I'm Back!

From a fantastic holiday in the South of France. It was so relaxing and just what I needed after a frantic week moving. We did a lot of eating and drinking (Mr J was allowed to stay for a week before being sent home to make me a nest in his father's basement... which he did superbly). Am now back on the house hunt and Beziers seems like a long time ago but as I was frantically flipping through my diary I came across the card for one of the culinary highlights of the trip, l'Orb Restaurant.

About 20 minutes outside of Beziersthis little gem has just been opened by two English guys who tired of the B&B trade in England and have moved to France and opened a restaurant almost by accident. It was by luck that we went here - it is pretty difficult to find anywhere for supper on a Sunday night in France and Papa B thought that this one would probably be a safe bet but we had already tried one advertised as open on a Sunday but firmly closed when we arrived. As you drive into the square at Cessenon-sur-Orb you are drawn to the little green lights and square tables of L'Orb restaurant. We were starving and would have fallen on a croque monsieur but the food here was exceptional possibly the best of the whole holiday and all from two people who had never run a restaurant before and were still in their first month of opening.

The Verrine of brouse de brebis and pea guacamole was a highlight of the starters - it was like nothing I've had before and was the perfect size - too often you seem to get faced with a starter the size of a main course! I had a beautiful smoked salmon mousse which I'm a pretty harsh judge on as it's one of my favourite things. What was so fantastic about this one was the little flakes of salmon throughout adding a bit of texture. Now I don't eat rabbit so I am not really qualified to comment but dining with two people who are fans and according to whom the rabbit with new potatoes and vegetables was close to perfect - uncomplicated and tasty and again not in a daunting size.

Its sounds a bit pathetic but I can base my love or hate of a restaurant on a very small thing. The cheese board. And this one was exceptional. Small taster portions of brie and three regional cheeses including Cantal my favourite. The menu was so well thought out and prepared. We were happily full, not overloaded and groaning. I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough - I know it seems a bit sad to be raving about a restaurant run by English people when you are in France but this is the perfect combination of French and English food, presented with a flourish and served with a smile xx