L Auberge Champetre - Escanecrabe

We went with some friends who had made the reservation. Although very quiet when we arrived on a Saturday night just on 8.00 pm when it opened ,within minutes the place was heaving with a lively atmosphere as the locals were clearly out to enjoy...themselves! Before our starters arrived there was a welcome bonus of a very good vegetable soup. I then had the warm foie gras with apples which was excellent and escargots also went down well. My wife had a very good smoke salmon dish which was a special of the day. For main course the majority of us had Cote de Boeuf which was excellent and cooked to perfection and my wife had the chicken and which went down very well for someone who does not normally eat meat there were no non-meat mains! .For wine we enjoyed a very good Margaux which was the second wine of Chateau Giscours.

We went here against the recommendation of our hosts. We thought it would be worth trying but NO! It really was awful with meat and blood everywhere. Perfect if you are a carnivore!

9 of us had dinner here recently. The atmosphere was busy and there were people of all ages. It is a very informal place with a bright roaring feu du bois oven, so hot you can 't get too near. The 20 euro menu was...lovely! There are more expensive menus and also a la carte but 20 euros was fine for us. Everyone starts with soup, which is basically cabbage and frankly delicious! The starters were varied with half a quail on foil gras and toast which was superb and there was also charcuterie amongst other things. We nearly all had tranche du boeuf as the main course. Really very much like an onglet steak, grilled/cooked on the wood fire. Chewy as expected but delicious. A carafe of very palatable red wine (1 litre) cost 10 euros with half a carafe at 6 but there is a fairly good and more expensive wine list if one wishes to taste local wines. The vin de table was fine however. There is little , virtually no, choice for a vegetarian and I would not recommend the restaurant if this might be a problem. One of our party doesn 't eat fish or meat at all and his only choice was a double portion of grilled goats cheese and salad which was really a starter. I gather it was very rich and greasy. 9 people ate well for 170 euros. Service was a bit slow, they were busy, but attentive if you caught the lady 's eye. Friendly place, you really need to book especially a large party, because people all seem to arrive at the same time and by 8.00pm the restaurant was packed. There are outside tables for good weather although we were inside. If I come back to South West France again I will certainly think of returning. We much enjoyed our dinner.

Tried to eat with 3 families. Reservation for 6 but we were with 10. Plenty of room but the answer was: no!

Living locally this is a firm favourite. The menu hardly changes except seasonal variations are added in . In the late summer the goats cheese stuffed tomato was lovely as a starter from the suggestions du jour board but this time I chose the Quail...served on their own foie gras could have had that as a main course DELICIOUS ! . Olivier was cooking as usual and as is the French way the steaks were a little under done to one of our dinner companions. Swiftly rectified We sat on the bench seating just opposite the doors , not very comfortable would next time prefer normal chairs.