Le Pastis (Montpellier)

We have heard and as well have read good reviews of a bistro in the old city of Montpellier. Since, we had to be in Montpellier to pick up a friend from Geneva. We decided to try that particular bistro for lunch.

The bistro is called Le Pastis.


Le Pastis has an open kitchen and is well decorated.


It felt very cosy and warm.


The first dish we tried was creme topinombour. The soup was very nice. Rich, creamy and tasty. A nice comfort soup for a cold winter day.


The second dish was nem stuffed with confit of duck and lamb accompanied with lentil salad. The nem was nicely deep fried to a light and cirspy brown. The suffing was a good mix of flavours.


The third dish was veal with peanut sauce accompanied with terriyaki pasta. I think there was only 100 g. of meat. I am not sure if the chef thought we needed to be on a diet, but this was not very generous at all. Though the meat was cooked well and had a good flavour. The side dish was a bit strange. It was more like an American pasta salad but warm instead of cold. I think the chef was trying to be creative but I felt it turned out to be more of a picnic side dish rather than in a bistro.


The fourth dish was pintade with polenta. I had a shock when the dish arrived. It was nicely presented on a black slate plate. But, there was only two slices of pintade and the head of the beast. How they dare serve this kind of portion is beyond me. However, the pintade was nice and tender. On the other hand, the portion of polenta was copious and it tasted fine but nothing outstanding.


Le Pastis did not live up to its reputation. Which is too bad. I thought the appetizers were much better than the main courses and the I thought the portions for the main courses were not generous. I was hoping to have another nice place to eat in Montpellier. I do not think we will be returning to Le Pastis any time soon.


Click here for directions to Le Pastis: