One of Chéri’s favourite restaurants is Côté Mas in Montagnac, and I don’t mind joining him in his appreciation of it. This ‘rural luxury’ restaurant is part of the Paul Mas’ Châteaux- you might have heard of the Arrogant Frog wines- and roots in the heart of 150 hectares of vineyards, garrigue, olive trees and truffle oaks. In the mood for a special evening, I booked us a table for Chéri’s birthday dinner treat.
Spice up
When driving to the Côté Mas restaurant, we always marvel at the view of the sun setting over outstretched vineyards. Each time we tell each other that we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of France. Just outside the village of Montagnac we took a left to reach the impressive entranceway that led us to the wine estate. The restaurant is stylish and sophisticated with very tasteful decoration and some bold graffiti-style artwork to spice things up. Nice!
Amuse bouche
We were ready to undergo a gastronomic experience and chose the ‘Le Retour du Marché’ menu for 33 euros, including starter, main and dessert. You can also eat ‘à la carte’ or opt for the five-course surprise menu for 64 euros. All set and with a glass of bubbles in our hands, we received our first ‘amuse bouche’. I love these little bites to tantalise my tastebuds, as they always show off the creativity of the chef. After this surprise, we received our starter: a creamy, soothing, revisited version of a carbonara. Our main dish was a supreme of guinea fowl, served with an espuma of grilled corn and popcorn. The flavour combination was creative, and we both loved it.
Wine pairing
Dining on a wine estate kind of forced us to order a wine pairing. Well, forced might be too strong a word, as the prices for the wine pairing were more than reasonable. So, we opted for the three glass wine pairing for… 10 euros! I thought I had misread, but indeed, this is what we paid for three wonderful wines, of course including some from the domaine. The friendly waitress came with another amuse bouche before we received our divine Yuzu style strawberries. In conclusion: chef Alexandre Fontaine and his team know how to spoil their guests!
