We’d seen a sign in front of a Cafe Restaurant in Teilhet on our way to St Gervais and Saint Eloy Les Mines advertising lunch for €12. It had no other information, but Mick and I decided we wanted to try it, as we have read that it is often in small out-of-the-way places ‘one’ can find authentic French food.

On the following map I have also highlighted Montluçon and Clermont-Ferrand.

We arrived around 12.30pm and were met by a gentleman who looked terribly surprised to see us. I asked in French if we could have lunch and he replied (sadly) in English to follow him and that his wife was the cook. Later we found out that was all the English he had.

We were led to their dining room – which was actually a room in their home.

The room consisted of four tables with plastic-covered table cloths. One table had two local (?workers) half-way through their meal.  Another table was set for three (we later found out that it was for three men who were enjoying a few aperitifs in the bar before coming in for lunch).

The lady explained to us that the there was no choice with the menu and today there was pommes de terres and la langue de boeuf.

“Parfait” we said, before knowing what it really was. We understood beef and we understood potatoes, and eventually Mick worked out what ‘langue‘ meant.

We also ordered a pichet of red wine, which came out in a bottle that had been re-filled, and surprisingly, the wine was very good.

The entrée consisted of beetroot and tomatoes she explained had been grown in her garden, followed by a generous serve of the most delicious home-made potato pie.

At this stage, Mick and I were full, but there was more to come.

The next dish was obviously the beef with some mushrooms, and Mick exclaimed that it was beef tongue – la langue de boeuf is beef tongue!!

The next course was some salad, grown in her garden and a plate of cheese.

But there was more ….

A bowl of fruit was brought out plus another bottle of the wine.

At this stage we started to engage in (French) conversation with the three men at the table beside us. They were locals and ate at the restaurant often. It is only open in Spring and Summer and the menu of the day changes each day. They seemed very happy with the arrangements and encouraged us to return.

Mick and I think it will become our regular treat on a Friday. The lady gave us her card and asked us to phone her next time we were coming because she was worried she might not have enough cheese.

But….

We didn’t eat that much of it …really.