Bistrot des Roques

Our local (and only) non-residential address in sunny Saint Pantaléon is Bistrot des Roques.

  

We stopped here on our very first afternoon in Saint Pant, and again on our last day, 16-odd weeks later. And my guess is some 45 times in between.

Right there is a clue for our fondness for this Bistrot. 

The star of the place, other than our friendly hosts, is the 16€ 3-course lunch menu. That, plus a carafe of Rosé for 8€, 2 post-lunch espressos for 3€, makes for a terrific and affordable lunch, only a short walk from our house. Perfection. 

Think of starting with mushrooms stuffed with roquefort and walnuts, or a wheel of goats cheese wrapped in flaky pastry baked with honey, or a simple but delicious salad of tomato, mozzarella, drizzled with the worlds best ever pesto. From there, perhaps entrecôte with roquefort sauce, a 7 hour slow cooked famous Provençal lamb with sautéed vegetables, or perhaps the fresh fish of the day, be it a red mullet or daurade, with seasonal salad. And let's not forget the best creme brûlée in France! It's the type of meal the French take for granted and us tourists remember for years.

Outside of lunch time, our Bistrot was a frequent coffee and croissant stop in the mornings, a semi-regular beer stop in the afternoons, and an all too frequent mango ice-cream stop for Elliot during opening hours, he didn't tend to discriminate on the morning v. afternoon thing.

This place was just so special. When you get to know the owners and their family, and when saying goodbye becomes difficult, you know that it is more than just the local restaurant. It was our Bistrot, plenty of memories, we'll miss it.

But like everything we miss - we'll be back. We'll find a way!!

Scott.