A light lunch at Aubeterre-sur-Dronne

 

You can't deny it, Aubeterre-sur-Dronne does have a very quaint square

I have mentioned before that one of the more pleasant aspects of our work (running a B&B) is the need to research and, in particular, the local restaurants and places of interest so that we may be able to give first hand advice to any of our guests should they ask us.  This was why we recently found ourselves seated at 'La Taverne' restaurant nestled on the cliff face at Aubeterre-sur-Dronne yet another of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. This building was once the home of the famous French crime/mystery writer, Pierre Véry.  Many of his books were made into successful films.

 

The perfect wine to accompany our light, early Spring lunch

We were lucky enough to be able to find a table on the upper terrace of La Taverne with lovely views down the valley and after being greeted by our host, the warm and friendly patronne, Carmen Hollander, we settled down to our lunch surrounded by, what seemed, mostly local French people doing the same.  We chose a half bottle of Graves de Vayres 2007 as an accompaniment to our meal and after tasting this we are now going to do a little more investigation at the Château. 

 

What a starter!  Home made quiche with a perfectly browned top

 

The main course, with the toasted panini in the background

 

This orange and citron tart was a great finish

We kicked off with a fine home made quiche, beautifully browned with grated cheese on top with a few haricots verts and parsley butter on the side.  Really, really nice and a very promising start.  The quiche was followed by toasted goats cheese, garlic and tomato served with a light but copious salad.  This was perfect for a very hot day, so hot in fact we were glad of the shade of the terrace.  The dessert was a well balanced sharp orange and citron tart, great for cleansing the palate.  At 12 euros per head without the wine we both thought this fantastic value.  If you factor in the view and ambience the value gets even better.  Highly recommended. 

 

Carmen looking justly proud of what she has achieved here at 'La Taverne'

All sated we left 'La Taverne' and wended our way up into the town marvelling at Aubterre's architecture.  It's a beautifully maintained town, currently undergoing a renovation of the paving in its main square where a small but interesting market is held on Sunday mornings.  There are lots of interesting buildings in labyrinthine to captivate one's attention.  Aubeterre is blessed with two wonderful churches.  Rightly famous for its subterranean, monolithic church, Saint Jean, with its wonderful frescoes which adorn the door each telling a different story, it has another equally interesting church in that of Eglise Saint Jacques;  next time you visit Aubeterre make sure you take time to visit this less well-known cousin of Saint Jean.

 

The magnificent Romanesque portico of Eglise Saint Jacques in Aubeterre

 

Every fresco tells a story