There’s a new kid in town: tapas restaurant Pica-Pica. I had already heard rumours about this new arrival before I could tempt Chéri to join me there for lunch. My birthday seemed like the perfect excuse to try this classy restaurant in the heart of Béziers. And judging from our delightful lunch, this place is well on its way to becoming our new favourite place to go eat.
Warm colours
Fabien Lefebvre, former Michelin starred chef at Octopus, decided to come back to his roots by opening restaurant Pica-Pica in Béziers. Located on a corner of the spacious Place Jean Jaurès, it is a great asset to the town. We could sit on the terrace, as you often do in the South of France. However, Chéri and I prefered a table in the sophisticatedly designed interior. I loved the warm colour scheme mixed with modern artwork, designer lamps and a classic black and white checkered floor. The comfortable velvet chairs made us immediately feel at home.
Pica-Pica-style
Restaurant Pica-Pica is all about sharing outstanding tapas with dear friends. Chéri went for tapas and the à la carte menu, as he is a big tapas fan. He chose two little bites as a starter: the croquetas de jambon (7 euros) and the accras de morrue (8 euros). One look at the menu made me go for the set lunch (23 euros for three courses), which started with creamy mimosa eggs stuffed in Pica-Pica-style.
Open kitchen
Even though the restaurant was pleasantly busy, the friendly service came with a smile. While we waited for our main courses to arrive, we could peek into the open kitchen. The chefs all had everything well under control and, soon enough, we had two new dishes in front of us. Chéri had the beef tartare that came with salad and his favourite: patatas bravas. He was happy, although he gave sneaky jealous looks at my out-of-this-world crispy chicken filets in a flavorful tandoori sauce.
Shared dining
As Pica-Pica is a restaurant for sharing food, we had a little taste of each other’s food. Including the dessert, although I found it a bit hard to share my refined chocolate and speculoos cake… Of course, I ended up sharing it with Chéri, including the sangria marinated fresh figs, as I couldn’t resist his pleading look. Chéri was a bit sceptical when he ordered his dessert of strawberry juice. However, it appeared as a fancy double-walled glass filled with marinated strawberries and topped off with a scoop of lemon sorbet. Our conclusion after this delicious lunch is that Pica-Pica will see more of us. Soon!
