Restaurant for Dinner in Sarlat
Aug 10th, 2009 | 06:05 AM
#1
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Restaurant for Dinner in Sarlat
Hello there,
Hubby and I will be arriving in Sarlat on Sat Aug 29 evening and want to go for dinner in town. I've been searching for some recommendations but many are old, or are for restaurants out of town. Can someone recommend a good place that has menus in the €25 - 30 per person range?
Merci!
Hubby and I will be arriving in Sarlat on Sat Aug 29 evening and want to go for dinner in town. I've been searching for some recommendations but many are old, or are for restaurants out of town. Can someone recommend a good place that has menus in the €25 - 30 per person range?
Merci!
Aug 10th, 2009 | 07:51 AM
#2
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le Presidial - we dined there in mid June. Good menu at 19E, another at 25E, and around 40E too. Very nice outside dining area in a courtyard, & beautiful interior dining room. We've dined there 3 times. However, I think they have "dumbed down" their menu a tad from what it was the last time we were there in '05.
The other places where we've dined in Sarlat are not in the old section of town.
Stu Dudley
The other places where we've dined in Sarlat are not in the old section of town.
Stu Dudley
Aug 10th, 2009 | 08:15 AM
#3
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I would also suggest Le Presidial. Their outdoor dining area was gorgeous, This restaurant was the place in the Dordogne that we saw the most other non-French (we were there in May 2007).
Another place we ate at, which is just outside the historic center, but within very easy walking distance, was Bistro de l'Octroi. I'd read many good things about it, but I wasn't terribly impressed. Not as original a cuisine as I expected, and prices were higher than I expected, as well. I would recommend Le Presidian over the Bistro.
Another place we ate at, which is just outside the historic center, but within very easy walking distance, was Bistro de l'Octroi. I'd read many good things about it, but I wasn't terribly impressed. Not as original a cuisine as I expected, and prices were higher than I expected, as well. I would recommend Le Presidian over the Bistro.
Aug 10th, 2009 | 08:23 AM
#4
Joined: Nov 2003
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jamikins...
I will second Stu's recommendation of Le Presidial. I was there last September and went for the 40 euro menu, but as Stu mentions they had 2 less expensive choices.
I've pasted in the section of my trip report about the meal I had there:
"We then found our first pick restaurant for dinner, the Presidial (a Pudlo pick), and made an 8pm reservation. It looked great from the outside and the menu looked even better. By now we were ready to have our usual pre-dinner aperitif, so we found a café in the town square and we had a few drinks while watching the sun go down and the street lights come on.
Just before 8pm we walked back over to the Presidial at 6, rue Landry. This was one of the larger restaurants we ate at; there were 2 dinning rooms, one rather large and then a smaller one that had only 6 tables. There was also ample covered outside dinning. When we arrived almost every table inside was full.
We both had the €42 menu. I started with the lobster ravioli and mom had the foie gras, both were excellent. My main was pan fried scallops, there were 6 huge scallops, and puree of broccoli surrounded by a wide peel of carrot. Mom had the tournad of beef with haricots and potatoes. My main dish was delicious, but mom definitely had the winner in this meal. The beef was done to perfection! We also had a bottle of Rose wine.
Next was the cheese course and we both had the goat cheese served with lettuce and a walnut dressing which was wonderful…well, let me be honest, there isn’t really any cheese that I wouldn’t like!
The best part of the meal for me was the dessert. We both had the same thing and it was called Emotion of Dark Chocolate. It was a base of dark chocolate cookie with chocolate mousse on top served in the form of a disk, it was chocolaty goodness! We capped it off with espresso.
A really delicious meal and the total for it all was €115."
I will second Stu's recommendation of Le Presidial. I was there last September and went for the 40 euro menu, but as Stu mentions they had 2 less expensive choices.
I've pasted in the section of my trip report about the meal I had there:
"We then found our first pick restaurant for dinner, the Presidial (a Pudlo pick), and made an 8pm reservation. It looked great from the outside and the menu looked even better. By now we were ready to have our usual pre-dinner aperitif, so we found a café in the town square and we had a few drinks while watching the sun go down and the street lights come on.
Just before 8pm we walked back over to the Presidial at 6, rue Landry. This was one of the larger restaurants we ate at; there were 2 dinning rooms, one rather large and then a smaller one that had only 6 tables. There was also ample covered outside dinning. When we arrived almost every table inside was full.
We both had the €42 menu. I started with the lobster ravioli and mom had the foie gras, both were excellent. My main was pan fried scallops, there were 6 huge scallops, and puree of broccoli surrounded by a wide peel of carrot. Mom had the tournad of beef with haricots and potatoes. My main dish was delicious, but mom definitely had the winner in this meal. The beef was done to perfection! We also had a bottle of Rose wine.
Next was the cheese course and we both had the goat cheese served with lettuce and a walnut dressing which was wonderful…well, let me be honest, there isn’t really any cheese that I wouldn’t like!
The best part of the meal for me was the dessert. We both had the same thing and it was called Emotion of Dark Chocolate. It was a base of dark chocolate cookie with chocolate mousse on top served in the form of a disk, it was chocolaty goodness! We capped it off with espresso.
A really delicious meal and the total for it all was €115."
Aug 10th, 2009 | 08:23 AM
#5
Joined: Dec 2005
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Both Le Presidial and The Bistro de l'Octroi are good. Most Sarladais would vote for the Octroi, considered the best value for money.
Certainly the setting for the Presidial is lovely, especially on a summer night. The food tends to be heavier, but good.
Either would be a good choice
Certainly the setting for the Presidial is lovely, especially on a summer night. The food tends to be heavier, but good.
Either would be a good choice
Aug 10th, 2009 | 10:32 AM
#7
Joined: Mar 2003
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I was disappointed by l'Octroi the one time we went there. But I recommend <i>Le Grand Bleu</i> near the train station. Reservations are necessary, although they lost ours but sat us anyway. Le Quat' Saison is worth it, particularly if you can be seated on the upstairs terrace.
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Aug 10th, 2009 | 11:19 AM
#8
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Like Michael - we were a little disappointed with l'Octroi - especially compared with le Maynardie - their former restaurant. Food was OK, but the service was very poor. It took us 45 mins to get our bill - after asking for it 3-4 times. Amuse Bouche was a dish of potato chips??
Grand Bleu was nice - but not really within walking distance of old town. I would put it in the lower third of all the Michelin 1 star restaurants we've dined at.
From my wife's diary:
Le Presidial in Sarlat 05 53 28 92 47
Sept ‘05
We had reserved for dinner at the Presidial in Sarlat, but went to town early for a beer/wine before dinner. The evening was very warm and the townspeople/tourists who remained at 7PM were strolling without great purpose through the streets of town. We stopped at a café on the main square. Sarlat was simply magical at that time of evening. As we looked around the square and down the adjacent streets, it was rather awesome to think that the town is essentially as it was hundreds of years ago: stone buildings, some with half-timbering, some times awkwardly placed, one adjacent to another; imposing “public type” buildings next to smaller ones with their inconsistent, wildly sloping rooflines often set off by slate tiles glimmering in the last day sun rays. If straw were spread in the streets and the people changed into medieval garb, I hazard to say that you’d swear you had been catapulted several hundred years back in time.
Our dinner spot was absolutely captivating! I’m just speculating, but it seemed to have been a very upscale home at one time, made of golden stone with a black/charcoal slate roof with a small round corner tower and a dome/minaret shaped belvedere-type ornament perched in the middle of the roof. Since the evening was very warm & still, the dining was set up in the beautiful garden/courtyard. All this essentially in the middle of the center of Sarlat! I can’t imagine a more enchanting setting – I was truly in heaven. We had an amuse bouche plate of treats: smoked salmon slices with caviar on toast, puff npastry savories & cooked quail eggs with a creamy sauce.
Stu had the menu a 40E
-A coquille St Jacques salad – greens topped with several horizontally-sliced (but still joined) seared scallops, dressed with a lobster vinaigrette and topped with a small slice of foie gras poele, accompanied by tomato slices.
-Pigeoneau stuffed with cepes with a Perigord sauce, with pommes dauphinoise, & grilled eggplant.
-Cabecou on a bed of greens
-Tart tatin
I had the menu of 26E (still can’t believe the prices)
-Saumon marine: a boule of diced salmon “wrapped” in a thin salmon slice, served with a vinaigrette & herbs & capers
-Fillet of Daurade in a buttery fish stock sauce
-Cabecou
-Nougat Glacee, this time accompanied by a red berry sorbet.
We dined here again with friends. This time we dined inside and the décor/ambience was lovely. It was just as enjoyable as dining outside.
June ’09:
The dinner was not as elegant as it was on our two previous visits. However, the restaurant offered a very good 19E menu and another 25E menu. I’ll leave it in the “Top 6” – mainly because walking through Sarlat in the evening is remarkable, and the ambience of the restaurant is quite nice.
Le Grand Bleu in Sarlat 05 53 31 08 48
June ‘09
Michelin 1 star (Michelin 1 knife/fork – which is rare for a 1-star restaurant).
Although this was “only” a 1 knife/fork, my impression was that the restaurant was simple, but sophisticated and, minimally, the artwork displayed was truly memorable, but not in a classic ‘pleasing paintings on the wall’ sort of way. All the artwork was obviously done by one person and consisted of pieces/portions of metal signage arranged as a collage-type ‘painting’. Some of the pieces were multi-colored, as different signs tend to be, while one that I found to be particularly appealing and memorable was composed entirely of signs in red (for example the classic ‘do not enter’, sign and others that are harder to recall). The metal sign-based art drew my eye all evening and I truly believe I would have considered purchasing an all-red one if the opportunity had presented itself. I have never seen anything this unique and found it to be a refreshing contrast to the stylish somewhat classic French interior.
We started out with 3 amuse-bouche items: Smoked duck on a crisp, a St Pierre (fish) beignet, and ravioli stuffed with ricotta, olive, and walnut.
Stu had the menu a 60E:
- Langoustines on apple salad with Szechwan pepper and crustacean ice cream
- St. Pierre accompanied with a vegetable confit gateau (cake) served with a warm vinaigrette
- Ris de veau on a potato mousseline with shallot butter and port syrup
- Peach soufflé with peach confit, vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce
Ellen had the menu a 33E
- Salmon sushi with mango basmati ice cream and combawa oil
- Cabillaud served on a nettle coulis with sweet garlic and argan oil
- (Same peach soufflé as Stu)
Le Bistro de l’Octroi in Sarlat 05 53 30 83 40
June ‘09
This restaurant sits on a ‘point’ between 2 streets in Sarlat, not in the heart of the historic district, but somewhat outside that area, but still within the city. Though we would have ordinarily felt hesitant to sit outside under those circumstances, the terrace did look appealing while, the inside looked less so on a warm evening. It turned out that the terrace was very pleasant, not particularly noisy and I had a dreamy view of the late day sun bathing the old buildings across the way with golden light. The servers were a bit understaffed, so service was a bit slow, but the ambiance of the evening offset what might have been a too-slow meal.
As we had eaten many cheese and dessert courses over the past days, we both opted for the a la carte menu for our choices.
I had:
- The tartine of cabecous (goat cheese) with salad
- Poele (sautéed) scallops (noix de St. Jacques) with cepe sauce and a small square cepe frittata accompanied by white lentils
Stu had:
- Salad of ris d’agneau
- Scallops with sautéed foie gras and summer truffles and salad
- Lotte au saffron with a cepe frittato and while lentils
Stu Dudley
Grand Bleu was nice - but not really within walking distance of old town. I would put it in the lower third of all the Michelin 1 star restaurants we've dined at.
From my wife's diary:
Le Presidial in Sarlat 05 53 28 92 47
Sept ‘05
We had reserved for dinner at the Presidial in Sarlat, but went to town early for a beer/wine before dinner. The evening was very warm and the townspeople/tourists who remained at 7PM were strolling without great purpose through the streets of town. We stopped at a café on the main square. Sarlat was simply magical at that time of evening. As we looked around the square and down the adjacent streets, it was rather awesome to think that the town is essentially as it was hundreds of years ago: stone buildings, some with half-timbering, some times awkwardly placed, one adjacent to another; imposing “public type” buildings next to smaller ones with their inconsistent, wildly sloping rooflines often set off by slate tiles glimmering in the last day sun rays. If straw were spread in the streets and the people changed into medieval garb, I hazard to say that you’d swear you had been catapulted several hundred years back in time.
Our dinner spot was absolutely captivating! I’m just speculating, but it seemed to have been a very upscale home at one time, made of golden stone with a black/charcoal slate roof with a small round corner tower and a dome/minaret shaped belvedere-type ornament perched in the middle of the roof. Since the evening was very warm & still, the dining was set up in the beautiful garden/courtyard. All this essentially in the middle of the center of Sarlat! I can’t imagine a more enchanting setting – I was truly in heaven. We had an amuse bouche plate of treats: smoked salmon slices with caviar on toast, puff npastry savories & cooked quail eggs with a creamy sauce.
Stu had the menu a 40E
-A coquille St Jacques salad – greens topped with several horizontally-sliced (but still joined) seared scallops, dressed with a lobster vinaigrette and topped with a small slice of foie gras poele, accompanied by tomato slices.
-Pigeoneau stuffed with cepes with a Perigord sauce, with pommes dauphinoise, & grilled eggplant.
-Cabecou on a bed of greens
-Tart tatin
I had the menu of 26E (still can’t believe the prices)
-Saumon marine: a boule of diced salmon “wrapped” in a thin salmon slice, served with a vinaigrette & herbs & capers
-Fillet of Daurade in a buttery fish stock sauce
-Cabecou
-Nougat Glacee, this time accompanied by a red berry sorbet.
We dined here again with friends. This time we dined inside and the décor/ambience was lovely. It was just as enjoyable as dining outside.
June ’09:
The dinner was not as elegant as it was on our two previous visits. However, the restaurant offered a very good 19E menu and another 25E menu. I’ll leave it in the “Top 6” – mainly because walking through Sarlat in the evening is remarkable, and the ambience of the restaurant is quite nice.
Le Grand Bleu in Sarlat 05 53 31 08 48
June ‘09
Michelin 1 star (Michelin 1 knife/fork – which is rare for a 1-star restaurant).
Although this was “only” a 1 knife/fork, my impression was that the restaurant was simple, but sophisticated and, minimally, the artwork displayed was truly memorable, but not in a classic ‘pleasing paintings on the wall’ sort of way. All the artwork was obviously done by one person and consisted of pieces/portions of metal signage arranged as a collage-type ‘painting’. Some of the pieces were multi-colored, as different signs tend to be, while one that I found to be particularly appealing and memorable was composed entirely of signs in red (for example the classic ‘do not enter’, sign and others that are harder to recall). The metal sign-based art drew my eye all evening and I truly believe I would have considered purchasing an all-red one if the opportunity had presented itself. I have never seen anything this unique and found it to be a refreshing contrast to the stylish somewhat classic French interior.
We started out with 3 amuse-bouche items: Smoked duck on a crisp, a St Pierre (fish) beignet, and ravioli stuffed with ricotta, olive, and walnut.
Stu had the menu a 60E:
- Langoustines on apple salad with Szechwan pepper and crustacean ice cream
- St. Pierre accompanied with a vegetable confit gateau (cake) served with a warm vinaigrette
- Ris de veau on a potato mousseline with shallot butter and port syrup
- Peach soufflé with peach confit, vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce
Ellen had the menu a 33E
- Salmon sushi with mango basmati ice cream and combawa oil
- Cabillaud served on a nettle coulis with sweet garlic and argan oil
- (Same peach soufflé as Stu)
Le Bistro de l’Octroi in Sarlat 05 53 30 83 40
June ‘09
This restaurant sits on a ‘point’ between 2 streets in Sarlat, not in the heart of the historic district, but somewhat outside that area, but still within the city. Though we would have ordinarily felt hesitant to sit outside under those circumstances, the terrace did look appealing while, the inside looked less so on a warm evening. It turned out that the terrace was very pleasant, not particularly noisy and I had a dreamy view of the late day sun bathing the old buildings across the way with golden light. The servers were a bit understaffed, so service was a bit slow, but the ambiance of the evening offset what might have been a too-slow meal.
As we had eaten many cheese and dessert courses over the past days, we both opted for the a la carte menu for our choices.
I had:
- The tartine of cabecous (goat cheese) with salad
- Poele (sautéed) scallops (noix de St. Jacques) with cepe sauce and a small square cepe frittata accompanied by white lentils
Stu had:
- Salad of ris d’agneau
- Scallops with sautéed foie gras and summer truffles and salad
- Lotte au saffron with a cepe frittato and while lentils
Stu Dudley
Aug 10th, 2009 | 11:19 AM
#9
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,707
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Well, yes, the Grand Bleu is great, just a little pricier than some of the others, and quite formal, as it is a MIchelin one star - although less formal than many other starred restaurants. If you do want to eat there, make sure to have a reservation in advance. Otherwise, it's HIGHLY unlikely that you will get in on a Saturday night.
Le Quatre Saisons - very variable. I have had good meals there, and at least one atrocious. Gets good reviews from a number of people, as long as you don't hit it on a bad night. We've pretty well decided to give it a miss from now on.
Le Quatre Saisons - very variable. I have had good meals there, and at least one atrocious. Gets good reviews from a number of people, as long as you don't hit it on a bad night. We've pretty well decided to give it a miss from now on.
Aug 10th, 2009 | 11:27 AM
#10
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,707
Likes: 0
'Our dinner spot was absolutely captivating! I’m just speculating, but it seemed to have been a very upscale home at one time, made of golden stone with a black/charcoal slate roof with a small round corner tower and a dome/minaret shaped belvedere-type ornament perched in the middle of the roof.'
In fact the Presidial building is the former seat of Royal Justice in Sarlat, built in 1640. It was abandoned for many years, and was converted into a restaurant about 10 years ago. The roof, which is indeed strange, resembles Darth Vader's helmet, and is useful when directing people to the building.
In fact the Presidial building is the former seat of Royal Justice in Sarlat, built in 1640. It was abandoned for many years, and was converted into a restaurant about 10 years ago. The roof, which is indeed strange, resembles Darth Vader's helmet, and is useful when directing people to the building.
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