Restaurant le Confluence — Restaurant in Bergerac

I went in a group of four and between us, we tried several dishes so I will leave reviews of each course here to help you make your decision.

Starters: Vanilla Tomato Tartare with Whipped Burrata: I was very disappointed by this dish. My least favourite. It was too sweet (I know that there was so added artificial sugar, but it was still seriously lacking savoury flavours). The whipped burrata felt like a waste... Burrata is so beautifully delicate as it is, but this whipped version just had no flavour or substance. Spicy Meatball Skewers: This was very interesting, but in a way that worked! The spicy meatballs skewers were lovely, and the tomato sorbet was different enough to be interesting, but the flavours actually really worked. The third element tasted almost like hummus? I don't know what it was, but this was a good dish.

Mains: White Fish with Vegetables in Coconut Milk Foam: this was really yummy. All the mains we tried were fabulous. It was so buttery and creamy and flaky but also not too heavy. Stuffed Chicken with Honeyed Aubergine: the best main! I highly, highly recommend this. It was perfection. My compliments to the chef on this succulent, juicy chicken. Such fantastic flavours. I would come back just for this chicken. 10/10 Veal: I didn't try this but apparently it was very good

Desserts: Cheese Platter: you are offered a selection of 6 cheeses from which you can choose 3, along with some jam. Nice choices. Lemon Sorbet: refreshing and interesting presentation. Very nice. It has something like lemon curd in the middle. Caramel Coffee Chocolate Cookie: the star of the show. It's very rich, so I might recommend sharing it between two people, and would recommend ordering a coffee with it, but this is just BEAUTIFUL. I've never tasted anything like it! You must try this. Fruit Salad with Violet Sorbet: refreshing and sweet. The violet flavour of the sorbet and the violet syrup that is poured over is a flavour you don't often get to experience. Very nice and easy to eat if you're full but want a little something sweet.

Overall, I would definitely...

Centrally located serving appealing plates with good service. We both had the menu du jour. I started with lightly cooked salmon with a cabbage and peanut topping/purée. Salmon was perfectly cooked and dish was very visually appealing but the salmon didn’t stand a chance against the cabbage and peanuts. My husband liked his foie gras starter. We both had the fish main (which was hake) again fish was perfectly cooked but completely overpowered by the pee purée and foam. For my palate the seasoning needs more nuance and balance between ingredients to make the dish shine. Dessert was tasty but nothing memorable. Service was diligent and sincere, we felt well looked after. Atmosphere was relaxed as we sat...

Nous rentrons dans un restaurant typique bistronomique. La carte vend bien, la présentation est maîtrisée. On s’attend à quelque chose de gourmand et maîtrisé en goût. Mais la déception commence : le plat que j’ai gouté est fade : un coeur de boeuf (quand on dit « coeur » on s’attend à une viande fondante mais elle etait dure + pas de question sur la préférence de cuisson. J’ai demandé si la viande etait surgelée on m’a sorti la carte du fournisseur du coin sans repondre a ma question. Peut etre qu’elle etait deja cuite ? Je ne sais pas mais elle etait tout sauf fondante. L’accompagnement : que de la betterave et pas de sauce). De manière générale la barre a voulu être mise trop haute. Le dessert en trompe l’oeil « recommandé » (bravo pour la technique) mais pas assez gouteux malheureusement. De la mousse sans vraiment de gout et des suprêmes d’agrume. C’est du marketing culinaire maîtrisé. Je n’ai pas voulu mettre une mauvaise note car on sens l’effort mais lorsque la serveuse arrive et pose la question « alors est-ce que c’etait bon? » et s’attend forcement à avoir une réponse positive mais pas de bol elle reçoit une critique, sa défense sans écouter le client et le fameux « c’est bien la première fois qu’on me le dit » montre qu’il n’y a aucune remise en question et que je n’ai pas été entendu. On commence a me faire des leçons sur le fait de ne pas vouloir dénaturer le plat et de me dire que j’aime pas la betterave je trouve ça vraiment moyen. Je ne parle pas du regard tueur du cuisinier à la sortie du restaurant. J’espere que cette critique sera lu et je souhaite une bonne réussite et remise en question à cet établissement. Une dernière chose : vouloir être locavore c’est tout à votre honneur mais ça n’empêche pas...