I am wondering if the good restaurants all of you recommend have lunches too...

I am thinking of the restaurants La Belle Etoile, and Plume something or other. Of course if you are visiting caves you aren't going to go running back to a restaurant (or are you)..just thinking out loud.

Hi lois,

Ask your hotel to pack you a pique nique basket.

It's very unlikely you're going to be visiting caves, or anything else, during lunchtime, as they will probably not be offering tours then. Mealtime is pretty sacred in the Dordogne.

Yes, most places are open for lunch as well. But so are plenty of other smaller places serving lighter fare. I don't usually find myself hankering for a full meal of foie gras, confit, etc. at lunchtime (though some people do like to have their main meal at lunch - it's less expensive for one thing).
You will never go hungry in the Dordogne. Do keep in mind that some restaurants are closed on certain days - usually Mondays, sometimes Sundays.

>Do keep in mind that some restaurants are closed on certain days - usually Mondays, sometimes Sundays. <

Sometimes Wednesdays, sometimes Saturday afternoon.

Like St Cirq said, probably the hardest thing that US tourists have to "come to grips with" is the lunch closings. NOTHING gets in the way with the French having their 2 hour lunch. My wife once flew from San Francisco to Paris for a business trip. She works for Visa and was the project leader on a major project with Carte Bleu. She reserved a hotel room the night before she arrived, so she could check in when she got there very early in the morning & freshen up. She got to the office around 11:00 and started to meet with people. The project was on a very tight schedule, and she had to accomplish a lot in the 2 days she was there with 4 other Visa USA people.

At 1:00, guess what happened - the entire French staff of Carte Bleu went to lunch for 2 hours - she was assuming that they would call out for sandwiches & have a "working lunch" just like they do in the US. Next day she suggested that they bring in a Pizza. At 1:00 a secretary announced that the pizza was ready & everyone went into another office had the pizza, wine, and conducted zero business.

Anyway, in the Dordogne there are many places to get a light lunch. Here is one of my favorite places - I copied it from my 20 page Dordogne itinerary

Marqueyssac is a chateau perched up on a bluff half way between Beynac & Roque Gageac. We have driven past it a ca-zillion times & we never went there because it was not in the Michelin guide. We finally decided to go, & it was quite a place. The Chateau was nothing (in fact, you don’t even tour it – you pass thru it to get to the gardens), but the grounds were extensive and the views will knock your socks off. You look down on Roque Gageac from the eastern side of the bluff, and across at Beynac from the west side – exactly where an outdoor restaurant is located. We nursed a full bottle of Badoit for about an hour while we took in the view of Beynac as the sun moved across the sky (we were there about 4:00). You can also get lunches at this place.

Stu Dudley

Thanks for the responses...I wrote that restaurrant down Stu. Will definitely go. Ira, I didn't know the hotels will pack a picnic for you...!

The reason I ask is that we would like to find time to eat at a really good restaurant for lunch if we couldn't drive there at night to dinner.

So everything closes....even tours of the caves. My kind of country.

You can always use the local stores and/or markets to buy items for a picnic lunch.

For lunch, here is where I would go:

1. L'Esplanade in Domme for a fantastic view and excellent food.

2. Meynardie in Salignac-Eyvigues - out in the forrest in a lovely old stone building. We had lunch there about 10 years ago.

3. Jardin d'Epicure for the food & outside dining, if it's warm.

There are some very nice places along the Vezere River close to where StCirq lives, but that's too far from where we stay & I've never dined at any of them (we do dinner only - lunch is a bag of pistachios or a jambon buerre sandwich)

Stu Dudley

The best restaurant, bar none, in the Beynac- Sarlat area is Hotel Bonnet. Telephone first to ensure it open. It is the last building on the left as you travel eastwards thro' Beynac (parking just past the hotel). Second choice (only because there can only be one first choice) is La Petite Tonnelle in Beynac. Park on the waterfront parking lot (no charge at lunch time)and walk up the gentle hill for 1 minute- Tonnelle is on the right. Both of these are first-class eateries; first class food in enjoyable surroundings. English spoken at both, if necessary. Enjoy.
Bruce