Relais de Sceaury, 66720 Rasigueres

Rasigueres, which is a small village on the Agly river, is lucky to have its own restaurant which the residents can get to on foot come rain or shine (and yes there sometimes is rain!). Nobody in the village is more than 5 minutes away from the restaurant, which is open for lunch and dinner every day in the summer, and also several days a week in the winter, which is quite unusual. For example in the nearby beach resorts almost everything closes up promptly at the end of September.

The chef and the manager were already well-established in the area, having previously had a restaurant in a neighbouring village, so there were no bad surprises! In fact the location would be perfect for a cafe as well, but apparently this is not possible under the existing licence.

There are several menus available ranging from 24 to 32 euros, a children’s menu at 12 euros. as well as a light lunch menu in the summer and a la carte. The wines served are all local and mostly from the Rasigueres Cave Cooperative, which is famous for its AOC Rose de Tremoine. The chef has a very attractive way of presenting his dishes, which are often decorated with local flowers and herbs, and there  are always interesting hors d’oeuvres to go with your aperitif. The menus change on a regular basis, are adapted to the seasons and offer local produce. Lamb from the Pyrenees is a regular feature and there is usually a tempting fish dish too. I have eaten there many times over the past few years and have never been disappointed.

The village has some other interesting places to visit too. There is a thriving pottery, the Poterie de Carbassou, which offers some attractive  pieces for sale,  including raku and a range of black traditional dishes. Marie-Claude Fabrer is the local artist and you can visit her at the Atelier de Fablor to admire her paintings or even sign up for one of her art courses – she specialises in pastels but also offers lessons in water colour and charcoal. The image above is one of her paintings.

There  also two excellent caves prives in the village, Le Domaine des Malyces, owned by Yvon and Corinne Soto  (the name of the cave consists of  their initials and those of their children!) and Domaine Seguela, which already has a large restaurant clientele in the U.K.  including several of the ex-Conran restaurants. The Domaine des Malyces on the other handis a fairly new endeavour, and their wines, many of which are bio, are excellent value for money.  and include a particularly unusual white Cotes du Roussillon and a range of three interesting red wines.

Update October 2013:  The restaurant now has a new young chef , who is carrying on the good work , and having eaten there at the beginning of the month, I can continue to  recommend it as before.