christycruz

We are leaving for the Dordogne July 19th and it's been four years since our last visit.

Our home base is Vezac, within easy walking distance of the river and Beynac Castle. My husband & I are able to leave our daughter with grandmere and go out to dinner, which is very rare for us on vacation.

In the past we've enjoyed Le Presidial and La Belle Etoile. How's the rest of this list looking? Any closed or gone downhill? Any to add? Better for lunch than for dinner? We especially like to walk to dinner, and we haven't tried Le Relais des Cinq Châteaux.

If there's a recent thread on the topic, my apologies. I didn't see one in the last year.

Domme - L'Esplanade
Domme - Cabanoix et Chatigne
Le Bugue - Le Velo Rouge
La Chapelle-Aubareil near Montignac - La Table du Terroir
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac - Le Moulin de la Beaune
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac - La Metaire
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac - Le Centenaire
Monpazier - Restaurant La Bastide
Paulin Salignac - La Meynardie (near Salignac-Eyvigues)
La Roque-Gageac - Le Plume d'Oie
La Roque-Gageac - Belle Etoile
Sarlat - Le Bistro de l'Octroi
Sarlat - Le Presidial
St Cyprien (near) - Jardin d’Epicure
Tremolat - Le Vieux Logis
Tremolat - Le Bistrot d'en Face
Vezac - Le Relais des Cinq Châteaux

halfempty

We just spent 3 nights at Le Vieux Logis in May and had dinner there twice. The food is very good and the place is charming. That said, I think it would be a pretty long drive from Vezac to Tremolat.

christycruz

Thanks half. I put the longer distance ones in, in case we're out and about.

RoseCope

We have just spent a week at Auberge de La Salvetat a charming hotel with a super restaurant in the dordogne perigord purple. If you are going to visit the abbey at Cadouin on your stay it is just 5 minutes away. They have a lovely terrace for lunch and dinner.

RoseCope

So you don't waste your time forgot to say that we discovered on our trip that the Manoir de Bellerive at Le Buisson is closed, the Belle Etoile is closed until mid-July and the Velo Rouge at Le Bugue closed permanently 18 months ago.

Carlux

Some more news about closures
Les Eyzies - le Centenaire closed for several years now.
Salignac. La Meynardie, alas, closed too.

Otherwise, Le Vieux Logis is wonderful for their weekday lunch, considerably cheaper than the evening meal, very inventive and great food.

Le Jardin d'Epicure - hardly anyone knows this restaurant, run by a charming French couple, again with inventive food. (Marina is the daughter of a friend, but even without that connection, it's a good place.)

Sarlat now has a Michelin starred restaurant, Le Grand Bleu, menu beginning at 33 Euros and up from there. Very good.

Probably even better in St Martial, (south of Domme/Cenac) is Le St Martial. Again hardly ever mentioned, but great, inventive food. Probably as good as Le Grand Bleu when we were there.

Time to go and have lunch now. If I think of anything else will add it later.

christycruz

These are great suggestions and updates. Keep them coming! We can't believe how many nooks and crannies there are to explore in this area.

One of the few places to get information on the rock in La Roque is at Fodors. What a great resource this forum is.

NLspirit

Hi christycruz. We've just spent 2 weeks in the Dordogne and tried three of those you've mentioned, two of which you've tried before.

We had a lovely lunch on the patio at Belle Etoile in La Roque Gageac and the service was great as well. It was closed the next day because of the potential rock slide but may be open again by the time you arrive. It seems to have maintained its reputation.

The evening we spent at Le Bistro de l'Octroil was really quite busy with family groups celebrating. The servers were literally running back and forth up and down the stairs balancing several plates at a time. Yet they managed to serve us a nice meal with a smile in spite of their hectic pace. It doesn't really have the ambiance that I would choose for a special evening out but was still quite nice.

For our anniversary we chose Le Presidial. The weather that evening was beautiful and the garden area where we ate was gorgeous. We had the choice of a la carte or set menus. There was a good selection in each one. The service was prompt, pleasant and courteous and the food delicious and beautifully presented. It deserves its excellent reputation.

We had hoped to eat at L'Esplanade in Domme but because of the weather we had to shuffle our itinerary around and couldn't fit it in ... hopefully next time.

There are lots of great restaurants in the Dordogne. Good luck with your choice and have a wonderful vacation!

christycruz

Thanks, NLspirit. Lucky that you were able to eat at La Belle Etoile, especially the patio. I'm hoping we get to go there once.

La_Tour_de_Cause

Mes deux centimes...

Cabanoix et Chataigne -- still my guests' favorite restaurant.

Bistrot d'Epicure - (new name for Jardins d'Epicure) Some very discerning guests (a winemaker from Sonoma County, California) ate there last night and found the entrées to be amazing, and the plats very "conceptual." Worth a try if you're looking for something inventive.

Le Vieux Logis -- I agree that this may be the top gastronomic address in the area.

And something a little different for you...if you're staying in Vezac, take a little walk over by the old train station (long closed) and find the "Buffet de la Gare." The young woman chef there prepares a prix fixe menu on Wednesdays and Fridays, using only local products and simple, authentic local recipes. Check the posted menu to see what's on the board for that day.

Bon appetit!

christycruz

Wow Tour. How "Five Quarters of the Orange"! I hope the Vezac chef is around when we are and doesn't close for summer vacation. We'll try to make it there before le premier Aout.

I hope we're able to see you too! It's been awhile. I think since happening to see each other in Riomaggiore.

Thanks to all who responded. I'll post the edited list of restaurants in the next couple of days.

christycruz

Here is the updated list of notable Dordogne Restaurants. Hopefully I will add to this list while there.

La Chapelle-Aubareil near Montignac - La Table du Terroir
St Cyprien (near) - Bistrot d'Epicure (Great inventive food.)
Domme - L'Esplanade
Domme - Cabanoix et Chatigne (A favorite of local B&B guests)
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac - Le Moulin de la Beaune
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac - La Metaire
St Martial (south of Domme/Cenac) - St Martial (not well known. great inventive food)
Monpazier - Restaurant La Bastide
La Roque-Gageac - Le Plume d'Oie
La Roque-Gageac - Belle Etoile (closed until mid-July)
Sarlat - Le Bistro de l'Octroi
Sarlat - Le Presidial
Sarlat - Le Grand Bleu
Tremolat - Le Vieux Logis (excellent for lunch - cheaper than dinner) ("top gastronomic address in the area")
Tremolat - Le Bistrot d'en Face
Vezac - Le Relais des Cinq Châteaux
Vezac - Buffet de la Gare (Facebook page!)

sap

Thank you, Christycruz, for posting your legwork. I had printed your earlier list and made notes; but now you've perfectly revised it so I can just use the update.

I'm hereby bookmarking this for next June 2011. I'll top it just before then, so Carlux, StCirq, et al. can hopefully advise what has changed in the year since. Again, this is very useful.

Have a great trip!

tomatogal

Hi all, could someone please tell me if there are good restaurants in the Dordogne that serve something other than the Dordogne specialties? I am looking forward to all the foie gras and duck but although my husband will eat these things they are far from his favorite. We will be in the area for 2 weeks and I don't want to torture him. Are there any good Italian or other ethnic restaurants that someone can recommend?

tomatogal

Sorry, Christycruz. I just realized that I should have started my own thread for this.

ILUVPARIS

bookmarking

winnick

Thank you Christycruz for your post. We too will be in the area next June and the list will come in handy. I just need to keep checking with sap who it looks like is also doing research for this area.

sap

Well, winnick: I thought it might still be up in the air which one of us is going first, but it sounds like you may have picked June over September now. (?)

We'll be leaving for Paris for one week in early June, followed by a week in Provence (based in Bonnieux). After that, we'll be covering the same ground you're looking at, with the Lot area near Cahors for four nights and finishing up with seven nights in the Dordogne the last week in June before flying out of Toulouse. I've secured all the accommodations, but I haven't booked any flights yet.

I guess it's possible we'll cross paths while there. In the meantime, our Fodor's research will certainly dovetail!

sap

BTW, we saved beaucoup bucks by deciding to go with one-week gite/apt rentals instead of B&Bs or hotels, except for those four nights in Cabrerets that I used as a spacer to "time" our Dordogne arrival for a Saturday.

Carlux

Another good restaurant, not on the really frequented tourist routes, but not far - La Gabarre at St Julien de Lampon, about 15 minutes south east of Sarlat.
http://www.restaurantlagabarre.com/

We ate there yesterday, and had a really good meal. Not too much duck if you want to get away from that. It used to be a pretty traditional restaurant, but has recently changed hands and now is more interesting (not that we dont like traditional, but we also like a change) One of the major attractions is that it is one of the very few restaurants actually on (above anyway) the Dordogne River. So on a sunny day you can sit on the terrace and look down at the river. Yesterday it was stormy, so we were inside, which was also pleasant.