LA BARBACANE — Restaurant in Carcassonne

Expectations were high because the restaurant is highly ranked everywhere. However, the food did not meet the level one would expect—it lacked flavor and sharpness. The service was unprofessional, with long waits, technical mistakes, and poor communication. The surroundings are very nice, and one would hope for a quiet atmosphere, but the live band in the garden played music that was far too loud, right next to the restaurant.

The first impression was very good. The chef de rang was professional, presenting the three menus and wishing us a pleasant experience. Yes—“negotiation” was required because everyone at the table had to choose the same menu. Due to my wife’s seafood allergies, we all went with the first menu, which was advised. However, when my cousin asked if he could have the chariot de cheese from the second menu, the chef de rang graciously allowed it at no extra charge—a very nice gesture.

We had drinks before arriving and decided to have wine with the meal. We ordered two different bottles from a well-curated, concise wine list—compliments to the sommelier. The selection was simple yet accommodating for different preferences, locations, and price ranges. A personal note: the sommelier could have smiled a little more.

When it came time to eat, our first course arrived an hour after being seated, aside from an amuse-bouche—a compressed watermelon full of seeds (difficult to eat without biting into them). The three following disks that followed were okay, but nothing memorable. Unfortunately, the service mistakes stood out: silverware set incorrectly, having to call the waitress for bread (which should have been a basic task), and a waiter tipping over a full wine glass while cleaning crumbs.

At the cheese course, we had to call back the chef de rang to request the chariot de cheese rather than the cheese included in the menu. Oddly, the waiters then selected the cheese randomly, for us, which defeats the purpose of choosing your own cheeses. Dessert was acceptable but again, not memorable.

In the end, a three-hour dinner passed without leaving a strong positive impression. While the setting and some gestures were nice, the food and service did not meet...

Nestled in the shade of the eastern rampart of the Cite, the garden restaurant offers great views of the castle keep and the valley below. The airy green garden is a wonderful contrast to the narrow, packed, streets of the citadel. Its one flaw - that it is overlooked by a short section of the walkway atop the cite walls - would be easily solved by letting the hedge below follow its natural inclinations. But for those who like to be eyed enviously by passing tourists this might be seen as a bonus.

The lunch menu itself offers relatively good value, including three courses and two glasses of wine, water and coffees for 39 Euro. The dishes were attractively presented, but fairly average in taste. Both the caesar salad and ricotta starters were fine: beautifully presented, but a little bland and under-seasoned. My fish main was disappointingly over-cooked and under-flavoured. The tagliatelle, with peppers, sweet onion and pecorino, set alive with truffle oil, was more accomplished and would certainly have been my choice of the two we sampled. The plum and almond tart offered a good endnote.

The service throughout was a little hit and miss. The waiters were friendly, but the wine took some time to arrive, the bread was only offered after the main courses, and some guests were served out of sequence. None of these glitches were enough to ruin the experience, but they are symptomatic of an establishment that doesn't quite live up to its full potential.

Overall I would judge this to be the best lunch option available in the Cite - primarily because of the views and tranquil garden environment. For ambience it cannot be beaten. But for those looking for a gastronomic experience my suggestion would be to take a look at the Michelin starred offerings in the...

I booked a birthday dinner at Barbacane. I have to say I was quite disappointed with their service. You guys supposed to know that I was the one who was in charge, I was the one who paid the bill, and I was the one who had a birthday that day. The waiters seems not care, and they made me feel like I was invisible. Do not make an excuse and say because they don’t speak English well. That’s your business and it is your job to serve your customers. The wine recommendation was so bad. The guy who explained the wine list only spoke with my guests and he recommended a red called Madona or something, $90 euros and some other local white wine. Again, he ignored my opinion. White wine was too sweet and the red wine was horrible. Tasted like 85% of alcohol. There was not much choices for the meal that night. If I ordered truffle seafood 5 courses and my guests would have to order the same thing. The dish was super delicious and the presentation of each dish was very sophisticated. Well done!! But again, the service especially for the cheese recommendation and the wine recommendation was totally a turn down. I am the one who made a reservation dinner for my birthday, but I was not being served properly. So many cheese to select from, so many wines on the list, I still had no clue for what I had chosen that day. For the price I spent that night at the restaurant which was more than 500 euros, I deserve to receive a...