After globe-bistrotting from London to Sardinia, with stints in Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Instincts) and the Dordogne department (Manoir d’Hautegente) along the way, Franco-British Tippi Brown and Lot native Mathieu Tauzin have returned to granny Pierrette’s home region, dedicating a new spot docked along the Canal de Garonne in her honor. At this old-fashioned joint that’s been given a fresh makeover from top to bottom, they serve up delightful cuisine without even a hint of nostalgia. The other day at lunch: eel from Le Fumet des Dombes, delicately cut into cubes and paired with mizuna and focaccia plated over lime sabayon, with citrus jelly, pickled red onions and sour pickled mustard seeds; then came the unforgettable skrei, roasted low and slow and then flash-seared, revealing its perfectly pearly, flaky flesh, topped with a mojo verde sauce and moistened by beurre blanc sauce, served with Swiss chard and a charred cauliflower purée. The grand finale? A mind-blowing chocolate creation: a millefeuille featuring chocolate and mascarpone ganache, Peruvian chocolate sorbet and a chocolate and Sichuan pepper ganache. // Loulou Pic

FEELING THIRSTY? Very clean wines: Cheval En Tête, a Lot white by Cosse et Maisonneuve (€4 a glass), Le Vent Dans Les Voiles, a Var rosé produced by Valérie Courrèges (€21 a bottle) and Le Vignoble D’Elian, a marmandais red by Elian da Ros (€36)… Plus beer (€7 for 500 ml) and cola (€3.50 for 330 ml) from the local organic brewery Maltéo.
PRICE: : Set menu €22 (weekday lunch), à la carte €38-44 or a five-course menu for €48 (dinner and weekends).