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.

Review this restaurant

Overlooking the pretty fountain on St Andre's main square, this restaurant-cum-hotel is well worth a visit if you're heading into the Cevennes. Modern, sometimes quirky, twists on traditional favourites (soupe de chataignes, cassole de sanglier), sit next to modern and off-the-wall combinations (champignons et pruneaux, poires rotis en crumble) with lots of delicately prepared 'amuses-bouche' between courses. As well as an 'a la carte', which changes seasonally, there are four 'formules' available, two mixing and matching dishes from the 'a la carte', and a further two very reasonable options: entree + plat or plat + dessert for 20€, and entree + plat + dessert for 25€. For the high quality of cuisine (the best in the Cevennes in my experience), this represents really excellent value for money. The restaurant was closed for 18 months and re-opened under new mangement in August 1006. Already it's attracting clients from far and wide: get there while you can.

Review this restaurant

Cost for two: 70 €. May 2004 Located in the central ring of the town you will find some cleanly executed dishes using first class fresh ingredients. The weekday set lunch is a bargain and suggest that the carte is well worth exploring, although our desserts from the carte were a little disjointed. There is an attractive courtyard for outside dining. Pricey wines - but then you are in Provençe territory here.

Review this restaurant

Well known country restaurant, situated on hillside. Specialities Trout and Roasts. Popular for lunch. Must book. Closed Fridays. Approx.20 mins.from Olonzac

If you're looking for food with any flair, inventiveness or lots of flavour, avoid this restaurant. This is Languedoc cuisine at its most basic - lots of unflavoured meat dumped unceremoniously on a plate. The restaurant is in a large beer hall type room with an impressive ceiling - in the tiny hamlet of Fauzan. The punters are mostly ageing farmers and their dumpy wives, who come here for good, solid traditional fare - thickly sliced ham, home-made (rather tasteless) pates, pan-fried shrimp (which were tough) and roast pintard (a little dry, with no hint of herbs or garlic). Their specialty desert is baked alaska - which is alright.

Review this restaurant

Cost for two: 130 €. April 2004 and many visits email: [email protected] The airport is a small local affair and Garons is a sleepy town but Alexandre has a refreshing garden setting with friendly and helpful staff. Here the cooking is vibrant with Provençale colours and ingredients - yes this is no longer the rustic Languedoc. New for 2004 is a rebuild of the kitchen and dining room but we miss the conservatory and its fountain.

Review this restaurant

Cost for two: 65 €. Review date: October 2003 and April 2000 Lutz Engelmann of the Auberge du Cedre sent us to this gem of a bistro in central Nîmes. What you will find is a range of freshly prepared and keenly priced dishes and friendly staff. On the wine front expect to choose from a handful of simple regional gems.

Review this restaurant

Cost for two: Lunch 65 €. Web: http://yurip.free.fr/canpeio/ Peio is the Catalan chef/owner of a this 100% Catalan restaurant situated north east of Montpelier. The location is a brilliantly converted disused railway station with many original features preserved. The food is outstanding everyday (tapas) fayre, but equally welcome is the totally refreshing atmosphere of the place - you can see more on their Web Site. My only gripe would be to see some local fine wines to compete with Peio's Spanish Catalan selection, but that said the house Languedoc is well sourced. Note that Peio opens on Mondays and closes Wednesday.

According to their web site Can Peio is, sadly, definitively closed.

Review this restaurant

Cost for two: 70 to 90 €. Review: June 2005. Web: www.laroseblanche.fr A recommendation from local Peter Hornby of the languedoc page brought us to sleepy Boisseron for lunch. The vaulted air conditioned dining room has character and there is also a small sun trap of a patio garden. Cooking is competent - a generous seared scallop dish and rouget with a sauce incorporating its liver were enjoyable main dishes from the 33€ menu carte. The only spoilers were a rotten raspberry in a chocolate nems dessert and the distant staff - hopefully the personalities behind the place were just temporarily absent.

Review this restaurant

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.

Review this restaurant

To celebrate 4 years in Languedoc we went out to this restaurant after hearing many good reports - and were not disappointed. It was a Tuesday night so the place was a bit quiet but we were soon joined by 8 other diners which helped to liven the place up a bit.
The restaurant decor is smart and modern but lacks soul. Made up of 4 dining-rooms and a covered patio. The staff (and there was no shortage of them) were delightful and very helpful with the menu. We chose a special 6 course ‘discovery’ menu which we all had and asked that it include two particular dishes that we liked the sound of.
Entree: scallops served on a hot rock (still cooking) with a bowl of potato ‘foam’ with spinach and parmesan flakes to dip them into. Beautiful scallops and the foam was light in both texture and flavour so the delicate scallops came through.
Fish: fillet of Rouget served on a bed of calamari cooked in ink, with new potatoes. The fish was beautifully cooked and the bed of calamari delicious.
Meat: Moroccan lamb - the most tender piece of lamb I have had in a long time cooked to perfection with subtle spices served with various sauces on the plate, red pepper, a wonderful lemon sauce that gave the dish a new dimension and a harissa sauce.
Cheese: an impressive selection of cheeses the Margual was excellent.
Desserts: the first a divine pear soufflé with a spoonful of pear souorbet dropped in the middle and then a dash of Poire William - so light and with an intense flavour. Then can a chocolate affair with caramel brittle - looked amazing but disappointing.
Overall the prentation was stunning and we ate like Kings. Even though it sounds like a huge amount of food we were not over-full as the portion size was well judged. The wine menu was interesting and covered many other regions of France and included a choice of magnums too which was nice to see. Cost per head for this menu (including two bottles of wine) €75, however if you ate from the carte the cost could be considerably less.
I would recommend this place as the food is certainly not 'run of the mill' and Fabien Lefebvre is producing some exciting food from local produce.

I find it so much more difficult reviewing the food serverd at 'fancy' restaurants. The trick is to peel away all the pretention - the decor, the presentation, the rarity of the ingredients, the deferential showmanship of the staff - and judge just the food. And the food at Octopus is good - but just not that good when you consider the high prices. It's very imaginative, experimental, and beautifully presented. But I found the flavous a little mute and some of the combinations just didn't work. The food at L'Ambassade is better - even though the decor is atrotious and the service awfully stiff. The decor at Octopus was pleasant - but really not that special. Not compared to similarly priced restaurants in London. It was a little like an upmarket PizzaExpress to be honest. I suppose that's where the French really stumble when it comes to food. Too much deference and pretention - and an inability to question a prevailing food 'authority 'that holds prissy decorativeness and expensive ingredients above flavour.

Review this restaurant

Pleasant restaurant in the port de Meze, seating outside in summer. Good range of seafood and other well cooked dishes.Standard of food and service a pleasant surprise.Popular with locals, must book.

Review this restaurant

Fab little restaurant. Traditional food with a modern twist.And not a bite wasted! (My husband was most upset that he didn`t get a share of my steak!) Cooked to perfection and beautifully presented. Decor; walls covered in autographed pics of all the great film stars, lots of antiques in a tranquil, lamplit atmosphere.Tempted to keep it a secret!

Review this restaurant

A great find with something for everyone's palate. The hors d'oeuvres buffet is wide ranging, deliciously fresh and a meal in itself. Another bonus is that it has free parking at the airport and for those flying on the Stanstead afternoon flight the timing is perfect.

I agree with ms Fisk. Plus, they do a just right omelette - always a good sign. Be wary, though, of the alcohol prices - it's an airport bar!

I agree that this restaurant is extremely convenient for the afternoon flight back to London and the buffet is good, not great - but is that really enough to make you want to seek this place out at any other time than when you are waiting for a plane?. In my view, the food and service are fairly average and the ambiance reminds me of, well, an airport unsurprisingly. I also agree that it is expensive. Here in the Languedoc there are hundreds of places that will produce better food in more pleasant surroundings at less cost.

Review this restaurant

In a pretty Midi village with a lovely outside terrace giving views towards Capestang and the mountains. The 23 euro menu offers a good choice of freshly cooked and well presented food. There is a good selection of regional wines plus aoc house wines available. Open from Easter - Toussaint, reservation advisable.

Review this restaurant

A superb setting, in it's own grounds. It's also an hotel open most of the year. It also has an outdoor swimming pool which can be used by guest who are dining at the restuarant. The setting reminds us of scenes from the days or the last century and a colonial lifestyle.

Review this restaurant

Situated between Faugères & Bèdarieux in a very small village. It's menu is always very interesting and varied home cooking. It's atmosphere is quiet but usually very busy so you need to book in advance. the French eat there so it must be good! definitely worth a visit.

L'Echalote has closed down. I have twice tried to find it having previously seen it on a recce of the local area, but last Friday a friendly local told me has finished.

Review this restaurant

Superb setting overlooking the River Herault. The Hotel / Restaurant is on the riverside in the old town. It's open all year round. English is spoken. Generally quiet out of season, but in the season you need to book. Definitely worth a visit.

Review this restaurant

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.

Review this restaurant

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.

Review this restaurant

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.

Review this restaurant