Terrae

A new wind is blowing through this charming spa town. After ExteTipia and Ama, welcome to Terrae, the adorable little café (with a terra cotta storefront and walls and a light-colored banquette) from chef Grégory Menard (ex-Choko Ona in Espelette) and Lucine Voisin (ex-Pottoka in the same town). The day we went for lunch, after a delicious breaded chicken lollypop with Madras curry and piment d’Espelette, there was a clever beetroot preparation, served as a brunoise, a hummus, and as a raw ravioli made from a razor-thin slice of beetroot, adorned with peanut praline and beurre blanc sauce; followed by a duck fillet from Maison Garat in Souraïde, cooked until pink over the embers, topped with a walnut and Chinese chive crust, and caressed by a black garlic jus, all paired with gnocchi topped with smoked anchovies and stuffed with onion purée, plus an eggplant-tomato caviar and grated Ossau-Iraty cheese; before a dessert of popcorn mousse in a chocolate tube wrapped in cashew praline and yuzu jelly. // Gérard Roubeix

FEELING THIRSTY? : A mouthwatering selection: Viti Vini Bibi minervois (€6 a glass), La Pierre Frite, a saumur from Le Pas Saint Martin (€28 the bottle), an Irouléguy rosé the Domaine Bordaxuria (€30), Le Pech Abusé buzet (€52). 
PRICE: : Set menus €26 to €56 (lunch) and €46 to €66 (dinner and Saturday).