Saturday, September 03, 2011

Folia- Château de Flaugergues (Montpellier, France)

We just heard that the Folio Restaurant Château de Flaugergue in Montpellier was really good. We had to go to Montpellier anyway to do some errands so we decided to have a nice lunch in the city as well.


Built at the end of the XVII century, Flaugergues is one of the so-called 'Follies', built in the countryside around Montpellier. 'Houses in the Foliage', they were the result of a new order of aristocracy, whose wealth came from their service to the King. Planted in the heart of rural domains, they are surrounded by magnificent gardens. They would also become the summer residences of the rich and famous of Montpellier during the XVIII century (www.flaugergues.com).


Folio Restaurant itself was born of a meeting between the talented chef, Thierry Alix, and the landowners, the Colberts. The Folia is Flaugergues’ only restaurant. Their philosophy is to strive everyday to offer their customers a market cuisine. The products are fresh and the menus are made in accordance with the seasons.


I took the 3 course lunch menu at 19.00 euros.

The first dish was Tomate confit with blue cheese. This was one of the most amazing dishes I had in a long time...and it was just a cold tomato. Go figure! But the taste of the tomato was out of this world. It was so fresh and so full of flavour. All the ingredients complemented each other. The dish was so so simple and so so good!


My main dish was Veal stew with pappardelle pasta. Another simple dish and was it was hearty & tasty. The veal was so tender and the pasta soaked up all the flavourful sauce. I always love and enjoy these kind of dishes.


My friend had the Steak tartare (15.00 euros). The hand chopped steak tartare was amazingly yummy. The raw meat was of the highest quality & very tender. The flavours were Asian influenced with ginger & lemon grass with a slight taste of sesame oil & soy sauce (plus all the other normal ingredients that go into making a tartare). We thought this was one of the best tartares we have had in a long time...not just because of the quality but because of its uniqueness in using Asian flavours. Really really good.


Overall; the food was really good at Folio. Simple, seasonal and tasty. Prices were so reasonable; the price/quality ratio was just right. The service was friendly & efficient. The atmosphere was easy-going & cozy. This is going to be one of our 'to eat' places in Montpellier for sure.

Address: Folio Château de Flaugergues - 1744, avenue Albert Einstein - 34000 Montpellier
Telephone: 04.99.52.66.35
Open from Monday to Friday: Services from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm
Site: www.folio@flaugergues.com

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