L’Auberge des Roses

Entering an Auberge always brings back dark memories of Chris Rea’s song of the same name being played on long car journeys of my youth. This impression was not improved when I entered this restaurant (situated just outside Monein) to find that it was completely empty of patrons and staff. After wandering around for a while Madame Rose appeared and thereafter the echoes of Rea’s ‘classic’ vanished from my mind as I was thankfully distracted by this restaurant’s excellent cooking.
To start, I opted for duck which was skewered, cooked rare and served with a chicory salad. The salad was the key to the dish as the slightly bitter and acidic chicory was perfectly complemented by the rich duck. Matters improved further with a main course which combined morels and sweetbreads in a delicious filo parcel. It was not what I had been expecting (the dish had been described as a «cassoulet») but the combination was nevertheless wonderful.
I finished the meal with the kind of cake that you only seem to find in France — delicate layers of different red fruit mouse and jelly balanced on top of one another to eye catching effect. It tasted as good as it looked — each bite was an explosion of decadent fruit.
The only slight disappointment (in addition to the welcome) was the wine list which was fairly brief although it did feature a brief but good selection of wines from the region (with lots of half bottle options). However, the food was great and Auberge des Roses is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Quelle cuisine: fine, on la mange avec les yeux, on la déguste avec nos papilles. Christophe ROSE, — (Cuisto​.et Patron avec Mme Eliane ROSE). d’où L’Auberge des Roses !! — propose le merlu roti, le crumble de canard aux champignons, les croustillants de gambas, le fondant de joue de boeuf braisée; la cassolette de tripes … !!
J’ai aimé: Tout, du début à la fin. tarte fine aux pommes … Le tout entre 30 et 40 EUR arrosé de Jurancon comme il se doit. se boit