La Côte qui Descend

La Côte qui Descend
St Sornin
Phone: 0545 24 08 37

Tuesday, 24-January-17

Lunch here with Cath and Doug. We all had lamb meatballs for our mail. Nice desserts. Think the four courses must be €12 or €12.50 now since each couple was €27.60 including tea and coffee. Not great dining, but good value for money.

(We've eating here at least once in 2016, but don't know the date.)


Tuesday, 31-July-12

After a visit to the cave, including a calèche trip to the vineyards, four of us sat on the terrace and lunched here again. Still €11 for a meal including the salad bar, choice of main, cheese, dessert, and a liter of wine between us. Not great, but not bad. A pretty good value for the money.

Tuesday, 26-April-11

A group of eight lunched here after visiting the cave at St Sornin. The daily menu (menus ouvriers, for workers) includes a well-stocked salad bar, a large choice of main courses, dessert, and coffee, all for €11. The salad bar was great, the mains were so-so (although the steak-frites looked pretty good). Two of us had slices of ham topped with a sauce provençale, which tasted too much like Chef Boyardee for my taste.

Nothing special, but we'd consider going back if we needed to eat in the area.

La Table du Couvent

La Table du Couvent 
Limoges
Phone: 05 55 32 30 66

Sunday, 22-January-17

Lunched here today before going to the opera. Quite nice. We both had the terrine de campagne to start. Ed had a chunk of rumsteak cooked to his liking (too done for me). I had scallops à la Braise; not sure exactly what that means. They seem to have been cooked over fire, with a little liquid (beef stock perhaps?). Very tasty. Ed thought his crème caramel was so-so. My poire belle Hélène was very good, although I would have liked a fork to hold it down with while I spooned a bite. (Someone next to us had the cheese trolley. That looks like worth a go, but need to plan the meal for that.)

Tuesday, 19-January-16

This was another Groupon meal; in this case, they had a special Groupon menu, a lovely soup, boeuf bourguignon, dessert. It's a beefy place, complete with stuffed cow in the dining room, but the food and service were good. We wouldn't  make a special trip to eat here again, but would if it were handy to whatever we were doing.

Brise Bois

Brise Bois
Rouzède
Phone: 05 45 70 26 04

Wednesday, 20-April-16

When we first started coming to this area, we enjoyed eating at this restaurant several times. The dining room was small, the menu was limited, and the food quite good, if a bit along the steak-frites line. The last time we went was when Angela and Mat and family visited. The large new dining room was open and the food just so-so. The kids had a good time, though, since there were other Dutch kids around to play with. Six or more years later we tried it again the night Bill arrived. We were the only diners and  service was very nice. The food was so-so again. Lots of choice. Nothing very special. Ed and Bill had the strangest crème brulée with pudding instead of custard. Someplace to go if it's convenient, but not especially for the food.

Happy's American Diner

Happy's American Diner 
Limoges
Phone: 05 32 09 19 44

Tuesday, 5-January-15

We had a Groupon meal at this French hamburger joint made up like a 50s American diner. Fun place. Good burgers.

Chateau de la Redortière

Chateau de la Redortière
Lésignac-Durand
Phone: 05 45 65 07 62

Sunday, 15-November-15

We've eaten here several times, but seem to have neglected posting about it. The first time was my birthday before we moved here permanently. We've been with a large group. And we both think we've been another time on our own, but can't remember the occasion. It's a ferme-auberge, in a lovely old building that also serves as a chambres-d'hôtes. The menu is fixed and you choose your main course when you make the reservation.

This time we were celebrating Ed's birthday. We started with apéritifs. Then there was the soup/potage.  This one tasted of potato and celery or celeriac. For a starter there a flat quiche-y sort of thing that seemed slightly overdone; I'd guess the pastry was store-bought. For mains we both had veal, with chard stems and grated courgettes as sides. The sauce for the veal was vinegary or lemony, good, but odd. Then there was salad with cheeses from the dairy (same family) across the way. Then profiteroles; again the pastry might have been store-bought. Then coffee and tisane. For the meal we shared a demi-bouteille of Côtes de Blaye, chosen since we recently visited a winery in that area. A nice meal, not great. Nice setting.

L'Irlandais

L'Irlandais
Limoges
Phone: 05.55.32.46.47

Thursday, 30-July-15

Dinner where before a concert at the Espace Cité with Peg and Jim. Again, not bad, but not fantastic. Peg and I had the "Blue Burger," with a sauce of blue cheese. Ed had the duck burger again. Jim had the brochette of magret, maybe the big one since it looked like a lot. Frites and salad for all.

Thursday, 7-August-14

We had dinner here before a concert at the Espace Cité. (Actually we ate lunch here with Bill a couple of years ago, but didn't record it.) It's not bad. Nice Irish beer and cider on tap, and lots of Belgian beers. The food was OK, nothing fantastic, but edible and a nice outdoor location. I had a brochette with magret (available in small and big, and the small was more than enough). Ed had a duck hamburger, the duck being some slices of dried magret with a huge hamburger patty. Both plates with a bit of salad and a big portion of fries.

La Petite Flamenca

La Petite Flamenca
St Junien
Phone: 05.87.19.59.78

Wednesday, 8-July-15

We had lunch here before a glove factory tour. Food was good, very nice staff, but service was slow and confused. Enjoyable place to eat if you're not in a hurry.

La Saona

La Saona
La Rochefoucauld
Phone: 05.45.62.17.18

Wednesday, 20-May15

Pizza lunch here with Bill after finding all the other restaurants in La Roche closed! (Restaurant Le L has moved near Angoulême. Le Coq d'Or no longer serves food. The restaurant by the chateau, where we last ate with Zena and for which I've never made an entry here, will be re-opening soon under new management.) Pizzas were pretty darn good.

Friday, 27-February-15

Lunched here with Sally&Mike. Not too bad. A three-course meal with wine and coffee is €13. Starters were carpaccio, salmon "chiffonade", and charcuterie. Mains were veal Milanaise, a piece of beef (faux filet or bavette), and some kind of fish. Desserts were apple tart, chocolate, and something else. All we had was good. Good value for money.

Le Resto Basque

Le Resto Basque
Ecuras
Phone: 05.45 25.47.60

Charente Libre

Saturday, 15-Nov-14

We finally made it here for Ed's birthday lunch. Pretty good food, although tomato-less is a bit difficult. The weekend menu is €22; the weekday menu is €13.50. There's apparently no printed menu, just the selection on the chalkboards. With our apertifs there were some nice tapas/munchies. One was a blackish glop she said was calamares with squid ink. We thought it was very tasty, but not of seafood. I had axao de veau. a nice stew of veal. Ed had gambas a l'espagnol. Both good, substantial servings. Sides of frites were good, but too salty. (Can frites be too salty? Yes, it seems.) With a pichet of a non-descript rosé as the wine. Then we each had a slice of gâteau basque, which was needlessly swimming in créme anglaise. Worth a return visit.

Restaurant India

Restaurant India
Poitiers
Phone: 05 49 60 26 03

Saturday, 25-Oct-14

This restaurant was recommended on LIFT. Lunched here with Bill before a visit to a vineyard. Definitely so-so. Bill had one of the especially hot dishes and it was barely tingly. Everything passable, nothing especially good.

Quai No 8

Quai No 8
Angoulême
Phone: 05 45 92 27 85

Wednesday, 15-Oct-14

We had our anniversary lunch here, a restaurant long on our try-me list in a lovely location overlooking the Charente. The meal was OK. Neglected to write down what we had, and it's been too long to remember. We both thought we're glad we tried it, but wouldn't make an effort to go there again. If we needed to eat in the area, especially if the weather was good for eating outside, we might visit again.

Le Chergui

Le Chergui
Angoulême
Phone: 05 45 68 27 70

Friday, 23-May-14

We had a nice Moroccan dinner here with Bill before a concert. A three- menu was €18.90. Bourek, brick au thon, or Salad Orientale for starters. We had two boureks and one brick between us. (I made brick au thon not too long ago. Ed thought mine stood up pretty well. Happy face.) For the main, there was a choice of a couscous plate with various meats or a tajine. Between us we had each of the tajines on offer, lamb with prunes, chicken with prunes, lamb with olives. None outstanding, all reasonably good. For dessert, Ed had mousse au chocolate, which was quite good, while Bill and I had different choices from the oriental pastries. Worth another visit, at least for the couscous.

Le Lieu-Dit

Le Lieu-Dit
Angoulême
Phone: 05 45 95 17 17

Saturday, 17-May-14

Lunch here today before taking Barbara to the train. Nice shaded terrace. Menu with hamburgers, salads, tartines, etc. Pretty good. Service nice. Fun toilet.

Hotel Restaurant la Croix Blanche

Hotel Restaurant la Croix Blanche 
Chabanais
Phone: 05 45 89 01 44

Tuesday, 21-Jan-14

Lunched with the DORSOB group. A nice salad bar, you could easily lunch from this. The menu du jour was poulet à l'Indienne, which was fairly boring, yellow, only vaguely curry spiced. Gill's vegetarian pizza looked good. Reportedly fish is well-prepared and other menus du jour have been good. Good value for money, really. Looks like you can eat outside on the river in nice weather.

Cafe Clemence

Cafe Clemence
Chabanais
Phone: 05 45 31 83 95

Tuesday, 19-Dec-13

DORSOB lunch here, after we'd been meeting mornings for many months. Friendly atmosphere, ; nice salad bar; menu changes daily. Not great, but good value for money.

Wednesday, 17-Jul-13

Met Jody&Steve here for dinner before leading them back to our house. Reasonably nice meal. It's handy to meet visitors here, we discovered.

La Cassotte

La Cassotte
Nieul
Phone: 06 64 96 55 50,  05 45 71 40 77
review

Friday, 1-Nov-13

The plat du jour was €20 today. Perhaps because it's a holiday. That included starter (salmon and leeks in little lattice-topped tarts with a bit of lettuce), main (chicken yassa with rice), two cheeses with some lettuce, a pear dessert, coffee, and wine. It was okay, but nothing special. We had the idea that most of these dishes were the kind of pre-prepared dishes that have been giving restaurants a bad name of late. (Supposedly some kind of labeling may be required of restaurants before long.)

Thursday, 27-Jun-13

This restaurant is open with new owners, Laurent and Marie, although we never ate there before. Kaye went to a ladies' lunch there and the food was reasonable, worth another try. The vegetarian offering was a wonderful vegetable lasagna, mostly vegetables with a very light sauce.

Hours are from 7.30am until the last person leaves. Open 7 days a week, serving a €12.90 plat du jour and a la carte as well as snacks.

Chez Cisseen

Chez Cisseen
L'Arbre
Phone: 05 45 66 13 95

Friday, 30-Aug-13

This is our closest restaurant, where we've eaten many times, now transformed into a Jamaican restaurant only (i.e., no more fish-and-chips, Indian, etc.) The food is good, but served buffet style, which I'm a bit prejudiced against. But easy for Yvonne, since this is kind of a one-woman show.

Au Fil de l'Eau

Au Fil de l'Eau
Brantôme
Phone: 0553057365

Saturday, 4-May-13

Lovely town, attractive restaurant, boring food. With Bill, after the Phoenix booksale in Campsegret and a bit of touristing in Perigueux. Food was OK, but not memorable. For a starter I had friture d'ablette, which was a bunch of small freshwater fish fried up, an eat-'em-all sort of thing. Not bad, but too much food. Memorable, I guess, since I've never had that before.

Chez Paul

Chez Paul
Angoulême
Phone: 05.45.90.04.61

Monday, 15-Oct-12

We used a Groupon coupon for our anniversary lunch. This is a trendy place in Angoulême. The food was nice enough, but not extra special. The service was a bit abrupt, and they were clearly anxious for us to go away when it got to be 14.00. This is a lovely terrace in back, so it could be a nice place to sit in terrace weather.

Le Coq d'Or

Le Coq d'Or
La Rochefoucauld
Phone: 08 99 23 59 85

Friday, 24-Aug-12

Nice bar atmosphere. Decent food, nothing special. You will eat today's menu, with a choice only for dessert. €14pp for soup, starter, main, cheese, dessert, wine, and coffee. (We suspect they might have charged us for aperitifs which we didn't have.)