, le Sara et le Mézenc sans oublier le calendrier de Pierres sculptées ; le Tchier de Borée. Cuisine faite maison - Sur réservation uniquement Repas midi et soir Nous sommes ouvert à l'année et fermé le lundi. Venez nous voir pour avoir envie de revenir !

If you want to do the lunch wine tasting, make reservations!! The lunch area is quite small. As…read morewe didn't make a rezzie, we just sat at the bar to tray some wines. The 2012 La Petite Chapelle Hermitage was our favorite glass...we also tried the cote rotie. I wish we had more time to try more wines here. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the wines in Hermitage or Croze Hermitage. Just absolutely delish syrah wines!

Located in lush Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, and garnering Michelin Stars and Relais & Chateaux…read morerecognition on par with Bras, Blanc, Pic, and Troisgros, Régis et Jacques Marcon was the fifth 'destination' dinner on trip through Central France and although the restaurant may lack the international acclaim of the others it was amidst the spacious environs overlooking valleys and fields that an extraordinary meal was enjoyed, Le Menu entre Velay et Vivarais centrally focused on the bounty of Mother Nature with a particular eye on foraged mushrooms and local Lentils de Puy. Truly a beautiful place, the hotel and restaurant atop a hill decorated in hard woods, wide windows, and a ceiling that literally sparkles like the stars, entry to Régis et Jacques Marcon is via covered parking into a well appointed salon, and with reservation confirmed it was after a brief visit to the kitchen that the table was ready - a fourtop set for one with fancy linens, fine silver, and English fluent service that trumped any seen in France before. Providing ample literature about the Marcon concept alongside several dining options including the summer tasting which suggested seven courses despite actually offering more than a dozen when accounting for canapes, amuses, cheese, mignardises, and a special gift from the kitchen, service began with several snacks offered in the spirit of the forest, everything from the dangling nut to an Oyster with Green Apple proving excellent, the creamy mushroom cap symbolic of much to come. Next presented a quartet of bites, each enlivened by herbs from the garden that served to highlight the featured proteins and produce, it was with warm bread and mushroom shaped butter that the afternoon progressed and although doing my best not to overindulge in the warm cracked wheat the plan mostly proved fruitless, a second round later arriving...though admittedly long after I was wowed by a garlicky snail in choux alongside a shooter of creamy soup proving an inspired juxtaposition of flavors as well as textures with a light fennel finish. At this point starting the proper menu, forty-five minutes of snacks already passed, service progressed as a slowly unfolding story of French summer, a low bowl of sprout broth with cubes of firm fish served beside supple tartare of the same - a shooter of Tomato Gazpacho once again acting to ready the palate for a follow-up of snappy langoustine served atop rhubarb and green beans brought into new light by a sabayon of zucchini and 'just a touch' of cream. Continuing to richer flavors, though little of what Is served at Maison Marcon could be considered 'heavy' in any traditional way, a ratatouille cake surrounded in mushrooms found substantial depth of flavor amidst a reduction of fine herbs while the tender filet of Brill dressed in bitter vegetables including radish and cabbage was surprisingly subtle despite the substantial portion. Again taken to the kitchen, an unexpected surprise that saw me greeted by both Regis and his son Jacques, it was thanks for 'coming such a long distance' that a gift from the kitchen was given, the tender ragout of lentils dressed in a 'just laid' quail egg beneath black truffles every bit as decadent as would be expected while the following cup of mushroom tea and truffle ravioli reminisced of Achatz's "explosion" with less intensity but better context. Rounding out savories with a pigeon in two forms atop vegetables and fruits, with a vibrant pineapple pan jus poured tableside before moving on to cheese, the grand finale of lunch at Marcon was unveiled in piece-by-piece fashion and as excellent as bites of Apricot Cake with Blossom Flower Emulsion and Herb Ice Cream were it was without doubt the Verbena liquor soaked baba that stole the spotlight, a collection of mignardises including Chocolate mushrooms, Truffled Nougat, Candied Citrus Lentils, and fresh Cream with Chestnut Liquor all equally befitting a dining destination that exemplifies concepts of seasonality, time, and place.

Awesome 3-star Michelin restaurant with surprising combination of flavors using unique local…read moreingredients. The menu is seasonal. I would recommend the whole lobster with lentils. The humble and talented Chef Regis Marcon is extremely customer-oriented. The point of improvement is their pastries. I prefer the ones of Lenotre, LaDuree (best macarons worldwide), Lady M (green tea Mille crepe cake) in New-York or the Michelin starred restaurant Le Neuvieme Art in France.

What a disappointing dining experience! I usually refrain from combination plates. This was the…read morenight when I was hungry, however. This well rated, by Google, restaurant looked very promising by the ratings, local reviews and the website that displays fresh local meat dishes in the progressive culinary fashion. What a deception! My dish of fish and mignon kebabs was far from being fresh. As I just smelled the first fish chunk I was repelled and as hungry as I was I lost my appetite. Meat served medium-rear, was very chewy and tasteless. The mushrooms from the skewer were raw and the side of ratatouille was repulsive. Maybe you would have a better luck with other restaurants in the area.

The food was very good, however the service was disappointing and not to the level of what a 2…read moreMichelin star restaurant should be. Our observations were that the staff was very uncomfortable with English which made the experience very difficult for us as we could not ask questions, clarify the menu, were charged for supplements in a way which was not clear or specified on the menu (no pricing was on the English menu), overcharged for drinks we did not ask for yet were brought to us. Beyond the language difficulties, the service felt very rushed and hasty as we were being pushed through the courses. There was no sense of intimacy or special care/attention paid to the guest which we expect for a fine dining experience like this. In the end, although we noticed multiple up charges we had no way to communicate this to the staff as they could not understand. We decided it would be better to just pay and leave. Perhaps the experience would be different if we were fluent in French -however all of our reservations, prior email communications with the hotel staff, website all used English so we assumed they were welcome to English speakers. TLDR: not the best experience for those not fluent in French, next time I would skip and do a few of the multiple 1 Michelin stars in Lyon (just 30 min away) which provide much better value and high level of service.

Not sure why everything seems to combine the restaurant and hotel, but both are amazing and this is…read moretruly the only place I've ever been where they're so closely intermingled. The staff takes care of you no matter what interaction you have with them. Rooms, exceedingly comfortable and just about perfect other than the shower. The Gastronomic Restaurant is maybe the best deal in the world at lunch for a 2 Michelin star restaurant. Sitting outside under a canopy of trees and tents, impeccable service and a 67 Euro lunch which includes 3 courses plus 3-4 additional smaller bites and even a half bottle of wine and coffee per person. My only regret is ordering the half bottle of Guigal white (from an admittedly limited list) which I knew better than to order, but just wasn't thinking. Oh well, mostly my fault. If you can make it to La Pyramide, do it. Wow, on all levels - especially the lunch.