After a disappointing meal at another restaurant with a high Yelp rating last night, I asked our…read morehotel owner for a recommendation and she said this was the restaurant the she and her husband went to.
This place totally lived up to the recommendation! It was busy while the rest of the town was dead, the food was perfectly prepared and presented with care and interesting creative touches. The service was prompt and pleasant and accommodating to those who speak French only poorly.
We decided to break away from the prix fixe meals we have been having and ordered a la carte. In this case we were still well fed and didn't break the bank, actually coming in a little less that the p-f menu options.
This being the Dordogne we decided to favor duck and goose products. We started with a shared entree of local duck fois gras. It was accompanied by toasted bread, onion jam, a yummy jell, and a tomato with cucumber and some essence of duck paste. Rich, smooth, and really nicely accented by each of the accompaniments. A single plate was adequate for two.
My wife opted for the goat cheese tartlet with salad. This turned out to be a slice of toasted bread with there slices of goat cheese mentes on top. This might should like too little for a main, but the goat cheese was incredibly rich and was well complimented by the acidity of the salad. Simple but yummy.
I opted for one of the house specialties and had the preserved goose breast with fried potatoes. The goose breast was fall apart tender, and would have been dry, except that they left a thin layer of fat under the skin, which when eaten together with the breast meat yielded a perfectly succulent mouthful. The potatoes were nice, but perhaps a little great and not at all crisp. However the accompanying squares of jelled white carrots and one of broccoli were exceptional. All the flavor of the vegetables but with a flan-like texture! Very cool! Also some mushrooms and fabulous gravy. Creative and perfectly prepared.
For dessert my wife choose the frozen walnut souffle with walnut liquor sauce. Cool and creamy with great but taste and a nice little boozy note from the liquor.
I opted for the cafe gourmond which we have discovered is a common offering of mini desserts and a cup of espresso. It was listed as being a selection of three desserts, but I actually got five! A tiny rum baba, a quarter of a chocolate lava cake, a vanilla Alice (merangue floating in vanilla sauce), a wee creme brulee, and a strawberries Melba all delicious.
Our waiter was charming, pleasant, and patient with us. He really excellent by recommending a very nice local wine by the glass which was far from the most expensive, but was perfect with our meals.
A clean modern look complimented the meal and made for a pleasant experience. I'd definitely go back!
