Le Mimosa, St. Guiraud

We have dined at Le Mimosa more times than any other restaurant anywhere.

The relaxing dining room combines simplicity without modern minimalism and in hot weather a table on the patio takes in the atmosphere of the charming courtyard.

We invariably start with the latest vintage of local Mas Julian white which is always available by the glass. As we study the menu the nibbles arrive, perhaps subtly marinated local Lucques (green olives) with some irresistible coated nuts.

As usual David or cusinière Bridget Pugh will propose a menu of the day based on local ingredients from suppliers established from years of research. Most diners opt for this - four light dishes followed by cheese (do not miss cheese here) and the dessert trolley. All that remains is to select a bottle of wine supported by David's first hand local knowledge.

Bridget's cooking has been honed through many years of experience to allow the flavours of the individual ingredients to shine through. Wild duck with preserved baby oranges on a bed of potato and spinach is a special example. Foie gras on a jacket potato with a few sesame seeds had become another signature dish. The balance of rabbit stuffed with sage and rabbit kidney stuffing has now been perfected. Home smoked trout on a perfectly dressed salad is delicate elegance. A fresh goats cheese and cep tart is given the minimum of treatment. A pot-au-feu of pigeon is self served from casserole with the young vegetables and stock creating a staircase of clean clear flavours. The marine sweetness of seared scallops and flamed gambas is balanced by peppery local olive oil and lemon juice. Lemon tart and geranium ice cream are simplicity itself. Honey and walnut tart shows mastery of lightness.
A major advancement over the past five years has been David's creation of a three star cheese board. By maturing lair cru (raw milk) soft cheeses in ideal conditions David now delivers a generous selection in prime condition.

A simple but perfect white onion tarte. A fish soup with black eye beans, chilli, aïoli and raison bread croutons. Marinated swordfish and smoked salmon with hillside salad. Open ravioli with pétoncles, wild asparagus and coriander pesto. Goats cheese and walnut ravioli, asparagus, cep jus (one of their signature dishes). Half a small jacket potato in its skin served warm and topped with a melting foie gras. Steamed red mullet, olive oil emulsion and saffron. John Dorey, and a startling deep red pepper sauce and courgette spaghetti. Veal kidney with grain mustard on pommes Dauphinoise and spinach. Beef seared on the grill and topped with foie gras wrapped in a spinach parcel.

The first course offered a choice of two dishes so we had two of each and shared. A salad with lardons, a dash of Roquefort cheese and quails eggs was light, refreshing and perfectly dressed. A terrine of various bits of duck meat with leaf salad was also good, although personally I would have liked a small piece of toast with it. Next tagliatelle with poppy seeds embedded in the pasta supported a few mussels, green and wild asparagus with a light creamy fish and cheese sauce. A great dish with the poppy seeds providing inbuilt seasoning. The fish course was a steamed fillet of black sea bream and a tomato, olive and olive oil sauce with basil and a garlic mayonnaise. Heavenly sunshine flavours. Wonderful bread dipping sauce. The main dish was loin of rabbit stuffed with pistachios and sage and came with a creamed grated potato and vegetable creation and a firm but light white sauce. We had a similar dish on a previous April '94 visit where the herbs in the stuffing had dominated the dish. This was much more refined and better balanced, definitely a hit all round.

The small but high quality cheese board accompanied by walnut and raison bread was followed by an intense passion fruit sorbet as a pre dessert. They then wheeled in the double decker dessert trolley from which I savoured a light and nutty walnut and honey tart, the habitual chocolate torte with (also habitual) freshly made star anise plus chocolate, coffee and armagnac ice cream. With coffee they brought some fresh moist florentine mixture (without chocolate). I also treated myself to a honeyed but not overly sweet late harvest Clairette Beudelle from Mas Julian. As usual a very relaxed meal with a balanced show of fine dishes and great desserts. Roll on our next visit.

A special and fun meal in October 1995

By staying in St. Guiraud dinner was simply the luxury of being a two minute walk away. We had planned to eat here twice but one of their special regular theme evenings tempted us for a third indulgent evening. New this year is a wine option for 19 € per person to sample six different wines chosen by David Pugh to be appropriate for the six course menu they always offer in the evenings and at Sunday lunch. For us this option allowed us to sample a dozen regional wines and introduced us to several new "finds" such as a red Faugères which, unusually, is able to stand up to most cheeses.

As well as two splendid and very relaxing dinners we also attended a six course dinner featuring twelve different wines produced in the vicinity of the Pic St. Loup. The six producers of these wines also attended the dinner and wandered round pouring the wines (appropriate to each course) while expounding about their qualities to what seemed like over 70 diners seated at long tables so that everyone could fit cosily in the main dining room. This left the regular staff of Le Minosa to prepare and serve a meal of the usual very high standard despite the numbers involved.

Memorable dishes included a half dozen oysters served warm with a dash of light and racy cream herb sauce, freshly smoked trout served warm and wild boar fillet that was cooked to perfection with a deep and gamey sauce - easily the finest wild boar dish I had ever eaten.