La Feniere in Lourmarin
Apr 13th, 2005, 02:10 PM
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La Feniere in Lourmarin
Any opinions on this hotel/restaurant and the town of Lourmarin? It looks wonderful and the woman chef has a great reputation. We're real foodies and have spent a lot of time in Provence, but we are looking for some new adventures and are considering a short stay there this summer. Merci.
Apr 13th, 2005, 02:18 PM
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The restaurant is very popular and very good. It did have a star a few years ago but have never stayed overnight. Several posters have mentioned staying there.Try putting in La Feniere or Lourmarin in the search box(France) here
Apr 13th, 2005, 03:59 PM
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We had a marvelous dinner there one evening, and can recommend it highly. It is south of Lourmarin a little ways on the road to Cadanet. We didn't check out the accomodations, but the grounds are very nice.
Apr 13th, 2005, 04:29 PM
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One of the best meal we've had in Provence. It's a Michelin 1 star restaurant.
Lourmarin is also worth a visit.
Here's some notes I wrote in '99 when we dined there:
What a wonderful drive through the Comde to get to Lourmarin !! La Fenerie is located in a beautiful setting. The greeting here is very warm – everyone chiming in with a “bonjour” as we entered the restaurant. The dining room is simple yet elegant. Ellen had the 200FF menu, which was really one of the greatest bargains on our trip when you consider we are eating at a Michelin 1 star restaurant, and the creativity of the entrees. We had kirs on the outside terrace where we reviewed the menus & munched on our first round of amuse bouche – Jambon & parmesan chevre plus about 3 other delights. We were then seated in the main dining room (it was too windy to eat outside – le mistral). We were then served a second amuse bouche, which was thinly sliced artichokes with aged parmesan & olive oil. Ellen’s first course on the 200FF menu was Presse aubergine & red/green pepper with tomato coulis & marinated sardines. It’s a shame that in the US we think of sardines as salty accompaniments to pizza that most people try to avoid. They are really wonderful when they are fresh. (Ellen’s comment: hard to believe that I would ever willingly choose sardines from a menu – but this isn’t the first time and they were fabulous!) Her second course was really a wonder – simple inexpensive food, yet a very creative presentation. Morue, Facon tart tatin, which was a tart starting with a puff pastry on the bottom, on top of which was a mixture of cod & sautéed fennel, then topped with a perfect potato gallette. The potatoes were rounds about the size of a Franc, and perfectly golden & buttery. It was so lovely for the eye that it was hard to cut into it. It looked just like an apple tart – thus the name. Her dessert consisted of warm strawberries with basil ice cream – we have never seen this before. The warmth of the strawberries melted the ice cream just enough so that is formed a sauce for the berries. I had the 300FF menu, starting with very thin slices of raw St Pierre, which had been marinated on olive oil & vanilla. This was something I have never seen before. The chef must be congratulated on her creativity. My main course was daurade with a crispy skin, sitting on a melange of fennel & zucchini with a saffron sauce. I then had the cheese tray, which had about 30 or so assortments. I had the Roquefort, plus about 4 other “fort” cheeses. This being a refined restaurant, they also brought Ellen a plate so that she could sample the cheeses even though the cheese course was not on the 200FF menu. Also, the amuse bouche was not on the 200FF menu but to even out the courses, they served it to Ellen. My dessert consisted of a fruit tart which had a topping of crème brulee & rhubarb ice cream. Again, another creative combination. With a bottle of wine, our dinner came to 825FF. What a bargain.
Stu Dudley
Lourmarin is also worth a visit.
Here's some notes I wrote in '99 when we dined there:
What a wonderful drive through the Comde to get to Lourmarin !! La Fenerie is located in a beautiful setting. The greeting here is very warm – everyone chiming in with a “bonjour” as we entered the restaurant. The dining room is simple yet elegant. Ellen had the 200FF menu, which was really one of the greatest bargains on our trip when you consider we are eating at a Michelin 1 star restaurant, and the creativity of the entrees. We had kirs on the outside terrace where we reviewed the menus & munched on our first round of amuse bouche – Jambon & parmesan chevre plus about 3 other delights. We were then seated in the main dining room (it was too windy to eat outside – le mistral). We were then served a second amuse bouche, which was thinly sliced artichokes with aged parmesan & olive oil. Ellen’s first course on the 200FF menu was Presse aubergine & red/green pepper with tomato coulis & marinated sardines. It’s a shame that in the US we think of sardines as salty accompaniments to pizza that most people try to avoid. They are really wonderful when they are fresh. (Ellen’s comment: hard to believe that I would ever willingly choose sardines from a menu – but this isn’t the first time and they were fabulous!) Her second course was really a wonder – simple inexpensive food, yet a very creative presentation. Morue, Facon tart tatin, which was a tart starting with a puff pastry on the bottom, on top of which was a mixture of cod & sautéed fennel, then topped with a perfect potato gallette. The potatoes were rounds about the size of a Franc, and perfectly golden & buttery. It was so lovely for the eye that it was hard to cut into it. It looked just like an apple tart – thus the name. Her dessert consisted of warm strawberries with basil ice cream – we have never seen this before. The warmth of the strawberries melted the ice cream just enough so that is formed a sauce for the berries. I had the 300FF menu, starting with very thin slices of raw St Pierre, which had been marinated on olive oil & vanilla. This was something I have never seen before. The chef must be congratulated on her creativity. My main course was daurade with a crispy skin, sitting on a melange of fennel & zucchini with a saffron sauce. I then had the cheese tray, which had about 30 or so assortments. I had the Roquefort, plus about 4 other “fort” cheeses. This being a refined restaurant, they also brought Ellen a plate so that she could sample the cheeses even though the cheese course was not on the 200FF menu. Also, the amuse bouche was not on the 200FF menu but to even out the courses, they served it to Ellen. My dessert consisted of a fruit tart which had a topping of crème brulee & rhubarb ice cream. Again, another creative combination. With a bottle of wine, our dinner came to 825FF. What a bargain.
Stu Dudley
Apr 13th, 2005, 09:07 PM
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We have also had some great meals there, especially Saturday evenings when Rene's husband (a jazz musician) usually has some of his colleagues around for a jam. We loved the relaxed atmosphere, but have heard from guests who have eaten there that recently it has become a bit more stuffy as she appears to be going for a second star.
-Kevin
-Kevin
