Graham Tigg's Languedoc Dining

I first started making notes of our dining experiences in early 1994. Why? Since the early '80s we have dined at restaurants that seek to be more than just every day local establishments - as Michelin would say places worthy of a detour, or even a journey. Even the most memorable meals from those early years have been largely reduced to a few hazy recollections and a receipt. Fine dining is expensive and a branch of art that, like wine, has to be consumed to be appreciated. So for future reference and to help preserve memories I now write notes on most of the restaurants we visit. These days we holiday almost exclusively in the Languedoc, hence the focus of this site.

These are personal reviews. The disadvantage in this is that you may have different tastes, likes and dislikes and, of course, coverage is limited to only a relatively few meals each year. The big advantage is that I can give a more consistent perspective than a team of reviewers can.

To help, I would summarise our three top restaurant priorities as the quality and interest of the food that arrives on the plate; enthusiasm and attitude of the staff; and the value for money, at whatever the price level. Behind these comes physical ambience, service, and factors such as the space you rent. For wine we can be nearly as content with a carefully chosen selection of, say, 20 wines to one that lists 100's as long as there are some wines of character.

I deliberately keep factual information, such as details of opening times, to a minimum. Keeping this stuff up to date is a nightmare. I would advise consulting a Guide Book or Web Links first and always phone, email or Fax the restaurant. Do always book ahead as this avoids disappointment and makes it easier for restaurants to plan. If you have to cancel do let them know - no shows are a real problem and at the end of the day some of the cost of the ensuing empty tables are passed on to us as paying customers.

We discovered the Languedoc by accident on 3rd April 1993. We rented a converted manger of a village house in Soubes near Lodeve through friends of a friend. Despite chilly weather and little evidence of spring we fell in love with the varied countryside, the wine and the amazing Le Mimosa. This was also the age when the likes of Michel Bras (way up in the Auvergne) and Le Jardin de Sens (Montpellier) were relatively undiscovered and affordable, while wine stars such as Mas Jullien actually had wine to sell at the cellar door. We holidayed regularly in various houses for several years before eventually buying in the area - see our village at www.aspiran.com.

So what's changed on the dining front over those years? My observation is that until the millennium relatively little. Le Jardin de Sens (we've not been for some time) may have single handedly put the Languedoc on the gastronomic map at the highest level, but the knock on effect of improving local standard has been painfully gradual. The economic reality is that a certain degree of prosperity is needed. Back in 1993 there seemed to be property for sale everywhere with no apparent buyers. Today the growth of Montpellier, the completion of the A75 autoroute, the TGV almost to Nîmes, the explosion in quality wine production and an influx of home owners from outside the region have all contributed to an improving dining scene.

The opening of Chez Philippe that we discovered in 1998 was a milestone. Contemporary cooking, keen pricing, sensible portions, quality wines at all price points and exuberant energy led to a healthy occupancy at every sitting. Others are slowly following in their own way, for example the now established La Raffinerie, Beziers, Vintage Café Nîmes and more recently L'Entre Pots, Pézenas and O-Bontemps, Magalas.

Of the few interesting traditional restaurants that starred in the '90s, such as Les Feuillants, Ceret and Les Muscardins, St Martin de Londres, the move of Jean-Claude Fabre from Leonce (Florensac) to consult for Le Caladoc at nearby Agde has preserved the work of a great local chef. Other fine dining has arrived in the shape of Cellier-Morel, Montpellier, Le Relais de Pigasse, Ouveillan (sadly closed), Les Trois Salons, Uzes, L'Ambassade, Beziers, Le Temps de Vivre near Lodeve and recently Octopus, Beziers, L'Ocre Rouge, Hérépian and L'Adonis Rouge.

A special mention goes to the unique Auberge du Cedre. Nowhere tries to be so many things and succeeds. As for venturing out of the region, Vieux Pont, Belcastel continues to delight and be worthy of a journey.

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