LA MAISON DE LA FONTAINE
Eating & Drinking
Eating & Drinking
Whilst you are staying with us you will have the opportunity to savour a wide range of menus, from the very simplest to the most exquisite, at the restaurants that abound in our region. Whether you are eating good, simple, classic French cuisine at a restaurant 10 minutes from us or enjoying the delights of the world famous Michelin 3 star Arzak in San Sebastian 90 minutes away in Spain, there is something for everyone!
Eating in….
We hope very much that you will enjoy some of our home cooking during your stay. Wherever possible we try and use our own home grown and organic vegetables from the vegetable garden, fruits from the orchard and eggs from our chickens. When necessary we buy good local or regional produce and we will always do our best to cater for any particular dietary needs. One of our more unusual crops is that of lavender, from the formal flower garden, and two popular house recipes are for lavender flavoured salmon and lavender ice cream. In 2009 we won the first prize for taste in the local salmon cooking competition with our lavender salmon recipe! Another house favourite is our lavender ice – cream. Click here to download recipes
Breakfast, the most important meal of the day doctors tell us, is usually served between 07.30 and 10.00, but we can get up earlier if you need to leave before 07.30! A typical breakfast would consist of a choice of breads, croissants and tarts; cereals; fruits, yoghourts and compôts of fruit; trout, ham, pâté, eggs; juices, teas, coffee and chocolate. We hope our breakfasts will get your day off to a good start and some even find that they do not need lunch!
Evening Meals, usually served between 19.30 and 20.30, are four or five courses and accompanied by good house wine. After an aperitif, a typical dinner menu would be soup (garbure or velouté), trout, duck and vegetables, cheese, desert and coffee. Digestifs are available for those in need! Dinner is served either in the house or, in summer, on the terrace.
Eating out….
Remember we provide a drop off and pick up service if needed so you can enjoy that extra glass or two of wine without worrying about getting back.
Cheap, basic but good….
There are three places within a few minutes drive of the house which provide cheap and cheerful food.
Pizza Bella is a small café type pizzeria at the entrance to the supermarket Intermarché just outside Navarrenx. Run by Alex, who lives in Araux, you can always be sure of a warm welcome, excellent pizza and other Italian snack food. Takeaway or eat there on the terrace – or bring back to the house to eat in the garden. Alex will also deliver to the house. Open everyday. Telephone: 05.59.66.08.36
Bar des Sports is to be found near the centre of Navarrenx and offers a good, basic lunchtime menu which can be got through in less than 20 minutes if you are in a hurry. Charlie and Nanou provide a cheery welcome and the log fire is a real blessing on a cold winter’s day. The shady terrace is a great place to be on a hot summer’s day and the place is usually very busy as it tends to be the mecca for local business people. Telephone: 05.59.66.50.63
Auberge du Bois is hidden away up a back street in Navarrenx but provides a totally different eating experience at lunch and in the evening. A basic fixed five course menu and a litre of appellation controlée red wine between two people is served up by Bernadette and costs 10€. You have to sit at long tables and have little control of who your neighbours are – which adds to the experience. Frequented by people from all walks of life it never offers less than an interesting experience! Open every day. Telephone:
Good value classic French cusine…
Moving up the culinary scale there are three excellent restaurants close by which provide lunch and dinner and relaxing drinks in between.
Chez Labat in Araujuzon is just 10 minutes walk away. It specialises in sturdy family cuisine—lots of garbure, excellent crudités, omelettes and charcuterie, local fish on some days, steak, excellent duck and pork and outstanding roast chicken (on Tuesdays). In summer you can eat on the delightful shady terrace, in winter in the very traditionally French restaurant. You are always guaranteed a warm welcome by Françoise, Genevieve and their daughters. Lunches every day 12.00—14.00, dinners Friday and Saturday nights only except in July and August when dinner is served every night. It is advisable to reserve a table. Telephone 05.59.66.52.21
Auberge Claverie in Audaux is about 5 minutes drive away (10 minutes cycling and 25 minutes’ walk) across the Gave d’ Oloron opposite the house provides classic French cuisine in a traditionally French setting (front restaurant) or in a modern salle (second restaurant). Chefs Alexandre and Sebastien (who are brothers) are passionate about their food: Alexandre concentrates on meat and soup, Sebastien on desserts which can be out of this world! The whole operation is orchestrated under the watchful if not steely eye of their mother Madame Claverie with brilliant service being provided by their team of waitresses headed up by Vivienne. Jean Pierre Claverie holds front of house and grows all the vegetables you eat—at the age of 80+. It is a wonderful experience to eat here but you need to book for the evening. The restaurant is open for lunch every day and for dinner every day except for Sunday and Monday evenings. Telephone 05.59.66.03.80
Restaurant Auberge de la Fontaine at Laas is some 7 minutes’ drive away and only opened under the present management in 2008 but has already achieved tremendous success and is considered by some to be the outstanding new restaurant in the area, indeed outside Pau and Bayonne. You are assured of a very warm welcome by the delightful Suzy and her ever cheerful husband Jean-Luc who is the chef. Cuisine is excellent classic French with some nice modern twists and the efficient team of charming waitresses, headed up by Suzy, ensures that you never have long to wait for service. In summer you can sit on the shady terrace to drink a long cold drink, eat lunch or dinner: the setting is idyllic opposite the very pretty church and there is plenty of room for children to wander off and explore in safety. In winter you can enjoy, and buy, the artwork displayed on the walls of the restaurant, all of which is the work of local artists. Usually very busy or full, it is essential to book. Telephone 05.59.38.20.20
Other local venues to try at this level include the Hôtel du Commerce in Navarrenx (05.59.66.50.16), LaBelle Auberge at Castagnède (05.59.38.15.28), L’Auberge de Roses at Monein (05.59.21.45.63), L’Auberge du Lausset at Hôpital Sainte Blaise (05.59.66.53.03) and Restaurant La Cancha in Oloron (05.59.39.57.41).
Culinary experiences not to be missed….
Moving up the culinary scale again there are several restaurants in the region which should be tried.
Arzak in San Sebastian is often cited as the “best restaurant in the world” and boasts 3 Michelin stars. Innovative and experimental cusine at its very best. That says it all – a once in a lifetime experience! You need to book well in advance (or be very lucky!). Telephone: +34 943.278.465
Chez Ruffet at Jurançon is an excellent Michelin one star restaurant. The fixed lunch menu at 27€ including decent wine is terrific value. Expect to spend much more in the evening for superb food and wine. Chef Stefan Garrade’s trademark “Terroir progressif” says it all. Telephone: 05.59.06.25.13
Restaurante Urbano & Casa Urolo in San Sebastian, described in the media as the culinary capital of Europe, are also excellent restaurants, particularly good value at lunchtime. Telephone: +34 943.420.434 & +34 943.423.424
For those with a confirmed reservation you can download two guides written by us Eating & Drinking Guide; Regional Produce Guide
Regional Food…..
The following from “Gastronomy The Heart of Béarn, an authentic welcome !” is a pretty good summary of what you are likely to find available at any time of year….
“Spring This is the time for delicious pork dishes. Garbure, a chunky pork, potato and vegetable soup is a speciality here. Fabulous charcuterie, the first asparagus is just coming, fresh broad beans and peas in warming risottos, crackling Pyrenean lamb.
Summer The time for picnics with crunchy bread from the local bakers, ewe’s-milk cheese (fromage de Brebis) bought direct from the farm or the local markets, various goats’ cheeses, fresh caught river trout or fish caught in the Atlantic, Gariguette strawberries are a must, as are the cherries. Try the local Roussane Peaches oozing in Jurançon wine, a speciality.
Autumn Juicy rib and steak beef Blonde d’Aquitaine, côte de Boeuf, grilled on the open fire, succulent duck breasts confit or magret de canard, traditional mushrooms from the local forests, cèpes, pumpkin soup, soupe de potiron, black pudding, boudin noir with roasted apples.
Winter Hams, homemade pâtés, foie gras, wild boar, venison, chestnut or wild mushroom soups, tarte tatin, pear tarts and chocolate desserts.”
Click here to see a selection of Classic Regional Menus, Local Wines & Personal Favourites and the Araux village recipe which won first prize for taste in 2009.