Michelin star restaurant South France: Auberge du Vieux Puits

Written by Iain Laverock. Posted in Best Restaurants

 

porquerolles restaurants1 If you love fabulous food and wine, then there can be no better restaurant in the South of France than the Auberge du Vieux Puits. This 3 star Michelin restaurant is run by the famous French chef, Gilles Goujon. I can not recommend this restaurant highly enough. The food, the service, the wine, the cheese . . . all were excellent.

We went taken to Auberge du Vieux Puits by a group of our french friends and we had an excellent day out. It must be the most bizarre location for a 2 star Michelin restaurant. You head down to the Corbieres hills (exit A9 at Sigean). You then drive inland for about 15 minutes, you then turn of the main road and drive on a track for about 10 minutes, until you reach the small village of Fontjoncouse. Here you turn off the main road onto a side street and then onto an even small track. Then you will see the red doors of the restaurant. You almost feel that you deserve a good meal for just finding the restaurant in the first place. The scenery along the way however is very pretty.

 

Michelin star restaurant South France

x auberge plat A 2 star Michelin rating is defined as "excellent cooking, worth a detour"- and that basically sums up Auberge du Vieux Puits. You can either choose from the a la carte menu - but it is much better to go for one of the menu options. You get your own waiter who explains each course and usually a special sauce or accompaniment is served direct at your place. The chef himself also comes out to welcome you and to thank you for coming.

The food is not nouvelle cuisine, but it is very ingenious and extremely well presented. I can not remember everything I had - there were about 6-7 courses, but the combination of flavours were amazing. Probably out of the 6 or so dishes 2 were "Wow!", 3 were "Good, interesting" and 1 was "what the hell was that?". But special mention must go to the "Chariot de Fromage" - there must have been over 40 cheeses on this trolley - all served by an expert Cheese Waiter. The Chariot is the size of a Smart Car.

 

Auberge du Vieux Puits - best restaurant South France

x auberge plat And the price? Well, when you go out with our French friends then you always come back sideways. Do not believe the lie that the French do not drink much. They pack it away quite happily. We chose the €105 menu and the wine we had was superb - probably the best white wine I have ever tasted. When the bill came I just closed my eyes and entered the pin number. When you have eaten that well, who are we to quibble with the bill.

The head chef is Gilles Goujon - a celebrated French chef. What I most like about M.Goujon is his waistline. After all, you know the old adage - "never to trust a thin chef". Well, I can assure you that you can indeed trust M.Goujon!

You will find the Auberge du Vieux Puits in the middle of the Corbieres Hills in the tiny village of Fontjoncouse. You best bet is to visit the website below and ask for directions. The restaurant is open most days (but I would be careful about going on a Monday, as this is the day that most restaurants close in France). We went on a Sunday afternoon and I think that the restauant is closed Sunday evening. It is often recommended to make a reservation at least 2 months in advance - but try giving them a call just on the off-chance if you are here on holiday. Website: Auberge du Vieux Puits restaurant Languedoc

 

Tags: French restaurants, Languedoc South France