We have had dinner numerous times at the original La Maison de Petit Pierre in Béziers. It’s amazing to see the care and love that the restaurant puts into their dishes. Chef Pierre Augé, the winner of the French edition of Top Chef in 2014, runs the restaurant. Named after his father, he quickly became known as “Petit Pierre” to avoid confusion. Hence the name of the restaurant: La Maison de Petit Pierre.
Set menu
A couple of weeks ago, Chéri treated me unexpectedly to a wonderful dinner. We enjoyed our feast inside and felt very welcome in the modern, light, well-styled interior. In summer, you can also opt to sit outside on the spacious and equally well-designed terrace. La Maison de Petit Pierre has set menus. Their 3-course lunch menu, served from Monday to Thursday, is excellent value for 25 euros. And for dinner, you can choose between a 4-course menu ‘En 4 Temps’ (45 euros) or a 6-courses ‘En 6 Temps’ one (75 euros), also called the ‘Tais-toi et Laisse Moi Faire’ (‘be quiet and leave it up to me’) menu. We wanted it all.
Mouthwatering
No matter which menu you choose, you will always get the full treatment when eating at Pierre and Fanny Augé’s restaurant. They prepare all their dishes with so much love and attention. The chef transforms the carefully selected ingredients into simple yet generous servings. When taking your order, the waiter asks you for your culinary wishes and then…let the chef and his team surprise you. The restaurant is not only known for its great food, but also for its beautiful presentation. We started with a fine glass of wine to accompany our ‘mise en bouche’: three mouthwatering appetizers. Our first starter was a savoury version of an île flottante, served in a beautiful mushroom broth. And our second starter was a delicious prawn tartare presented on a delicate beetroot and red carrot jelly that married perfectly together.
Piece of art
The menu ‘En 6 Temps’ has two main courses. We began with the fish dish, with a sea bass served on a bed of topinanbur risotto and mash and generous shavings of black truffles. The meat dish was a perfectly grilled piece of beef and winter vegetables and- again- a copious amount of black truffle. Two dishes with truffles made my night out, no matter what the desserts turned out to be! Although we were pleased with the last two courses as well. First, I enjoyed a varied cheese platter. As Chéri isn’t really into cheese, he got a pre-dessert of tapioca and a creamy chocolate custard. The grand finale was almost a pity to eat! But it looked so tempting that soon enough, we dug into our vanilla/chocolate biscuit, homemade ice cream, peanut ganache, and more delightfulness. It was completely spot on. We’ll be back. Soon. Evening or noon.
