Restaurants

 So much has changed over the last couple of years - disruption in everyone's lives, businesses struggling with the effects of lockdowns and changing risk attitudes to what were normal everyday activities.

We've managed to get out to La Matha for the first time since July last year and only the second time since summer 2019 - some of our guests have been more frequently than us in that time!  One big change we've noticed is in the population of our favourite restaurants.  Our website lists six restaurants and of those, three have either closed or changed completely.  This post is to summarise where we are.

1. Gensaké  - we've known since 2019 that they would be closing in Gensac as the lease on their building was coming to an end.  Jenny and Gautier had bought a disused restaurant by the river in Pessac, above the quay, which they were planning to refurbish and open in summer 2020.  Well, we all know what happened in the interim!  What they did do was operate a pop-up restaurant at Chateau La Tourbeille (owned by Darcey Bussell) - this was delightfully located above the Dordogne just to the west of Pessac.  That was open in July and August of both 2020 and 2021.  Work is well underway on the refurbishment and I'm sure they'll be opening later in the year.  It will be called Pessa'Quai (do you see what they did there?) and we're very much looking forward to going again.
   

   

   
   
   
   
2. La Terrasse - our next favourite restaurant is La Terrasse in Duras.  Sadly, this is now closed in terms of what we know and is now a creperie.  This may well please many of our guests with young kids, though, so maybe not all bad.
3. Comptoir de Genes - we tried to book this for lunch the other day and were informed that it was closed.  This is (was?) perhaps one of the best restaurants in the area, so naturally, we're very disappointed.  However, all may not be lost.  I've just looked at their website and they haven't removed the restaurant page - it is also a wine shop and an épicerie; they do say that the "restaurant remains closed", which hints that it may open in the future...

On the plus side, we had a lovely meal at Au Four de la Rive, just on the Dordogne to the west of Flaujagues (used to be La Table Rouge).  We have also eaten at Chai Pascal in St Emilion, even though Pascal has retired. 

I am sure we will continue to find new and interesting restuarants as society returns to some form of normality.