Set in the wonderful Place de la Canourgue (one of the few squares in Montpellier with a garden), this lively and central restaurant is a popular eating place and bar. In the summer there are plenty of tables outside but the service can be a bit slow at busy times. You may need to book. The food on the whole is good and ecclectic with a menu that changes frequently. One of my favourite Montpellier lunch-time spots.

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Finally - a decent Indian restaurant - after hunting high and low and encountering many disappointments. Puja is run by an Indian family from Mauritius, and the food is very tasty and pretty authentic (but never hot alas) and very reasonably priced. It's a tiny little restaurant, quite central, with a few tables on the pavement, in not the most glamorous area of Montpellier (this may explain the low prices) - but the food makes it worth it. We also used it for Friday night take-aways - ahhh, the tastes of home... Much better value than the mediocre and expensive Rajastan.

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Located just a bit down the street from the St Roch church, in the middle of Montpellier, this is one of the few remaining places you can get a good but modest, three course meal for about 10E, the price of the first menu. There is a lot of choice on the menus, with my favorite point being the assortment of 5 or 6 different vegetables that come on the plate with your main course. The downside of this restaurant is the very slow service, but if you have the time, they have a big terrace, a small main room, and a large annex. It is very popular because of the low prices, so you may want to reserve. Wine by the carafe not bad at all, and try a piece of pie for dessert. Choices and perhaps quality increses with the menu prices. Fish dishes in the higher priced menus were very good.

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In the center of Montpellier, this is one of my favorites for quality-price ratio. There is a very good variety of choice in the menus, with beautiful presentations. The quality of the food and presentation are what you would expect from a much fancier place. The restaurant itself is modest. I have never eaten anything here that wasn't very, very good, and would encourage anyone looking for a good place with reasonable prices to try this one. I think they are only open for dinner.

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Cost for two: 150 € plus. Web: www.jardin-des-sens.com The Pourcel brothers can take much of the credit for raising Montpellier out of the dining wilderness in the 1990's. They have trained many of the regions younger chefs, see for example Le Temps de Vivre, and opened restaurants all over the world. The nearest of these is Chateau du Port down the cost in Marseillan. Le Jardin des Sens reached the heights of three Michelin stars (although recently lost one due to the prolonged absence of the owners) and remains a flagship. There is also a bistro annex. There is also an excellent lunch set menu, which offers great value for those not willing to pay the a la carte prices.

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A warm, friendly, traditonal -looking restaurant that always seems to be busy midday and evenings. The food is typically French but on the lighter, more modern side, and the wine list is great. They get a 13/20 rating in the 2007 Gault-Millau guide, which is well deserved. A nice option are the Cote Mer or Cote Terre plates that offer you a mixture of various dishes, either Meat or Fish-based, with a similar "little bit of everything" dessert platter. The dinner menu at 26 euros offers good value.

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Izakaya is a highly popular Japanese noodle, sushi and sashimi bar (it bills itself as a resto-snack japonais, which doesn't really do it justice). In a pretty part of Montpellier, near the Carre Sainte Anne, this place serves super-fresh (made to order) sushi and sashimi, as well as a good choice of noodle and rice-based dishes, for rock-bottom prices. No wonder it's always packed with younger people. The lighting is a little off (someone needs to tell them to ditch the spotlights and invest in some uplighters) and the clientele likes to puff, but that will all change in a year or so when the ban on smoking in public places comes into force. Delicious Japanese food served by friendly Japanese staff.

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The perfect place for a romantic "diner a deux". A fantastic gastronomic experience; this is where you come for a splurge, and Prouheze Saveurs' prices are more than justified. In summer you can dine outside in the courtyard under huge white parasols, everyone dresses up and it feels very special. Only down side is the location: slap bang on a busy road, as soon as you step outside you know you're back in the real world.

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Good for celebrating your engagement, wedding anniversary, PACS agreement or any other special occasion. It's on the corner of formal and smart, so ditch the denim. Not cheap, but since when has tip-top posh nosh been cheap, anyway? Located just off the pretty Place Marche aux Fleurs , where you should sit out for your pre-dinner apero, Les Vignes is a smart joint with attentive service, delightful food and some very nice touches: we're talking teeny weeny sorbets to refresh your palate and all manner of tasty titbits that arrive, unasked for, just to tempt your tastebuds while you wait for your next dish to arrive. I can't wait to go back.

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One of Montpellier's biggies. The Gault-Millau 2007 guide gives it a mighty 16/20, and this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime (or if you're lucky, once a month but on someone else's expense account) experiences. My future in-laws paid for me and my husband-to-be to eat ourselves silly here, as a pre-wedding gift. Nice one. The dishes are beautifully prepared and presented and the service is quietly attentive. Oddest moment is when the aligot server comes to your table: aligot is a "fancy mashed potato with garlic and stringy cheese" regional speciality: I felt duty-bound to order the stuff. A waiter arrives at your table with a trolley from which he serves the super-elastic cheesy mash, scooping it out and then twirling it in the air several times before letting it cascade down onto your plate from a height of several feet. Like I say, odd. Gastronomic food at astronomic prices.

Cost for two: 120 €. (April 2006) Web www.celliermorel.com Conveniently located in the center of the old town Pierre Morel's dishes are carefully prepared along simple clean lines with good ingredients, although our latest visit found a gear change in dish complexity that was often unnecessary. Nevertheless a pleasant cool cellar ambiance, lively diners and excellent staff make this an enjoyable package. Last but not least Eric Cellier has been expanding the wine list.

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This is a well known address on the Montpellier scene - elegant stone vaults, crisp linen and a fine menu await you. The food is reputedly excellent but each time I've eaten there the reputation has been greater than the repas. Yes, it's good but not great. One meal was spoiled by the number of smokers surrounding us. Perhaps La Diligence is a little self indulgent and needs some diligent refreshing.

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Just superb. Les Bains retains many of the architectural treasures from its former days as a spa; the cubicles in the colonnades and an open courtyard are delightful. But, this is much more than a fine building; there is bar to people-watch, alcoves with hidden tables for private meals a deux or just an elegant central dining area. The food is perfectly cooked, present and portioned - it gives me hope that French cuisine isn't resting on its laurels. Enticingly, the staff are as handsome as the menu. I'd go again and again.

Beautiful food in a beautiful environment. My starter of chevre rolled in beetroot sounded a little odd - but was gorgeous. Light and fresh. Veal with a selection of fresh musrooms was also excellent. And the 3 creme brulees were wonderful. The waiter, though quite attractive, was a littls surly - but then, this IS France. The decor was elegant, with old wood floors and lots of stone. A courtyard means you can also eat al fresco in summer.

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A good spot in central Montpellier where restaurants appear to be booming and overflow onto the pavements. The cooking is more interesting and refined than most of the everyday establishments in the area, plus you don't pay much of a premium. We found the fish dishes fresh, generous, well cooked and tasty. In fine weather dine outside in the Place Saint-Come. Cost for two: 65 €

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Cost for two: 88 €. Montpellier is a growing town. Sequoia is located near the south eastern end of the tramway (stop Port Marianne, head for the Bassin Jacques Coeur) in a modern development. The restaurant feels more Pacific rim than French with a pavement setting by a large lake; palm trees; contemporary bright decor and the oriental influenced food. The chef, as is de-rigour for new chefs anywhere near Montpellier, worked at Le Jardin de Sens. The simple lunch menu (18 € two courses) featured a green bean salad with oriental dressing and swordfish with a pleasant two tone sauce. From the carte St. Marcelin en croustillant was tasty, while ratatouille stuffed small red peppers only lacked variety. For dessert raspberry macaroons with fruit coulis and "milk-shake" glace were perhaps a bit simple.

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L'Edelweiss is a new restaurant, opened in Montpellier by a couple who used to have a similar restaurant in Nimes. It specializes in Swiss cuisine, with a good background of traditional French food on the menu. Some of the Swiss specialities include fondues of all sorts and 'Pierres chaudes' my favorite, with either meat or fish and a variety of sauces. The quality of the food is excellent, and the prices very attractive. The restaurant is open for lunch everyday, and dinner only on Friday evenings. Last time I was there I had the 'Marché' menu for 11 euros, first course, main course and dessert. The first course was a lovely and very French paté made of pork and greens, served with a small salad on the side, the main course was fish with butter and lemon sauce and nice vegetable sides of a baked potato and some green beans with shallots. Dessert was a very unusual and good cold terrine of citrus fruits in honey jelly with a scoop of gingerbread ice cream. Everything I just described was 11 euros. One of my current favorites, you won't be sorry to tried it. Call to make reservations, last time I was there, people had come all the way from Nimes for dinner!

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Recently taken over and revamped, La Reserve Rimbaud is now one of Montpellier's smartest and most expensive fine dining addresses. Its has a great location beside the River Lez in the leafy suburb of Les Aubes (ask for a table out on the deck) and the decor is tasteful shades of white and mushroom. The clientele is well-heeled, the food is beautifully prepared and served, and the whole experience is very upmarket. Lunchtime set menu is 27 euros, evenings 45 euros, or go a la carte with starters from 14, mains from 26, desserts from 9. Luxury on a dinner plate. Divine!

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Another little gem tucked away in a sweet square that is shared by a number of restaurants. Sitting outside in the shade, we enjoyed an delightful lunch. The food is fairly traditional, tasty and simple and great value too. But it is the location and staff that set this place apart. Cheerful staff look after you and given the square is mins walk from the centre of the city, it is a great spot - not too busy but still a good buzz. If you don't like to look of this place then there are a number of others to choose from and a nice looking wine bar too.

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A former garden centre, this restaurant is large, airy and well-lit. A substantial barbecue outside caters for a sizeable shady al fresco area. The staff welcome you warmly and sincerely - no false bonhomie here or snobby attitude, and the place is packed, as a result, at lunch times towards the end of the week with locals and business people in search of interesting food in stylish, pleasant surroundings. Lunch time prices include 2 dishes for 15Eur or 3 for 19Eur. They also off a green salad, main dish and dessert in one go for those in a hurry (15Eur) at lunchtime. Recommended for the warmth of the staff, the tasty, interesting food, and the peaceful surroundings.

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