Arriving at the restaurant set in a delightful colonial-style house that was once a diplo­matic residence there is a very comfortable feel – more like going to friends for dinner than out for a formal dining experience. The welcome is made all the warmer by the owner’s beautiful collection of vibrant paintings hanging from the wall. There are three options of where to dine, the main dining room with a horseshoe shape bar; the wine room with the house’s wine cellar on the far wall behind a glass screen, or al fresco on the terrace. Looking for a quiet spot to catch up with my dinning compan­ion we took a table in the wine room.

The high ceiling, wooden floors, high backed alternating blue and red chairs and lemon linen clothes on the table create an elegant, intimate yet relaxed atmosphere.

The food style is from Provence, the crossroads between France and Italy that bring elements of them both to the ta­ble, rich in high quality fresh ingredients. We were eager to try the cooking style of newly arrived chef Jerome Chautard from St Tropez.

For our amuse bouche chef served a pan fried quail egg dusted with black truffle and ratatouille presented on a pair of inter facing white china spoons.

For his first dish Jerome had prepared a triangular terrine of pressed foie grass with stalks of asparagus running through, wrapped in Parma Ham. He served this with a tangy onion jam and toast which together made a great taste combination. With this course a glass of Yvon Mau Colombard Chardonnay vins du pay from Languedoc-Roussillon was poured, a pleas­ant, light refreshing wine with flavours of citrus, apple and tropical fruits.

His soup was refreshing gazpacho with mascarpone cheese floating in the middle. A refreshing full vegetable consistency spiced with cinnamon, chilli and a dash of tobasco that left a playful aftertaste. Don’t stir in the mascar­pone, enjoy it spoonful at a time as it adds another dimension to the dish. With this course a glass of Michel Lynch Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux, tastes of grapefruit, green melon and lime that worked well with the veg­etables.

Before the main course we enjoyed orange granite whose flavour had been strengthened with zest woven into it.

For our main course he served pan fried red snapper with Mediterranean mashed potato crushed with olive oil, black truffles, chives and garlic – the crisp skin contrasting with the soft texture of the fish work well with the flavoured mashed potato. This is comfort food at the highest level. Snapper goes well with a light red and I was happy we were poured a glass of Yvon Mau’s Merlot vines de pay from Languedoc Roussillon. Yvon Mau worked closely with growers to create a wine that dispels the notion that French wines are stuffy and complicated.

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