Escale - Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Pour 7 € la patronne vous servira une grande assiette du poulet tika ou tandoori (3 spécialités indiennes au choix avec des viandes plus répandues), un nan au fromage, du riz au curry ou des frites, des crudités et 3 sauces. Le tout arrosé d'un thé indien.

You wouldn't necessarily give this place a second glance. It looks like a cheap fast food den. And yes, it's cheap (5,50 for a chicken tikka nan, chips and a drink). But it's got more going for it than that. Gorgeous home made nan breads, good fillings, lovely fresh platters, friendly faces and a nice spot sitting out on the main street. A cheerful lunch venue.

We have eaten here twice and very pleased. The food includes kebabs, burgers and indian food. Food freshly prepared and very tasty. Service very friendly and all this for about 6 euros.

We try to visit somewhere new at least once a week - and always on a Wednesday as my son only has half day at school so he gets a treat lunch. He's five, so he gets to choose the venue. This week he chose Escale, mainly I think through laziness as he didnt want to walk any further. Anyway, it looks like a kebab shop and I guess thats basically what it is. Theres a few tables outside, all occupied by teenagers who are eating and politely chatting amongst themselves but we went indoors. On this occasion it was just the two of us. An English boy and his English mum, who have a little French but they heard us chatting and so we were greeted in English. William chose a burger and chips and I had tandoori chicken which came with salad, naan and fries. All was freshly cooked to order, the naan arrived first and was hot and delicious. The rest followed a few minutes later. The burger was a standard frozen patty. Nothing special about it but no complaints. The tandoori chicken was delicious. Tender and nicely spiced it also came with some dips which helped spice it up a notch (I like a lot of chilli!) We paid about 10 euros (slightly less) for the two meals and drinks (no licence - we had a jug of water and a coke for me)We will definitely be back. This isn't a typical Villefranche restaurant but there is nothing wrong with it. Certainly for the price it was excellent. Service was friendly and happy - just what you need.