So, this place was absolutely amazing. let's start with the tl;dr: -Near Pont-du-Gard. Accessible by car. -Amazing, amazing French cuisine, classic foods and dishes with inventive ideas and presentation. -Great value. There are three tiered menus at 18, 25, and 33 Euro, and I would pay easily twice that for the same quality in the US. -Lovely service, but make sure somebody speaks French. So, we are trekking from Nimes to Grenoble and decide to avoid the traffic by driving through the small towns. We make a detour to Pont-du-Gard and decide to drive until we find something. We stumble on this little guy. It's August, so we get to sit on an enclosed terrace. There's the usual selection of good wines that are ubiquitous in this country. There are three set menus at 18, 25, and 33 Euro, and a la carte options as well. Our table of eight goes for pre fixes of various values. My apologies, but I cannot for the life of my remember everything The appetizers are all lovely. I get a dish made of beef cheek and tongue rolled together, served with a caper aioli and a small salad to cut the incredible richness of the fatty beef dish. Other dishes of note are the foie gras dish with foie gras, an herbed bread, and interestingly and deliciously, a foie gras creme brulee - rich, creamy, a little lighter than just a slab of foie gras with a delightful contrast from the caramelized sugar; and smoked salmon which was delicious, but as noted served slightly on the warm side; a salad served with a little dough purse filled with goat cheese; a salad with lardons and nuts, mmmm lardons The entrees were WILD. WILD. A couple of us got lamb - one of my tablemates had his slightly overcooked, but mine was perfectly reddish-pink in the middle, with a little cube of sliced potatoes and a sauce to die for, with a tomato stuffed with breadcrumbs. The whitefish was expertly prepared, with a nice crispy skin and tender flesh, with herbed potatoes and a tomato filled with a mild fish and milk paste (it's waaay better than it sounds). Another person got faux filet (beef steak), and she said it was solid. The scallops were perfect, accompanied with a strong pesto sauce. Duck was nicely cooked, with a dense, flavorful wine reduction. Salmon was served with another herbed white sauce. Honestly, none of the dishes were especially unusual, but for the most part the execution was perfect and the composition was well thought out. And they brought out bread to mop up allllll of the sauces. Which we did with gusto. Dessert was really interesting. The creme brulee was actually the least exciting of the dishes. The apple tart was much nicer, and the sabayone was a big puddle of awesome concealing fruity surprises underneath. The winner here was the trio of ice creams, flavored with rosemary, thyme, and ....um, lavender, I think, respectively. These things were CRAZY. Sweet. Herby. All sorts of awesomeness. Serving sizes were reasonable. Not big, but with three items, we were all packed at the end. None of us were grotesquely obese Americans, but several of us had pretty big appetites. The service would be considered "good" in the US, and was therefore super attentive for a European place. The herbed roll was so good that we asked for another, and they were nice enough to get us another one all nice and warm, even though it was, like, part of the dish, as opposed to just a bread roll served in a basket. The owner came out a couple of times to see how we liked the place, and asked the English speakers at the table if we like the place, in English! So, let me point out what the winning points are: -The service is great. They were willing to do extra things for us, were attentive, and it was all with warmth and a smile. -The food was excellent. Most of the dishes were solid executions of standard dishes, with a few unusual dishes that were neat to try, and other dishes that were unusual twists on standard fare. Well executed, planned with an eye towards good ideas but especially a good dining experience. -A great price point. I would have been happy paying an extra 8 Euro for the food I got, and to get this quality of food in the US it would have been more like 25. It's not cheap, but oh god it's worth it, and if you're all the way out here, why not? So, in the off chance that you happen to be in Castillon du Gard and are looking for a place to have a relaxed dinner, ignore the other places and stop on here. G out. read more