FORUM

This is a new restaurant on the Cazes winegrowing estate in Rivesaltes.

The food is modern organic and seasonal. We ate indoors but there is a beautiful flower decked terrace that would be delighful on a warm summer evening.

The food was excellent and we chose their wine accompaniment which gave us an opportunity to try a range of their wines.

One small caveat, there is very little choice and the menu is only changed once a week, so it is worth checking beforehand that the menu is to your taste. Having said that, the place was full last night and nobody seemed to have a problem with the dishes on offer.

We have tried lots of restaurants in the area but based on our visit yesterday,this undoubtedly ranks amongst the best.

They have a web site http://www.cazes-rivesaltes.com/restaur ... n-m25.html which gives lots of information

Sounds lovely!

And what did you eat please Allan?

It looks nice. I presume you either have to e-mail them or ring up to find out what is on the menu as it is not on their web site.

Kathy wrote:It looks nice. I presume you either have to e-mail them or ring up to find out what is on the menu as it is not on their web site.

I've sent them an email asking that question, so I'll let you know when they reply

thumbelina wrote:Sounds lovely!

And what did you eat please Allan?

The meal that we had was a Fricasee of wild mushrooms with aparagus, St Pierre with rice and a carrot mousse. A duo of veal and beef with seasonal vegetables followed by a dessert based on strawberries, (ice cream, strawberries and cream with strawberry mousse).

The meal was preceeded by amuse bouches and followed by mignardises with coffee

Kathy wrote:It looks nice. I presume you either have to e-mail them or ring up to find out what is on the menu as it is not on their web site.

I asked them about this and got a nice reply saying it was difficult to put it on their website because the menu changes depending on what is available in the market. They said that the chef was always prepared to prepare an alternative if someone doesn't like a dish on the menu.

They also put the menu on a big blackboard outside the restaurant.

Thanks Allan. That sounds like a lovely menu.

And to know that the chef will prepare something different if need be is always useful for someone like myself with an allergy to all things fishy!

It looks good value for money too!

This is now what we can truly describe as our local… it opened about a year ago within the courtyard area of the Domaine Cazes. It had been a tapas bar the year before but they never really marketed it.

Our recent visit “sans enfant” (we like to try the more up market places so before inflicting our 11 year old to them!) was to turn out to be the high light of a recent visit.

As “Allan” states this is a welcome addition to the local scene. It has a great up market feel to the place, it could have almost been kitted out at the local Casa store with its modern contemporary feel to it and in contrast to the experience we had had at Naudo Beach Club was very professional.

The menu is based on local produce and strives to be organic. It is a no choice 3 or 4 course menu with or without the Domaine Cazes wines. The menu is written on a blackboard and perched next to the table and well explained by the waitress.

On our visit the starter was a tomato tartlette using ancienne (heritage) tomatoes a creamy goats cheese and a leaf salad garnish with black olive tapenade and anchovy fillets – menu stated dried Serrano ham so not sure what happened there!!! It was a good start but whilst artistically arranged lacked the finesse of Michelin starred places such as Maison du Terroir in Maury or Table St Crescent in Narbonne.

Next was the fish choice a fillet of Daurade (Sea Bream) with gambas and a creamy Polenta with fennel and lemon confit – an outstanding dish that was well balanced and perfectly cooked with spot on seasoning. The real highlight for us.

The meat course was mountain Charolais beef (two different cuts) served with seasonal vegetables – a mashed potato scented with rosemary and a confit baby carrot with cumin – beef was tender and full of flavour – the fillet perfectly cooked – enormous portion though.

Finally the crème brulee scented with vanilla had a rather grainy texture and the so-called roasted apricots in local honey was not particularly roasted and surprisingly under-ripe!!! The orange marmalade sorbet was however the hit.

The amuse bouche was Aubergine Caviar with a cherry tomato garnish and then the mignardises were a the croquante almond local biscuit and a very small Madeleine

This was good food and serious dining in a village that has little choice in the market and was streets ahead in quality terms compared to the Domaine Romebeau. The 3 course menu 32 Euros and the 4 courses 39euros and with wine 50 euros so for us we spent just over 90 euros and were impressed!!! We will go back but probably stick to three courses as we felt well and truly stuffed!!!

Will try and post some photos of the food as well when I can work out how to!!!

To add to Johny's comments, the restarant is open at lunchtimes and strangely has a choice of starter then.

It is less expensive than in the evenings and always seems really full. They don't seem to have marketed the place extensively but we keep bumping into people we know there so obviously word has got around.

When the weather is fine, food is served outside in a delightful courtyard.

I agree the courtyard was perfect for a warm summers evening... Lunch I agree looks good value and we will try that next time...

It had a very large party on the evening we were there 17/20 on one table plus another 3 tables (2x2 1x4) all being served by two serving staff who worked their socks off!!!

They really have not publicised the place heavily, new signs on the roads around the area though are all stating the wine house has a restaurant and if they continue to keep standards consistent they will do well as nothing of this ilk in the village.

Have you tried Le Kazot in the main square? Good for simple grillade fare with friendly owners Yvette and Jean - pig cheeks to die for if on the specials board!!!

Rivesaltes Johnny wrote:
Have you tried Le Kazot in the main square? Good for simple grillade fare with friendly owners Yvette and Jean - pig cheeks to die for if on the specials board!!!

We know Le Kazot well, nice people and a lovely atmosphere. We find that visitors in particular really like this place. There is always something to please even the fussiest of eaters although the Cargolades did put a severe strain on my son's eclectic palate


By the way, I sent you a PM.

As Promised Photos from La Table Aime


Menu Board

Tomato Tart

Sea Bream

Beef

Pudding

Miam, miam!

We have been to the Table D'Aime at Domaine Caze 3 times in the past few weeks and they definitely seem to be raising their game which is great because the standard was already high.

The only criticism I ever had of this place was that the choice was somewhat limited but lately they have extended the choice with additional dishes.

On Friday I had a gateau of mushrrooms, turnips & beetroot, followed by fillet steak with fois gras and dessert for €32. The wine list is all their own production and is really reasonably priced.

We eat out quite a lot and in my opinion this is one of the best restaurants in the region.
http://www.cazes-rivesaltes.com/Restaur ... 25-en.html

Strangely however they are closed over the Christmas and New Year period

Their "Credo" was always one of our favourite wines..

Presumably they only list Cazes wines at the restaurant, but hopefully the mark-ups are reasonable.

I see lunch looks a particularly good deal.

We ate at Domaine Cazes for the second time today. I think it still ranks as one of the better restaurants in the Roussillon for lunch at least.

Service is good, efficient and assured with even a few cheeky remarks by the English-speaking staff.

The menu of the day is still limited to two choices for each course but unless you are a faddy eater, that's enough. Everything was beautifully cooked and presented. Some of the dishes quite experimental with varying degrees of success but all interesting.

The wine list is good, Cazes being a dependable if not fantastic producer. Best of all they are mostly available by the glass at €2,50 - 5,00 so you can have different wines with different courses. Unfortunately the white wine we liked best was actually made by Mas de Lavail.

The outdoor courtyard is really nice with plenty of semi-shade.

Definitely recommended if you are over by the airport.

Santiago wrote:
Unfortunately the white wine we liked best was actually made by Mas de Lavail.

Why is that unfortunate?

Santiago wrote:
I think it still ranks as one of the better restaurants in the Roussillon for lunch at least.

In summer their dinner menu is a lot more extensive than lunch and is extremely good. They have just started live music on Tuesday evenings. They normally put their menu on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/LaTabledAime

It was unfortunate for Domaine Cazes because you can't buy that wine in their shop. Fortunate for me because it was better then their own whites.

Is there a connection between Cazes and Mas de Lavail?

The chief exec of Cazes is Lionel Lavail but that could be coincidence.

There could be. It's the only other domaine wine they serve in the restaurant I think.