French holiday home  -  La Maison du Berger Constant

TIPS:

Order the house wine by the carafe (or “pichet”) as it is always good and very cheap! Rosé is the speciality wine of the region.

Worth reserving your table especially in summer. Check with restaurant for opening hours.

LAGRASSE

LES TROIS GRACES – TEL: 00 33 4 68 43 18 17

Located in the village. Great food but you have to be patient! Eat inside or in courtyard.

LE TEMPS DES COURGES – TEL: 00 33 4 68 43 10 18

Also located in the village. Regular haunt with excellent specials board. Eat either downstairs inside the restaurant or upstairs on a large open air terrace. Good fun in the sun and when there’s no wind!

L’AFFENAGE – TEL: 00 33 4 68 43 16 59

Located on the Promenade. Nearest restaurant to the house. Serves local speciality “confit de canard” (leg of duck). Al fresco eating on the Promenade under the plane trees. Loverly setting but unfortunately food hit and miss due to new nice but naive owners! Default restaurant (go for the salads) if all others closed (it stays open all the time!)

LES REMPARTS – TEL: 00 33 4 68 43 67 49

Located at the beginning of the Promenade. Useful for Monday evenings when others are closed. Just five starters and five mains but all excellent. Another favourite with the (English!) locals. Bought out in March 2013 so will have a new name and new owners.

LE SALON DE TÉ and the CAFÉ both on the Promenade are open for lunch only. No need to book.

AU COUPA TALEN - TEL: 00 33 4 68 43 19 36

On the Promenade - Take-away paninis / pizzas for the kids!

HOTEL - HOSTELLERIE DES CORBIERES – TEL: 00 33 4 68 43 15 22

Not yet visited!

FABREZAN

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 10 mins

LES CALLICOTS – TEL: 00 33 4 68  49 18 54

Located in centre of the village. Park on main road anywhere outside “Le Grand Café” (don’t venture into the middle of the village by car as the tiny streets are more suited to horses than cars!). Walk to our favourite restaurant in centre of village (follow signs). Best starter is the “mussels in aniseed”. Wine from Fabrezan is excellent.

L’HEUREUX TOUR – TEL: 00 33 4 68 65 50 54

Best pizzeria outside Italy! Located next door to Le Grand Café. Eat inside or al fresco and watch the world go by.  Try the crème fraiche pizzas as a change from the tomato-based ones. Great, informal fun.

SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-CABRERISSE

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 10 mins

LE CARIGNAN – TEL: 00 33 4 68 40 78 59

Very handy and excellent restaurant nearby - open all day every day in July and August. Otherwise closed Tuesday evenings and all day Wednesday at other times of year. Great starter "escargots feuillettés" - snail volovants! And you've got to try the chocolate mousse which is the best I've ever tasted.

LEZIGNAN-CORBIERES

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 15 mins

COCO SWEET – TEL: 00 33 4 68 33 65 28

LEZIGNAN is the nearest big town. This restaurant is located in centre of the town. Very useful for Sunday nights out of season! Specialty is buck wheat crepes but they serve many other dishes too. Always good.

CREPERIE BRETONNE – TEL: 00 33 4 68 70 30 38

9 rue guynemer, 11200 Lézignan

Very cheap and excellent quality crepes. Well recommended. Cheap and cheerful. Can get very busy so book ahead. Open from 11am to 2pm and 6.30pm to 10pm. Closed Sunday evenings and all day Monday.

PIZZÉRIA LE STROMBOLI – TEL: 00 33 4 68 27 00 81

43 Cours Lapeyrouse, 11200 Lézignan

Another cheaper option. Recommended for the excellent pizzas.

CONILHAC-CORBIERES

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 20 mins

L’AUBERGE COTE JARDIN - TEL: 04 68 27 08 19

Situated just north of Lezignan, this is a very enjoyable experience. Food is perfect and not too dear. They also have an outside dining terrace adjacent to a splash pool which is great for the hotter months.

FONTJONCOUSE

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 30 mins

AUBERGE DU VIEUX PUITS – TEL: 00 33 4 68 44 07 37

Three Michelin Stars – may be best restaurant in the South of France – extremely expensive but everyone says it’s worth it. Just close your eyes and enter your pin number at the end! 30 minutes away through Saint-Laurent village.

BAGES

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 45 mins

LA TABLE DU PECHEUR – TEL: 00 33 4 68 411 511

21 rue de l’Ancien Puits, 11100 Bages

Perched on a hill in a charming village overlooking one of the many “étangs” or salt-water lagoons on the mediterranean coast. Seafood specials include fresh lobster (order 48 hours in advance), a famed Marmite du Pecheur, and best of all Serge’s amazing deserts. Try eating outside on the veranda with a view of the lagoon. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

PORTEL DES CORBIERES

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 40 mins

LES TERRASSES DE LA BERRE – TEL: 00 33 4 68 41 92 43

106 avenue des Corbieres, 11490 Portel des Corbieres

Situated in one of the many typical French villages in the area. This one is en route to Leucate. Traditional local food. Best cassoulet for miles. Excellent for lunch. Amazing views of the gorge and river 100 feet below! Well recommended. Open all year round.

LEUCATE-PLAGE

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 50 mins

LA COTE REVÉE – TEL: 04 68 40 72 72

Best beach. This fish restaurant is at the end of the main sea-front. Park right outside. Follow signs to Leucate-Plage. Great for lunch. Specialities are fish soup, moules marinieres or grilled fish of the day. Eat outside with view of the sea. Open every day all year round. 

MINERVE

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 60 mins

LA TABLE DES TROUBADOURS - TEL: 00 33 4 68 91 27 61

Amazing day out. Minerve is like no other place. This restaurant is situated near the centre of the village and serves great local food. Sit inside or outside with a wonderful view of the valley below.

BOUZIGUES

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 90 mins 

LE PETIT BOUZIGUES – TEL: 00 33 4 67 43 96 93

Chemin de la Catonniere, Bouzigues

Wow - what a find! Bouzigues is an oyster fishing village - picture perfect. Restaurants everywhere but this one is tried and tested. Oysters or Prawns to start and fish of the day always recommended as it is so fresh. Best oysters in the world!

ROSES, SPAIN

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 2 1/2 hours

LA SIRENA - ON THE PROMENADE - 00 34 972 257 294

Roses is located in the Spanish region of Catalonia on the Costa Brava just 30 kilometres south of the French border. It's a modern and popular holiday destination, yet this remains a fairly quiet, relaxed resort, retaining much of its original charm without the brashness which now characterises some of Spain's bigger coastal resorts. We found probably the best restaurant in Roses called La Sirene serving cheap, traditional Spanish food. Sit outside with a view of the bay and watch the incredible changing colours of the glorious sunset while you eat and drink sangria! 

FIGUERES, SPAIN

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 2 1/2 hours

LIZARRAN - C/MONTURIOL, 3, 17600 FIGUERES SPAIN - 00 34 972 506 667

Excellent traditional Spanish tapas bar for lunch when you visit the Dali museum. Situated off one of the main squeares near the museum. Ask a local!

TOSSA DE MAR, SPAIN

DISTANCE FROM LAGRASSE: 3 hours

RESTAURANT BAHIA - ON THE FRONT - PASSEIG DEL MAR 19, 17320 TOSSA DE MAR, COSTA BRAVA

 - 00 34 972 340 322

Don't be put off by the resort name! Beautiful family resort with a lovely beach, plenty of restaurants in the old town and even a castle perched on the hill overlooking the bay. Go for guaranteed sun but probably best avoided in July/August due to the crowds. This restaurant serves some of the best paella ever and is decorated by a hundred oil and water paintings that the family owned restaurant has bought or been given over the many years.

Bon appetit!