This gigantic stone building has bedrooms for rent upstairs and wellness massages, a tree climbing course behind it, a terrace under the trees and a vegetable patch a little further past that… So relax! Since spring 2021, here in this verdant corner of paradise in the Marcelles Alps, Victoire Rallu (in the kitchen, who used to work at Marchon in Paris), Dorine Garnier (the pastry chef, ex-Semilla and Le Richer in Paris) and Nathalie Gonnet (front-of-house) have been living their best lives. Their cuisine? Local, seasonal, biodiverse, traceable, eco-friendly…. Five out of five stars! Expect excellent vegetarian fare, made with locally-grown vegetables and herbs from the garden: verdantly fresh cream of pea soup made from the peas and their pods, with cherries, mint and smoked fresh goat cheese; ingenious marinated cucumber with grilled chickpeas, anise-flavored yogurt and toasted socca; exquisite cream of celery and slow roasted celery under cod steak with beurre blanc sauce (the only non-veggie exception to the menu the day we went); and not-too-sweet desserts – cacao tuile, tonka bean cream, dark chocolate ganache, salted caramel; or rice pudding with stewed rhubarb and toasted sunflower seeds. // Ringo de Balmalon
FEELING THIRSTY? Homemade syrups, iced tea, kefir and kombucha (€3-4), and wines from the area – a Muscadet from Jo Landron or a Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil from the Domaine Amirault (€4.90 a glass), a Cour-Cheverny from the Domaine des Huards (€45 a bottle), Préambule, a Menetou-Salon red from Philippe Gilbert (€40)…
PRICE: À la carte €31-39.
