Hervé Busset - Conques-en-Rouergue

We had a very pleasant meal in this pleasant environment, but it was not especially unforgettable. eating is unusual and beautifully presented, but the general feeling was that the experience was more artistic than gastronomic. the decor is like as many chic French restaurants. very modern, but a hard and angular, peculiar metal sculptures on the table and lighting so low that we had to use our iphone flashlights to read the menu. good chefs should not sit in the hands of the trendy avantgarde interior architects! let them speak for themselves.

Booked into this restaurant for a special night while staying in the old town of Conques. Not realizing that it is a long uphill walk from the restaurant to the Hotel Ste Foy where we were staying, we were most disappointed that on the day...of our booking we were able to arrange a taxi to the restaurant but not home. Our Hotel tried three taxis and the restaurant but no one was able to help. So......if you are staying in the old town and your old legs don't want another climb after a special night either book transport or change plans.

The restaurant has a 1 star Michelin award. The meal was very good, showing innovation, flair and beautiful presentation. The service was impeccable. Your choice is of anything between 3 and 6 courses, with a host of extraordinary 'mises en bouche' tasters in between. Expect to pay €40 for the 3 courses, and €18 if you fancy a glass of Champagne. Not cheap, but then if you want cheap, you'd stay in a Bed & Breakfast in Conques anyway. The room cost €130 a night - expensive in my opinion. The breakfast cost €20 per person, and would doubtless have been excellent, but for a third of that price we did OK in a motorway service centre.

A magnific place, great discoveries of flaveurs, always with the home-grown herbs so surprising and delicious, great new/newer plates. The quality of the napkin could be just a tad be improved. Nice service not too omni-present. I will come back a third time.

Then the Hervé Busset restaurant is the place for you. Situated outside the small town of Conques Mr. Busset creates simple but delicious and imaginative dishes using first clas products and herbs that you may never have heard of or at the most are quite rare. For example, how often have you heard of or even eaten hedge woundwort, yarrow flowers and ground ivy? The chef proposes a set menu, soup, meat, fish, poultry with an alternative if there is something you don' eat and each dish is artfully presented by the maître d' and his cheerful assistant.Congratulations to cuisinier Busset is 1 *Michelin really enough???