What a pleasant restaurant! The décor is modern and warm, yet a bit bourgeois. The clientele,…read moremostly locals, is forty something and more, so don't expect a vibrant atmosphere. It doesn't matter because you're here for their wonderful southwestern French food which is a real bargain.
I was there once again with my mother which, as usual, increased the amount of the bill. We started with two glasses of champagne. Then my mother enjoyed a marinated salmon partially cooked with citrus fruits and leek. Delicious! I tasted it! All the ingredients melted in my mouth. I had a Carpaccio of gilthead bream with fresh ginger. It was an invitation to travel. I was ecstatic once again! The second courses were great too. My mother had calf sweetbreads (which are glands, from the neck or throat of a young calf or lamb. A typical French delicacy) were so tender and very lightly flavoured. They were accompanied by carrots with their leaves and parsnip (panais in French. It's a kind of turnip with a slight nutty taste) in a sauce made of Banyuls wine (a French sweet red wine). How original and flavourful! This dish was a hit! I had a Pave de veau (Leg of veal) with a puree of black potatoes (vitelotte). They were mixed with usual potatoes to avoid the specific taste of the Vitelotte. On the picture you can see the purple colour. The meat was juicy and tasty but the purple mashed potatoes didn't add anything special. As a dessert, I enjoyed a crème brulee with Tonka beans. Those beans give a caramelized taste. It was nice. But unfortunately the dessert chosen by my mother (a macaron in tiramisu fashion) was served completely dry. A great deception for her. We didn't immediately complain but had a look at our neighbours' plate who took the same dessert and it seemed quite ok. When the owner, M. Pascal Noizet came to us to know if we had enjoyed our meal, we told him what happened. He offered to us right away two glasses of champagne to ease the pain. And it worked well!
Pascal Noizet also had to step in when we arrived at the restaurant. We had booked a table for two and had been seated in a little and unpleasant corner. We immediately asked if we could change places. The answer of the waitress was negative. She didn't want to give us another table although there were some available tables in the bigger room. She said It was for a group. So my mother asked Pascal if we could change places. He immediately seated us where we wanted. He said "no problem". As we say in French, It's better to talk to God than to His saints. I noticed that the service can be amateurish and not always pleasant. Our waiter couldn't manage to properly pour the wine without putting big drops on the table.
Even though the service can be average, you really have to try this place. Our dishes were very tasty, on a very high level. And 50 euros (three courses and a bottle of wine for two), the advices (we took a Savigny-les-Beaune 2006 of Nicolas Potel) and professionalism of Pascal Noizet are really worth it.
