Located across from the fronton (the traditional court for playing pelota, present in nearly every Basque town or village), this humble little restaurant has continued to over perform through visits spanning many years.  At lunch, there is a daily chef’s menu with 2 choices each for entree, plat and dessert, is a steal at 26 euros. On a recent visit, the starters were a delicious leeks vinaigrette, the vinaigrette more like an herby sauce gribiche with chunks of hard cooked eggs, and an escabèche of aubergines, thick slices of eggplant first fried, then left to come to room temperature in a slightly sweet combination of vinegar, olive oil and diced tomatoes, finished with a crumble of feta cheese. For plat, I had a lovely trout filet, perfectly cooked and served with braised lettuces and a rich shellfish broth, Sheila had paleron of beef, slow cooked, shredded and served liquor redolent of red wine,  with chickpeas and courgettes. For dessert, on offer was either local sheep’s milk cheese or a panna cotta scented with fig leaves, served with red cherries macerated with basque sour cherry liqueur.

Evenings, the ambiance is much more bar than resto, with a menu composed of raciones, or small plates.  We especially enjoyed a plate of green beans dressed with a tahini vinaigrette, a perfect tortilla espagnol and a very generous bocadillo stuffed with grilled chicken and caramelized onions. On Thursdays, the bar features pintxos, with your choice  from the bar display offered free with each glass purchased. This weekly special is a promotion arranged by the city of Ciboure and is available in most of the nearby bars.  Ambiance assurée!

For wine, Maitenia features an impressive list, especially deep in  Basque wines from both sides of the Pyrenees and leaning heavily toward organic, natural or  biodynamic.  This is no surprise, as the same team owns an excellent cave a vin across from the Halles of St-Jean-de-Luz called Canon.

Maitenia
Address:  8 Pl. du Fronton, 64500 Ciboure
Tel:  (011 33) 05 24 33 45 68
Reservations: advised, especially for lunch in the summer.  Not available for evenings.

Last spring, we had the chance to visit our friend James Miller at Mas Costa Besalu just outside the town of Besalu, in Spanish Catalonia. What an amazing experience! Besalu, it turns out, is a quiet little town of about 2500 people, which is a 45 minute walk from the Mas.  The town has retained much of its medieval charm dating from its  period as a center of local trade.  We lunched at  the historic Pont Vell, a family run restaurant founded in 1981. The restaurant is ideally located, at the city side of Besalu’s old bridge (Pont Vell), which dates from the 11th century.  Our table was on a little terrace located between the bridge’s arches and the river…could one ask for a better location?

At Pont Vell, the focus is on traditional Catalan dishes made with local ingredients, a model that has earned them a Michelin star.  The service was attentive, knowledgeable and friendly, the wine list loaded with organic and natural wines of the region and the food was excellent. It was April, so  spring produce of the region was featured as daily specials, including asparagus, strawberries and an excellent starter of artichokes sauteed with Iberico ham and Palo Cortado sherry vinegar. I especially enjoyed the house specialty, sweet and sour rabbit simmered with raisins, pine nuts and baked apple.  And it doesn’t hurt that the prices are extremely fair for a restaurant with one star.

Pont Vell
Address:  c/ Pont Vell 24, Besalú 17850
Tel:  (011 34) 972 59 10 27
Reservations: advised, especially in the summer.  On warm days, request a table on the terrace overlooking the river.

What a pleasure to find a restaurant so utterly concentrated on making simply-delicious food from the freshest possible, ultra-local ingredients and trusting that it will be beautiful, without any flourishes!  In this age of tweezer-food, micro-flowers, sauce dots and Instagram-able plates, it’s like dining in a monastery! And here, the monks dine very well!

Located near the Halles of St-Jean-de-Luz, Pluviôse is tiny, with just 12 seats.  The room is comfortable but nondescript, somewhere between a cozy cafe and a food and wine storeroom, with crates and cases stacked in every available corner.  The chef, an Australian who relocated to the Pays-Basque more than 10 years ago, is also the waiter, the sommelier, the dishwasher, literally every job in the house.  So don’t expect the fancy bells and whistles that are often found in restaurants that set the culinary bar this high.

The food here is really the point, and it is excellent.  Everything is house-made, including the bread, butter, house cheese, vinegar and more.  All ingredients are sourced hyper-locally, (the seafood and fish comes from a fisherman whose boat is 200 m from the restaurant). The bread is baked just before service so that it arrives with your first course still steaming from the oven (and is some of the best bread I have had in the region).  A yogurt ice cream, part of the dessert, was churned at the last minute and never went in a freezer.

Our 7-course lunch included a number of dishes that don’t sound unusual but surprised with their simplicity of presentation and explosive flavors: Butternut squash, grilled and served with house-made fresh cheese and pumpkin seed-parsley-garlic vinaigrette; tortilla espagnol, the classic egg and potato pie, here with onion bits that had been roasted in the wood oven until crispy and  aromatic; sashimi of grondin gris (an underappreciated fish that, served raw, was toothy, saline and wonderful) with daikon radish and piment d’Espelette oil;  grilled collar of the same fish with olive oil, sea salt and house vinegar; leeks cooked “en papillote” very slowly on the wood grill, topped with diced Meyer lemon (and perhaps my favorite dish of the entire meal);  merlu cooked on the braise with sauce  pil-pil and a salad of cabbage and sunflower seeds (merlu, a flaky white fish, is THE fish of the Basque countries, often cooked “pil-pil”, in which the gelatinous fish juices are emulsified with garlic and olive oil);  yogurt ice-cream, with local yuzu confiture.  Wow!

The thing is, every dish was excellent.  The service was informal but well timed.  It would be difficult to find fault with any element of our meal.

The wine list is chock full of natural and organic wines at very generous prices. A bottle of winemaker Thierry Puzelat’s excellent Clos de Tue-Boeuf “Le Brin de Chèvre”, a natural white from the Touraine region, was only 45 euros.  And the 2nd bottle we took for home was only 25!

Pluviôse
Address:  3, Rue du 17 Pluviôse, 64500 Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Tel:  (011 33) 06 67 41 78 07
Reservations: very strongly advised as the restaurant only has 12 seats. No website, reservations by phone.

Literally across the street from the Bay of Biscay, Le Socowa is the  French version of a beach front fish shack. With that in mind, you would expect that organization would not be a strong point, which it is not:  they almost never answer the phone if you call for a reservation and as far as I can tell, they don’t have a website.  Similarly, the service is a bit casual:  the waiters are clearly stretched to cover all the tables on the terrace when the sun is out, chatty and easy-going when the clouds scare away the tourist hoards. But where Le Socowa punches above its weight is in serving very fresh, very simply prepared seafood sourced that day from the fishing boats docked at the port of Ciboure, 5 minutes away.

Consider the meal we had there this spring.  With aperos, crisy croquettes a la morue, moist salt cod barely held together with béchamel sauce, then breaded and deep fried. To accompany a bottle of rosé from the Basque countries, a number of small plates including very fresh sardines grilled on the plancha with only a squeeze of lemon, slow simmered octopus with plenty of Spanish smoked paprika, and anchovy filets, house cured with white wine vinegar and olive oil.  For the main course, a “parillada de mer”, a seafood mixed grill including head on pink prawns, merluchon (the arch-typical white fish of the bay of Biscay, a relative of cod that I think corresponds to “hake” in English) and chiperons (tiny squids cooked whole), all served with saffron rice pilaf and broiled tomatoes. To finish, a plate of Basque sheep’s milk cheese.  All impeccably fresh and very very simple.

Le Socowa is the sort of simple, honest, regional restaurant it is a pleasure to run across when discovering a new city.

Le Socowa
Address: 45 Av. du Commandant Passicot, 64500 Ciboure, France
Tel:  (011 33) 05 24 33 37 05
Reservations: accepted but not really necessary outside the season…in July and August, why are you in a beach town anyway?

The last time I had the good fortune to dine at Chez Mattin in Ciboure was pre-covid.  This family-run Basque restaurants has been consistently one of my favorites for years, see my recommendation from 2013! But a lot changed during covid, and many wonderful restaurants have either not opened or never re-found their pre-covid form, in terms of hours, services or quality. Thankfully that is not the case with Chez Mattin…if a recent lunch is any indication, they have thrived and are maybe better than ever.

Our recent lunch included a creamy shellfish bisque as an amuse bouche, then a plate of the excellent 2 year old jambon Ibaiana from Maison Ospital, followed by starters of house-made boquerones (anchovies  preserved with vinegar and olive oil) served on Japanese rice (an inspired, if not traditional, pairing) and  tiny Bay of Biscay clams simmered with purple artichokes.  Main courses included veal sweetbreads roasted whole with puree of sweet peas and baby goat cooked two ways, as a roulade stuffed with green chard, and its meaty bones slow simmered with piment d’Espelette.  For dessert, a simple but perfect profiterole with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.  Yum!

The third restaurant (plus numerous bakeries) in the lineage of landmark London restaurant St. John, which has set the standard  for locally sourced, wonderfully simple and traditional English food since the 1990’s.  The original location in Farringdon still has one Michelin star, a feat for a restaurant where the decor is minimal and the simplicity of plate presentations can seem almost monasterial.  The latest branch in Marylebone, which opened in fall 2022, keeps to the same playbook of serving it’s neighborhood all day long, starting with baked goods and coffee in the AM,   and easing into a short but satisfying daily chalkboard menu that evolves through the week and even through the day.  Despite St. John’s reputation for nose-to-tale cooking (cold sliced pork with drippings bread), the chalkboard also featured a selection of satisfying vegetable dishes and salads (salted cabbage and dill:  beets with pickled walnut).  Hard boiled eggs with anchovies were also outstanding. If these dishes sound simple, that is really the point:  good ingredients, simply prepared with respect for technique and tradition. What more could you ask?

The wine list is long, filled with interesting organic and natural choices (we had a white Rhone from Eric Texier) with good options in all price ranges starting at about 40 pounds.  For dessert, we had the Eccles cake, a sort of turnover stuffed with mincemeat and served warm with a fat slice of farmhouse cheddar from Neil’s Yard…yummy!

The service is casual but efficient, and the servers seemed genuinely happy to serve and to show their knowledge and enthusiasm for the menu.  We dined in the late afternoon, in the slow period between lunch and dinner, but there was no drop-off in the quality of the welcome. Our server was able to give chapter and verse on every plate, including a robust pitch for the Eccles cake, which we had failed to order…great recommendation! Later, when we had finished, our server had nipped out for a break on the terrace of the cafe next door, before dinner service. But he still took the time to thank us for our visit as we passed.

St. John Marylebone
Address: 98 Marylebone Ln, London W1U 2JE, United Kingdom
Tel:  +44 20 7251 0848  
Reservations: accepted up to one month in advance and recommended.  The upstairs bar is available for walk ins

It always warms my heart to come across a restaurant like the Auberge de la Fontaine. Knowing that is is still possible to dine so well for so little money reminds me of how and why I fell in love with traditional French cooking in the first place.

It only adds to the experience that this charming country restaurant is located in the tiny town of Laas (pop: 131), a town which seems to consist mostly of a church, several speed bumps and this auberge (and of course the famous 14c fountain, really more of a communal well, from which the Auberge takes its name). On a rainy December weekday, the dining room was filled with a mix of workmen, families, groups of friends and older couples, packed into the small dining room and steaming up the windows.

The Auberge de la Fontaine has an a la carte menu but the main attraction at lunch is its menu du jour, at the very wallet friendly price of 14 euros. The menu du jour on the day we ate started with garbure, the near mythic cabbage and white beans soup of southwest France. Next came a salad of winter lettuces topped with a warm lardon vinaigrette and garlic croutons. The main course was an grilled beef faux filet prepared “a la Bordelaise”, meaning that while sizzling hot from the grill the sirloin is topped with a mixture of diced shallots and parsley that slowly softens as it mixes with the juices of the steak. And for dessert, an apple and prune clafouti with Armagnac-scented whipped cream. All wonderfully prepared without pretense or a second thought…14 euros!

This is the sort of eating I love, dining that is not an “experience” but an ever day part of French life. Good friends gathered around a good table. Reservations are definitely needed for lunch; even though Laas is tiny, la Fontaine’s reputation is well established and guests don’t mind driving a bit to enjoy it

Auberge de la Fontaine
Address: Place de l’Église, 64390 Laas
Tel: 05 59 38 20 20
Reservations: for lunch, reserve or you won’t get a table

In the Pays Basque, adding Borda to the name of an eating establishment signifies a rustic country inn. In Euskera, borda means barn and the original Bordas were kitchens set up in underused barns, often with the cooking done over wood-fired braziers and guests served at long rows of tables, outdoors when weather permitted. Although no one is likely to confuse the the bright, modern dining room at Haraneko Borda with a barn, its kitchen does feature a wood fired grill and oven, the room is framed by ancient wood beams and on sunny days, tables are set up on the expansive deck looking over the green, rural valley of Itxassou.

The restaurant at Haraneko is actually part of an expansive organic farm called Ferme Heranea where owner Christian Aguerre raises the ancient race of Basque black hogs known as “cochon noir de kintoa”, rumored to produce the best pork in France, was well as fruits and vegetables including the sour cherries for which the valley of Itxassou has become known. Starting a restaurant on the property was a logical next step in the farm’s evolution, creating a a dining experience that the chef calls “zero kilometer local”, meaning that the majority of the ingredients come directly from the restaurants own farm. Ham and pork from kintoa hogs, corn for taloa (Basque corn pancakes), chickens, eggs, piment d’Espelette, fruits and vegetables all from the farm. Even the wine served, although not all produced within 1 kilometer, all comes from the Pays Basque.

The cooking at Haraneko matches the setting, being both rustic and accomplished, sophisticated but simple, the kind of food I love to discover and to eat.

When we visited for lunch during the week in early May 2019, reservations were easy to get and the menu prices very fair. However, that could change, as Borda Haraneko has been discovered, recently being named Best Farm-Auberge in France by Le Fooding.

Haraneko Borda
Address: 3 Gerastoko Bidea, 64250 Itxassou, France
Tel: 05 59 15 09 68
Reservations: Recommended. Not busy outside the season but hours can be irregular

Combine a wine shop, a cafe, a natural wine bar, a hangout for locals that’s open from 10am to midnight and a restaurant where everything is made from scratch using ingredients gathered within 100 miles and what do you get? La Legende in Sauveterre de Bearn.

On the face of it, Sauveterre de Béarn (population about 1500, although higher in the summer when tourists arrive; the name of the restaurant is a reference to Sauveterre’s medieval fortified bridge, known as Le Pont de la Legende ) seems like an unlikely choice for two former Parisians (alumni of pioneering cave a manger Le Verre Volé). Rumor has it that, having decided to quit Paris, they made a tour of France and fell in love with Sauveterre. Factor in their desire to provision the restaurant exclusively on local products, and the choice begins to make more sense; the Bearn is increasingly known as the home artisan organic farmers, bakers, winemakers and more.

At La Legende, they take full advantage for the local bounty. The daily menu is very limited (they actually ask if you have dietary restrictions when you call to reserve; given that the daily menu has no choices, your answers will shape the meal of all that days guests!) but at 22 euros for 3 very well prepared, totally seasonal course, it is a fantastic value. The cooking is sophisticated but simply and elegantly presented, the flavors are fresh and inventive while still respecting tradition. There is no wine list, but the cave is deep with organic and natural choices, and the sommelier is also your server, so expert advice about pairing with today’e menu is at hand.

The tiny kitchen is located smack in the middle of the dining rooms, so the chef is apt to chime in when you have questions about the day’s preparations. La Legende is the sort of friendly, unpretentious but startling good restaurant that I love.

La Legende
Address: 5 Rue de l’Abbé Duplech, 64390 Sauveterre-de-Béarn, France
Tel: 09 86 68 99 47
Reservations: Recommended. Menu is very limited, so you will be asked about dietary restrictions when you call

See more photos here:

Les Passionés bills itself as a cave a manger, which functionally, means a wine shop where you can also get something to each beyond the charcuterie and cheese you find in a bar a vin. The description written on the restaurant’s facade, “Cafe du marché Vins d’artisans” gives a better idea of the restaurants ambitions, but both fall short of capturing the genius of what they do here.

I would describe it as follows: lovingly sourced products of the region, prepared with care, respect for tradition and inspiration, presented with simplicity and sophistication, paired with wines that are organic, biodymanic or natural, all at prices that are bordering on philanthropic. It is restaurants like this that convince me that French cuisine today is both vibrant and forward-looking, sophisticated and inventive in approach but vitally concerned with how people eat today, and focused on safeguarding dining as the center of everyday French life.

Located along the banks of Toulouse’s Canal de Briennes, Les Passionés manages to pack about 40 seats between its bottle-lined walls. The tables are so tightly spaced that guests coming and going risk jostling other diners but the room hums with well-fed contentment. the sidewalk out front adds another 20 seats or so on sunny days, and the view of the tree-lined canal makes up for the traffic noise from the busy Allée de Briennes.

Les Passionés
Address: 31 Allée de Briennes, 31000 Toulouse France
Tel: 05 61 13 99 06
Reservations: Recommended