6 Best Restaurants in Toulouse and the Languedoc, France

Don't let the dismal backstreet exterior put you off: Bistrot de l'Étoile is a delightfully retro 1960s pub that promises fast service and a great choice of dishes on the blackboard menu. The homemade desserts are great, too, like the panna cotta with your choice of sauce, including a red-fruit coulis.

Overlooking the Pont Neuf, this elegant brasserie is idyllic at sunset, as artists Ingres and Matisse—who were regulars—knew all too well. Watch the colors change over the Garonne from a sidewalk table while enjoying seafood sauerkraut with Champagne or wild sea bass with salmon tartare.

Dine under a medieval vaulted ceiling or in a shaded courtyard at Cellier Morel, arguably the finest restaurant in Montpellier's historic center. Regional specialties are served in haute-cuisine fashion starting with an amuse-bouche and ending with a house-made douceur (sweet).

On one of Collioure's quieter cobblestoned streets you'll find Le 5ème Péché, where the clean-lined decor seems in synch with Japanese owner-chef Masashi Iijima's simple yet innovative dishes like tempura shrimp with chestnut cream and apple crisps. With only 18 seats and an open kitchen plan, you'll feel like you know him personally by the time your meal is done.

This eatery is a popular choice, especially when sunny weather encourages taking a seat on the terrace, overlooking the square below. The cuisine varies with the seasons, the markets, and the humor of the chef, but everything is homemade and reasonably priced.