Le Toit Vert, ( 11510) Fitou

Once upon a time  there was a lovely restaurant located in an old barn in Fitou run by Joanna Pasquer, a Scottish lady from Fife,  and her French chef husband and we spent many happy times there.  But then sadly the restaurant closed and we headed for pastures new… Only to find out a few years later that in fact the family Pasquer had opened a new venture right next door to their former restaurant. It is called Le Toit Vert and  includes a bed and breakfast, cookery courses, a catering service and most importantly, a new restaurant.

Fitou, famous for its strong-bodied red wines,  is a bustling village  and seems to be in the midst of a building boom at least on the outskirts of town.  The restaurant is right at the top of the village and is bright and welcoming with a large outside dining room on the terrace, surrounded by lots of shrubs and flowering bushes. From the interior dining room you have a direct view into the glass-fronted kitchen, where many large and small saucepans were being tended.

The menu changes weekly and offers a combination of possibilities,with a choice of 1  to 3 dishes.  The day of our visit the starters were risotto with wild mushrooms, duck pie,  or cod with red peppers, followed by  Guinea fowl with figs, pork stew with shellfish, a “plait” of salmon and monkfish,  or steak with a wine sauce. .  The desserts were honey mousse, creme brulee, assorted pastries with a blackberry mousse,  and whisky Christmas pudding (!!) All the dishes were attractively presented and certainly a change from the usual run of the mill menus. Most of the wines offered were local and we chose a Fitou red, Domaine de Guilhem, at Euros 24, which was light enough to accompany all our main courses. Wine is also available by the glass, ranging in price from  Euros 3 .50 to 4.50 a glass.

The prices were Euros 17 for one dish, Euros 24 for 2 dishes and Euros 30 for three dishes.

We were delighted to renew contact with the Pasquers,  now ably assisted  by their grown-up daughter who was a very young teenager at our last meeting..    It should however be noted that the restaurant is only open from Fridays to Mondays, for both lunch and dinner. However you can always take advantage of their catering service for the rest of the week

Nearby you can visit the Fortress of Salses, a combination of a  fortified castle and  a military fortress built by Vauban,  which stands imposingly overlooking the Etang de Salses, with  panoramic views of the oyster beds and the Mediterranean sea in the distance.