Relais du Pays de Sault - Espezel

In the unlikely event that they are special near the pyrenäen village, this beautiful authentic restaurant is the place to lunch. beret wears owner louis is a cartoon. we sat outside under the cover on a beautiful sunny day. the menus are from 25 euro. this includes aperitif, wein, brot, homemade laundry, salat de gesiers, 5 main thing to choose from, local cheese, dessert and coffee. it is a simple service, a glass, a plate so do not expect silver service. served on the dishes. it was a beautiful experience and amazing bargains. when they come to Sunday dinner, reserve them. (apparently closed in winter

Another visit in the relais and another great eating. a must visit when they are in the opposite.

I have eaten here many times, while living in Puivert. An amazing couple of lipsmacking hours devouring a most hearty meal accompanied by excellent freeflowing wines, which are included. Oh to be able to return to France, so as to be able to dine here...again.

A Reccomended place to eat, with a Menu of excellent quality at a reasonable price with a really genuine Atmosphere. We cannot wait to go back.

We had lunch here one Saturday with a large group of friends in the middle of August. The food was excellent local cuisine. We enjoyed the atmosphere, the food and the drinks. The entree was plates of charcuterie, bowls of salad with gesiers de volaille...and a wonderful dressing. Our vegetarian companions were treated to a colourful salad which included fruit, avocados, and peppers as well as the standard mixed salad elements. Next came our choice of mains the Daube was mouthwateringly delicious, the steaks succulent and the vegetarians had superb fish, although I can 't remember the type. There was enough Daube served for two, to give all of our meat eaters a spoonful as wall. The roast potatoes were sinfully delicious. The desserts were as good as the meal. Our only mild criticism was that the crepes were served cold, but then that is quite common in France. The price was €23.00 per person. Unfortunately for us, we enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to bring some friends who came from Ireland to the same place AND to stay overnight so that we could all relax. The price for a bed in a very simple but spotlessly clean room was €14.50 (one room had no toilet, although it was very close by on the corridor) and the whole price quoted was €39.50 per person per night for dinner, bed and breakfast. Thus making dinner €2 more expensive than lunch. We spent a lovely afternoon wandering the village and had a very interesting hour and a half being shown the church. However when we arrived at the Relais for the 19.30 start time for dinner, we got slightly suspicious as there was no smell of cooking. We were served the charcuterie which had obviously been sitting out on the serving plate for some time. The bread was hard as the hob of hell. The salad was very basic. There was a half bottle of muscat and a bottle of red wine on the table. We didn 't complain UNTIL the main course arrived. It comprised luke warm slimey pasta, a few slivers of mushrooms and four sausages. To say it was tasteless is to be generous and it was evident that the meal had been badly reheated having been cooked at least several hours earlier. it was disgustingly inedible. Any cook would be ashamed to serve it. We were mortified for having exposed our guests to such a travesty. Both of us separately spoke to the waitress who sympathised with us but explained that the meal during the week is never the same as at the weekends. There was nothing on the list of charges to suggest this and considering the dinner that night was more expensive than the lunch, it was hardly credible. She explained that there was no chef and the only alternative she could offer was confit de canard which she could heat up for us. As none of us would normally order confit, it was not a suitable alternative. She then said that if we liked we could just leave. we asked if she was certain that would be ok. She assured us it was. We went back to our friends and considered our position. We gave her a generous tip as she was embarrassed by the whole thing, we packed our bags, said thank you to her and went to the car. It was a terrible disappointment as we had a lengthy drive and had really been relishing our night out together. However, things then went from bad to worse! As we turned the car, the young lady came from the Relais with two young men, who proved to be both rude and aggressive. She said she had spoken to her boss by phone AFTER she told us we could go and that he insisted we paid for what we had. She said he wanted €40.00 from us. Considering the quality of what we had we were very reluctant to pay as we had to find dinner for ourselves elsewhere. The two young men kept interfering with our conversation and insulted us and used foul language to us. When we objected, she claimed they were just two other customers who were concerned for her safety on the street on her own. At no time had we been either aggressive or unpleasant, so why they would have been concerned for her, I don 't know. We were deeply insulted at her implication that we had left without paying she had told us to go and we had given her a good tip (which she did not return, needless to say) for her troubles. My partner, against my better judgement, paid the €40.00. So beware of eating here in the evenings during the week. It is not recognisable as the Relais which we visited for lunch at the weekend. We were so disgusted and embarrassed at her behaviour towards us in the middle of the village, we are unlikely to ever visit again.