Du Cote des Olivades - Paradou

Beautiful and romantic terrace, unfortunately with disturbing music and a host who talks too much. Although the fish of the main course was excellent as a side dish we had two spoons of mashed potatoes and the dessert was disappointing. The price/quality relation was rather bad!

Friends know Chef Nancy Bourguignon, so we had the pleasure of eating in her kitchen watching her team at work. What an amazing experience. The food was free of pretense, an d so was Nancy. For those of you eating in the dining room I can tell you the kitchen is immaculate, calm for a busy place, and the food is fresh, local and authentic. Even Nancy's menu features a page listing her suppliers because she wants to be "honest" with her guests about the products she is using. A beautiful place, and a fabulous and friendly chef. Definitely a must see.

Upon entering the restaurant's lovely terrace we were quite enchanted, though it was to be short lived. Our server came to take our order approximately 4 minutes after we were seated; we requested two minutes to make our choice while we enjoyed our aperitif, exactly 45 seconds later (at 8:15) we were informed we needed to choose now. Luckily considering the menu only included 3 items for each course the choice was quickly made. The wine steward almost listened to what we wanted before making a throwaway suggestion. By this point we were fairly negatively disposed to the restaurant, though it was almost saved by the cuisine. The food was surprisingly good, not exceptional, but solid. The carpaccio of st Jacques was well seasoned, if a bit too warm and the meats were generally well cooked. As a table we all agreed that while the food was generally well executed, if a bit lacking in excitement, none of us would return. In a region with fabulous food and excellent service this restaurant definitely fell short.

This family run restaurant can only be described as elegant. Dining outdoors, or inside, is a delight. The food is superb and artistically presented.

The food was outstanding but the service and atmosphere was a bit off. I think It probably had something to do with the fact that we didn't speak French because the restaurant seemed to be full with friends and family of the chef and manager who were having a wonderful time. I was also disappointed that the chef made the effort to visit all tables except ours wich was a real shame and made us feel less important than the other guests, again probably because of our lack of Knowledge with the French language. Although this seems to be expected in France I did expect more from such a top rated restaurant. The sommelier was however friendly and made some good choices, he seemed to really take the time and make an effort.