"We arrived here travelling back from the Tarn Gorge on a trip through France on our way home. As I walked onto the terrace a nasty little dog shot out at me from one of the tables and nearly bit my leg. I was quite shaken by this but it doesn’t affect my view of the restaurant. After this unsettling opening episode we entered the restaurant, and sat down at a nice table well presented. The place is very attractively decorated and the location is very pleasant. There are great views across the stream nearby and a large airy open space in which to eat. There is a bar for those just having a drink: and of course the terrace for those wanting to sit outside. After the dog attack I unsurprisingly needed a stiff drink, and rather quickly. The owner was quite busy and it did take a few minutes to get served our drink. Even if customers have to wait a while for food service, if they have a beer or a glass of wine in front of them then they will start to relax. The food service was equally a little relaxed, and although this isn’t a problem if you have a long lunch in mind, for people wanting like us to eat and get on, we would have preferred faster service. Travellers, passing traffic – people like us – are not there for a relaxed experience but need a reasonably efficient and snappy meal. Once the order was taken however, our meals arrived fairly quickly after ordering and I had chicken with rice and it was supposed to be in some sort of cream and garlic sauce but I would have preferred more sauce. It was a bit dry. My wife's salad was good and she said it was better than some others she had eaten on the holiday. We felt the price was not cheap, certainly for my meal. I paid €18 for one course when we have paid the same for entire meals. My wife's salad was €9 which was quite good value. There was no ‘Menu du Jour’ – set menu – and I felt that if the owner wants to attract local French people then he needs to offer a reasonably priced menu du jour. Most French restaurants offer 3 or 4 courses for around €20.00 €25.00 and the owner should consider this. This is what attracts British ‘ex pats’ living in France and second home owners to France and the French style of eating. In a typical UK restaurant if you order soup you get one small bowl each – in France the ‘Menu du jour’ soup comes in a big pot which means often more than one bowl of soup each. The cheese board in UK restaurants is always a mean little sliver of say three cheeses off the main cheese board, served by the waiting staff: whereas the cheese board in a French restaurant, they usually simply leave the entire cheese board adjacent to your table and you help yourself! Including a small carafe of wine in with the meal price is also popular in France, on the menu du jour. It is this type of experience that makes eating out so different in France and makes eating out cheap enough to make it a regular activity rather than reserved for special occasions. This restaurant is trying to offer something different, and that is to be commended. The décor and ambience is very attractive and fresh. This may attract the local ex pats from the Dutch and British communities, and maybe some French locals who want something different. Many local French people may however prefer a more ‘French’ style offer and this would attract a regular clientele – which is what any restaurant needs in order to keep going."
