La Belle Etoile, La Roque-Gageac, France

We stayed in La Roaque-Gageac, in an Airbnb apartment just over the hotel, so it would have been very convenient for dinner, but we were trying to eat just at lunch and avoid a heavy meal right before bedtime. One day we made an effort to see something nearby and come back in time for lunch and it was well worth the effort. The amuse bouche was a duck rillette that I really loved, and would have ordered another of had it actually been on the menu, and the bread was also very good.

My husband had oysteres as his starter, and I think he would say what I did about the rillette--even though cooked oysters are not his favorite, this dish was exquisite, and he could have made a whole meal just of this. I had a langostine ravioli dish that was equally fantastic.

This was the only place that we had lamb, and it was beautifully prepared and delicious. The meal ended well also, and I would definitely go back here, even if I wasn't staying nearby, the meal was that good. The only down side is that because it is also a hotel it is one of the few places where there were non-French tourists. We found throughout the trip that while we could often overhear what people were saying, when we understood less of what was being said, the happier we were, and that was certainly true here.