Graham Tigg's Languedoc Dining

Prices in my notes are for two having a middling set menu or, if the carte is the only option, three courses, plus a bottle of wine and coffee. For older reviews allow for inflation. Note that cheaper menus may not be available at peak times such as weekends. For wine, assume spending around 20€ a bottle rising to double this for more prestigious restaurants. Sadly, an interesting bottle at less than 20€ is an increasing rarity.

In France, and indeed most of mainland Europe, the price of a meal includes service. For special service then leaving a few euros is fine.

Guide Books and Sites

Much of the inspiration for starting this site back in the 1990s was the late Richard Binns. Richard self-published highly personalised guide books that started with his "French Leave" series back in 1980. Richard's web site is maintained by his brother Keith and is packed with fascinating information and downloads.

The Michelin guide book is of course world famous and brilliantly packed with the essential facts about French towns. The Michelin web site will locate restaurants and hotels on their interactive map and generate A to B driving instructions with an annotated map. For restaurants the somewhat brief descriptions and little differentiation below their renowned star rating system is a frustration. Another problem is that rural one star restaurants often don't reach the standard.

These days the people's global eating, sleeping and site-seeing guide is Trip Advisor. This is exceptionally useful as long as one generally ignores the most stellar and damming reviews along with those without substance. Also beware of reviewers who have only made a couple of contributions, especially if they are extreme.

Find out more about local wines on my Languedoc wine page and Languedoc wine blog.

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