Lodeve's restaurants aren't great, but this one is surprisingly good. The food is delicious and quite innovative (for France) and there's a terrace for al fresco dining. The waiter/owner is very professional and friendly. The decor is OK - a little twee, but warm and inviting. A good place for a special meal.

Lodeve can seem a rather run-down place at times, but then now and then it really surprises you. On the town's nicest (cobbled) street sits its nicest cafe - a surprisingly bourgeois 'salon du the' with an ecclectic selection of wood tables and chairs (none of which match), and a wood burner in one corner where you can relax in comfortable arm chairs. The Soleil Bleu pride themselves on their selection of teas, which are served each in their own unique hand-made pot. All around are beautiful ceramics for sale. The coffee and cakes are equally excellent. They even serve simple lunches. I can't recommend the place more highly, it manages to combine a comfortable and attractive atmosphere with excellent teas, coffee and rich cakes. The perfect place to go after visiting Lodeve's modern art museum and cathedral. Open Mon-Thu 11:30-6:30, Sat 9-6:30pm.

A lovely,friendly restaurant in the Hotel Le Guillaume d'Orange, run by a young couple who clearly love food (she cooks and he serves, though sometimes he cooks also !). The menu is limited to two formules at 17,50 or 25,00 euros excluding wine, with about 4 choices per menu and per course. The food is local,seasonal, fresh and beautifully presented. There is a very good wine list featuring wines from the Languedoc and the waiters are very knowledgable about the wines. Service is professional and friendly, nothing seems too much trouble. The decor is understated and a mix of modern and traditional. The ambience is very relaxed.In the warm weather you can eat outside on the terrace overlooking the Herault river. I have been several times since this young couple took over in spring 2006 and have never had a bad meal.In terms of quality/price I think it is one of the best restaurants in the Clermont l'Herault area.

If you fance a tasty meal, prepared by the bubbly Soraya, that is great value - then this is the place for you. The food is simple as is the decor but the atmosphere relaxed and friendly. We had a filling meal for two with wine and coffee for €25. Specialities include; kebab, tajines, couscous etc. In the summer there is a terrace outside but be warned this is popular with the locals so booking is advisable during the season.

This review is courtesy of Languedoc-Dining.com

Cost for two: 90 €. April 2006 + previous visits

The stunning view of the Larzac escarpment is the first thing that hits you. Laurent Arrazat, previously number 2 at Le Jardin de Sens, is now well extablished and the cooking gets better and better. Enjoy delights such as Pimentos stuffed with rillets of fish, tarte aux pommes with caramel glace and liquorice creme anglaise. Good selection of the regions finest wines at all price points. A place to watch, beyond just the view that is. Now well signposted from the A75 junction just north of Lodeve.

Firstly note that Le Temps de Vivre is situated on the west side of the N9/A75 opposite Soubes. Once you get that far you'll find it well sign posted. What you'll find is a modern simple building, but once inside there's an attractive dining area beyond which is a glazed terrace that offers an extraordinary view of the pine forests and limestone crags that border the great Larzac plateau.

This is a recent opening from Laurent Arrazat who was previously number 2 at the prestigious Jardin de Sens in Montpellier. Our lunch started with a young roquette salad with bits of quail and dried jambon, and a seared brown trout on a base of young leaf salad, orange and onion. Dorade went surprisingly well with apple puree, julienne of leak and a beurre blanc sauce. Lamb on a pastry biscuit topped with confit of aubergine and tomato was full of flavour. Cheese was passable. A crème brûlée of potimarron (pumpkin) was simple and interesting while a tarte fine au pommes with vanilla ice had been reheated.

Overall the dishes kept things simple by focussing on three key ingredients. The menu was only 26 € so the noted short cuts perhaps had some justification. The wine list covers the spectrum of local growers wines but the price of the rising stars is steep and understandably the wines are young. Nevertheless, there are bargains to be found such as the local La Jasse Castel.

Bédarieux is smartening itself up and becoming an attractive small town in the beautiful Orb valley. Nevertheless a centre of gastronomy it is not.

However a young couple,Ludovic and Gwenaelle Calvo have opened a new restaurant, L’Atelier, and threaten to change that. Ludovic has worked for 5 years at Chez Philippe in Marseillan making pâtisserie. He then became a teacher at the Lycée Hotelier in Béziers. He is passionate about his cooking.

The restaurant is small and the décor contemporary, more Chelsea than Bédarieux, with a small terrace across the street for nicotinees. The restaurant itself is air-conditioned and a very pleasant environment in which to have dinner even on the hottest days of summer.

At lunchtime there is a menu at €13.50 (entrée and main course or main course and dessert, or all three for €17). In the evening there is a 3 course menu for €24, there being two choices for each course.
An example of their menu is:
Entrée
Lasagne froide de chèvre au pistou, sorbet piquillos et roquette
Tartare d’espada ”au couteau”, légumes croquants et vinaigrette aux agrumes
Plats
Papillotte de rascasse aux petits légumes et bouillon de bergamote
Effiloché de joues de cochon tombée de tétragousses minute (spinach)
Desserts
Tarte au chocolat grand cru Altare, chantilly de caramel salé
Gaspacho de pèches crème légère à la badiane et sorbet pèche-violette.

As you can see this is a cut above the usual restaurant fare, the joues de cochon being particularly good and the tarte au chocolat which was outstanding bore witness to Ludovic’s previous employment. Everything is presented in an attractive way with meticulous attention to detail.

The wine list of regional wines is well chosen with prices from €13 to €45 for a 2006 Jean-Michel Alquier.

So if you want to sample something special, exquisitely prepared and executed, book a table at l’Atelier and be received by Ludovic’s charming and attractive wife Gwenaelle.