We had a monumental lunch in the beautiful French village in the Gers department (Tenarèze region)…read moreof Southwest France. Fourcès is a "Plus Belles Villages de France" and it clear why. Walking around the circular town center is a very memorable experience. We had lunch at the Auberge which is clearly a popular spot for locals. Every aspect of the experience was outstanding, particularly my charcuterie and duck confit. It was also a tremendous value for such delicious food. If you're anywhere in the Gers I highly recommend making a trip here and to Fourcès.

I've been eating at this restaurant since it was a cosy Auberge in a small but beautifully restored…read morestone building making up a corner on the village square. It typified French rural dining for me, simple, fresh, seasonal local ingredients prepared with passion and served in comforting surroundings. When they proudly opened up the new, seemingly characterless, restaurant across the street I was fully prepared not to like it, despite the terrace with fabulous views. Outside it was a bland building, out of character with the honey-colored stone and beautiful architecture of the village. Inside, it was typically nouvelle frou-frou Parisienne. But try as I might, I still loved it. And why wouldn't I? Chef Cyril is committed to fresh, local produce and has a passion for seasonal local food. He is not only an imaginative chef, constantly thinking of new ways to cook and serve traditional ingredients but a good one too. The flavours he creates are a constant surprise and delight. The interior of the restaurant is warm, comfortable and inviting and the terrace is a wonderful place to linger on a warm summer afternoon with Armagnac and coffee after your meal. His partner Camille runs a welcoming and efficient front of house and Fabien, who I believe is a renowned sommelier, is a lesson to all servers on how it should be done, one of the best I have ever seen. Order your food and then ask him to recommend the wine, he will surprise and delight you every time and not always with the most expensive wine he could sell you. So, given my love affair with the Auberge and its management team, why only four stars? I recently took my sons there for the first time. While the food was excellent, it was noticeable that Camille and Fabien were not there and the service was pretty poor, not to mention the fact one young lady could really have done with a better wash. Camille did turn up part way through service and things bucked up but we definitely missed Fabien's sparkle. I have no doubt this was a blip and it does not put me off recommending this fabulous restaurant and its wonderful owners :-)

Excellent value restaurant in the village of Bardigues, near Auvillar, officially one of the most…read morebeautiful villages in France. Camille and Cyrille have recently redesigned and renovated the restaurant, creating a very attractive terrace, ideal for dining outdoors on those warm summer evenings. Whereas most restaurants in this area emphasise the regional specialities (duck, foie gras) the menus here tend to be more creative and sophisticated. Lunches start at 9 euros for just a main course and a glass of wine, and go to 17 euros for starter, main course, dessert and wine. Evening menus from 23,50EUR to 55EUR.

Entering an Auberge always brings back dark memories of Chris Rea's song of the same name being…read moreplayed on long car journeys of my youth. This impression was not improved when I entered this restaurant (situated just outside Monein) to find that it was completely empty of patrons and staff. After wandering around for a while Madame Rose appeared and thereafter the echoes of Rea's 'classic' vanished from my mind as I was thankfully distracted by this restaurant's excellent cooking. To start, I opted for duck which was skewered, cooked rare and served with a chicory salad. The salad was the key to the dish as the slightly bitter and acidic chicory was perfectly complemented by the rich duck. Matters improved further with a main course which combined morels and sweetbreads in a delicious filo parcel. It was not what I had been expecting (the dish had been described as a "cassoulet") but the combination was nevertheless wonderful. I finished the meal with the kind of cake that you only seem to find in France - delicate layers of different red fruit mouse and jelly balanced on top of one another to eye catching effect. It tasted as good as it looked - each bite was an explosion of decadent fruit. The only slight disappointment (in addition to the welcome) was the wine list which was fairly brief although it did feature a brief but good selection of wines from the region (with lots of half bottle options). However, the food was great and Auberge des Roses is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Everything was very average with a mishmash of things on the menu; from Carbonara to Burgers, to…read moreFrench Onion Soup. What was tastiest was definitely the Burger, which was actually quite juicy on a Medium Rare cook. Other than that, there's nothing else noteworthy other than being a clean, slightly fancier option in the area. It'll still be in the top 5 restaurants within the vicinity!

We started with the French onion soup why not get the real thing when in France. It was a nice…read morestart to an excellent meal. My husband had the Veal Chop he said it was the best he ever had and I had the Chef choice Casserole with white bean and pork it was Amazing. Service was very attentive as well. Nice atmosphere nice casual.