Naïve

Naïve? It’s Native, minus its previous owner Damien Teixidor, who handed over the keys to his former restaurant to Lucile Madar, a chef, sommelier and (not incidentally) winemaker in Port-Vendres. She has maintained the very down-to-earth spirit of this wine bar in a tiny space (eclectic second-hand furniture, mosaics by Karla Sutra), which is fortunately prolonged by a terrace with sunny yellow seats. Featured on the blackboard menu, the other night: firm slow-cooked sardines topped with a blue crab and cucumber jus; rosy duck hearts, moistened by a discreet satay sauce and a grilled Pádron pepper condiment, with fresh tarragon and pickled zucchini; and a less impressive poached pear sprinkled with cookie crumbs and basil. But there was also a steak and herring tartare, eggplant with tahini, and a combo of oysters, celery and trout roe… Sometimes change can be a (very) good thing! // Adrien Nouviaire 

FEELING THIRSTY? Unadorned wines, from nearby and a little further away: a Grenache gris by La Spanda in the backcountry, an Aude red from the Domaine Mamaruta (€4 a glass), a Faugères white from Sybil Baldassarre (€36 a bottlew) or a red from Le Clos Fantine (€40)…
PRICE: Plates €7-14.