Auberge De L'ady - Valady

Situated in a quaint red stone village in the valley of the Ady at the heart of the Marcillac wine region this restaurant is part of an old Auberge but has been renovated to provide a contemporary space with a cool pleasing ambience. We were nicely greeted and shown to our table with our dog. Aperitifs were speedily offered together with menus. The menu of the day at 19 euros sounded good and we didn't want anything too heavy so gave it a whirl. The result was amazing a veal tartare with Asparagus Gaspachio and preserved celery was stunning. The follow up of Lieu with two sauces of light mushroom and pesto was excellent as were the accompanying crispy crepes containing a mushroom and shallot mix. To top it all the desert of a chocolate biscuit served with chocolate mousse, apple, coconut, crumble and topped off by rocket and radish sounds bizarre but was inspirational. A great wine selection of around 200 wines and some good ones by the glass as we were on the road. We chose the Dom Cauhape Jurancon 2016 for 7 euros a glass and it was , as all things are from that vigneron, top class. If you like ratafia then there are 5 or 6 varieties to choose from as well as an extensive range of other standard aperitifs and regional specialities. I can't believe we haven't been here before but this is now on the highly approved list although at 50 minutes away from us it is a little far for comfort unless one is tasting or buying Marcillac wine. Do visit the Cave de Valady when you are there it's only 300 yards away and has an excellent selection of wine. Next time we will try the next menu up which is 30 euros.

We were taken to the Auberge by some French friends. Can't really say anything bad about it....food, service and value for money all very good. They have a good a la carte plus several fixed price menus ranging from a very reasonable lunch menu at €20 to a very good tasting menu at €72. Definitely worth a visit.

My husband I came here with a French speaking English friend who recommended this restaurant. We were on our way to Rodez airport and it was a good stop over for lunch. The 3 course and 4 course fixed price lunch menus were 18 Euros and 20 Euros respectively, the latter included a cheese course. This was exceptional value for beautifully cooked, well presented and deliciously tasting food. The food was simply to die for and we ate every morsel on the plate. For 2x 3 courses and 1 x 4 course our bill came to 101 Euros, so whereas the food was cheap the drinks were not (e.g. 1/2 bottle of red wine was 20 Euros, 1 bottle of sparkling water was 6 Euros) nevertheless for fine dining this is still good value for money. We would definitely come again if we are ever in the area.

We happened to be in the Marcillac area, exploring the various wine caves of the region, and landed up in Valady around lunchtime, having no previous knowledge of the village or this restaurant. The exterior of Auberge de l 'Ady is not particularly promising we weren 't even sure if it was open but the interior is a revelation with a very pleasant and airy, marble floored dining area. Suffice to say that we enjoyed an excellent lunch and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. We will certainly be returning. Some of the comments of other reviewers are interesting . We note that some describe it as pretentious. We would disagree: certainly the announcing of each course could have been considered a bit OTT, but since the waiting staff were young and enthusiastic, it came across rather as charming . Others have taken issue with the muddled flavours. Again we would disagree. We enjoyed the mix of tastes and sensations. However the recurrence of purees and drinking straws had the potential to become a bit wearisome. Overall though we thought the cooking was first class. We were unaware that the restaurant was Michelin recommended or that the chef was Paris trained and our only bone of contention is possibly not unconnected with this. That is, some of our fellow diners seemed to have arrived with unrealistic expectations. And indeed, one French couple at a nearby table were utterly vile in their high handed treatment of the staff. It 's not the cheapest lunch we 've had in recent months, but it 's well worth a visit and it 's very handy for Rodez airport, just 15/20 minutes away.

This was not my first visit but it will probably be my last. As always, the food was beautifully plated and nicely served but, as opposed to my previous visit, the chef forgot to attach significant flavour to the dishes. In the taste department the flavour of the fishy starter could well have been compared with a reasonable quiche from a local Boulangerie and the interest of the salmon in the main course had lost its way upstream. Nice cheeses and a passable desert though. Maybe a chef's day off? It felt like a lack of interest in the kitchen.