Chateau La Fleunie

We were 3 couples having vacation in the area and selected the Chateau La Fleurie for a nice evening dinner marking the end of our week of vacation. The location and the castle is a perfect setting for a nice dinner. However, our expectation were not met. We all opted for a 4 cource menue. We spend some time to figure it all out. We were told that the menue was new and that the English version had not arrived yet, and then we had to ask Google for some assitance. The staff had better things to do. The first course was supposed to be a chevice of swordfish. It was raw swordfish directly from the fridge and it had no taste, just some drops of lime added just before serving. Far from our experience with real chevice in Peru. The fois gras was good, as always in this region. The main course was a combination of chicken and langoustine. We had tried to find a wine to go with the langoustine, but when it arrived, the main course had the size of a small starter and there was one single tail of a langustine somewhere in the dish. A huge disappointment. The dishes look beautiful, and the size would be right if it was a meal with 7-8 courses. The maximim here was 5 courses and with 4 in our fase, only 1 of 6 guests felt it was enough. We are not large people so 4 dishes should be sufficient. The staff was rather uninspired. They served the food and removed the dishes. Smiling or talking with the guest was obviously not a part of their job description. If you are looking for a good meal in the region, look somewhere else.

The Chateau itself is tucked away down a single track route and has an old-world charm, wooden beams, hunting friezes, and decoration that makes more than a nod to its historic past. Our room was very comfortable with a gorgeous view over the rooftops to the river valley. At this time of year, the restaurant was quiet, and we had all the attention of the well-informed maitre d’hôte to steer us through the menu. It’s really satisfying to find somewhere that reflects its history and rural location in the menu choices, which focused on local Périgourdine dishes, presented in an elegant way, with some delightful flourishes (although the “cocktail du chateau” that I chose was a rather alarming swimming-pool blue-green colour and I wished I had gone for the kir au noix! My main dish, the fish choice, was delicious, and the cheeses to follow were a nice match with the red Bergerac selected for us. A perfectly balanced menu, well-presented, and the personal touches made this quite special.

Words fail me. From the gorgeous surroundings, to the decor, to the menu, to the wine, to the service, to the prices: all excellent, all unbelievable. Google Maps took us down a beautiful route off the beaten track with more trees than I knew existed, and then, lo! There was the chateau. The staff were very happy to see us. We ordered the menu “emotion” and I came close to weeping for joy. The chef did amazing things with lamb and seafood. I asked if they had any St Julien by the glass, but was introduced instead to the loveliest, smoothest glass of Lalande Pomerol in the history of the Gironde. And when the bill came, the price was so low that I thought they had made a mistake they hadn’t). Food heaven for the price of a mediocre meal in London. Who could ask for more?

We have shared a lunch in a very beautiful setting, with succulent, inventive and very good products: the mustard ice beef tataki, pork and desserts are worth the back. The qualitative price ratio is very good. To find out if we're on the way!

Good kitchen with a presentation in the plate, nice dinner on the terrace, well maintained set, room on the courtyard need refreshment.