Restaurant Gilles Goujon

This was an exquisite experience. There were moments where the combination of sublime clarity of flavours, textures and whimsical presentation, particularly in the amuse bouche, establish the benchmark as three star Michelin standard. This restaurant is top notch and well worth the drive to its relative remote location in the small bucolic village of Fontjoncouse. In fact I think this setting rather enhances the experience as the pretences of the the big city Michelin starred restaurant are left behind. What is left is the food and the relaxed but attentive service.
We all had the Quelques pas dans la Garrigue Menu. The amuse bouche are a triumph, particularly the first ones with bread cases and surprising, and quite amazing, liquid centres. There was a second amuse bouche to follow which was an ‘artificial’ tomato floating in a minty broth. Lots of whimsy but a masterful combination of textures and flavours.
Following this was a prawn based dish with a stunning and very elaborate presentation. This was served with a semifreddo tomato based ‘push pop’ which was sublime. I do think I perhaps missed something in this dish as I was distracted by the process of having to dismantle the elaborate lattice that encaged the prawn.
The pigeon encrusted in almond was superb, however the cocoa sauce might do with some adjustment as it did not quite marry with the other flavours. Perhaps some shavings of pure 100% chocolate would do the trick.
The wine selected for us was from the region and predominantly a white grenache. This was an excellent choice by the sommelier and very good value.
The décor to the dinning room is perhaps a little dated and lacking the sophistication of the food. Perhaps in a way it looks as though it is trying a little too hard to fit the look and feel of what a 3 star Michelin restaurant should be rather that creating an authentic and confidant dining room. In a way the décor should match the relaxed, but comfortable quality of the service.
Overall this was an amazing experience and the four stars are only in the context that this has 3 Michelin stars which sets lofty, stratospheric, unimaginably impossible to obtain expectations. It was very good.

Really nice drive in the hills to get to this lovely village.
The place is nice, modern interior with a style that mary itself well with the character of the stones.
Food-​wise, you cannot be disappointed when you get to a top rated French chef like him. You can still be forgiven to ask why all the fuss with 3 Michelin stars when 2 would have been well deserved and not create too high expectations (hence my rating)…
Service is a bit too relaxed or familiar to match with this level of cooking (or the bill).
Despite being a little underwhelmed overall, we must outline the magnificent cheese selection that gave a special note to the degustation menu.
Definitely recommend to try if you have the time to spare for the discovery.

Sometimes a meal in a fine dining restaurant feels a bit like a marathon; you are not sure you are enjoying yourself at the time but you look back on it fondly, perhaps through a rose tinted lens or two. I find myself convincing myself that it is not the restaurant’s fault — «I ordered poorly» or, more commonly, «I gorged myself on bread». However, often the food just is not *that* good.
There was a point mid way through our 5 hour meal here that it looked like it could be one of those nights. We had chosen the chef’s menu which featured those dishes from the a la carte that he fancied serving to his guest’s that day, and, apparently, chef was feeling generous. By the time we reached the principal main course of beautifully cooked bull (apparently recently slain by a matador) we were uncertain whether we would reach the end of the feast.
However, persevere we did and while the meal as a whole did stray into marathon territory at times, the food we ate (and largely enjoyed) was beautifully (and often theatrically) presented and cooked. Stand out dishes included succulent prawns served on finely diced ceps inside an arc of potato, and red snapper served with the most intense sauce of fish stock and saffron I have ever experienced. However, for us there was just too much richness in all of the food to make the meal as a whole truly memorable. Apparently it is possible to have too much of a good thing. When we return, I think that we will just order off the a la carte to avoid M. Goujon’s generosity overwhelming us again!
For those interested, the wine list is comprehensive featuring many of our favourite vignerons from the surrounding countryside and from the rest of France. Wines are grouped by AOC and then Vin de Table which made the selection process harder than it needed to be. Still, we were more than satisfied by an unusual Roussillon red our sommelier guided us to.
Interestingly, unlike other 3 star restaurants I have visited, the atmosphere was never formal which we enjoyed. Perhaps this is caused by the slightly rustic dining area which appears to be a series of farm buildings knocked together. However, I think that this also stems from the staff who, while attentive, were also friendly and engaging.

So a friend says «I have reservations at a ‘3 star’ not far from here. Are you in ?»
I don’t think there is ever a choice in the matter. You don’t eat lunch, you get in the rental car, and you go and have one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ meals.
Excellent, fantastic, imaginative, superb, and other adjectives are just starting points. The fact that the place has 3 stars probably make up the rest of the description: if it got a good rating in «The Guide» then it is going to be up to snuff.
So, is it worth it? Yes.
Almost all the food is sourced locally: duck, goat, truffles, dry aged beef, mullet, pollock, just to name a few. It’s prepared with style, imagination and just enough modernism to be interesting without overwhelming, and the service was superb. Multiple courses of dining that just get better and better.
The ‘Chariot of cheese’ has to be seen to be believed, and it may just be worth it for the cheese courses alone.
We were there for about 4 hours for dinner, and the time never dragged. We left satisfied and amazed.
The only odd downside (and why I bumped a point on the ratings) was the booze: the Wine List had a huge variety and was amazingly well priced (there were even bottles in there for only 40 €), so why charge 25 € for a glass of NV Tattinger?. This was an odd bit of sticker shock when we got the bill. In the «is this worth it» category, this didn’t qualify.
If you’re in the area, look this place up, and make a reservation.