La Campana — Restaurant in Draguignan

A tiny jewel in a small village. There were 6 total tables, maybe room to squeeze a 7th. Be ready for a place that oozes charm: ancient wood-beamed ceiling; a large fireplace/oven; a hand-written menu du jour that arrives at your table.

My salmon carpaccio appetizer melted on the way down, the large Daurade (sea bream) was perfectly seared outside from the wood fire while soft and savory inside, perfectly accompanied by seared carrots and persimmon (now that's a delight if you've never had one), and rice. OK, I'm not used to the head-on-fish presentation, but, hey, it's France in the countryside.

I laughed at some of the negative reviews, like someone who was put off for not accommodating his party of 11. In a 6-table restaurant? Really? Several reviewers found chef-owner Christophe curmudgeonly? As most French, they're reserved until you actually talk with them. I ended up staying well after closing and partying with the chef (trained for 3 years in the US) and a French couple who are also restaurant owners. Now that's a serious recommendation.

GO. You'll love it. Pricey? Would you rather eat a forgettable $50 meal or a dreamy $70 meal (appetizer, glass of wine, main,...

So authentic, such nice ambience, so warm and welcoming. And then - of course - the food. Before we went we were told that the lamb was supposed to be excellent. And it was, it came perfectly grilled in thin slices with a puré of carrots and another puré of beet roots. And in addition there were ratatouille and fried potatoes. So delicious. My partner had grilled swordfish which came with lots of herbs on top and also the ratatouille. We shared an entree og fried mozzarella, very very good. And we shared a dessert, chocolat mousse which was also very good. Good prices, for exampel €35 for a bottle of champagne. Last but not least, the service. So kind and at the same time professional and easy going....

What a lovely little restaurant with wonderful staff and unbelievably delicious food. It is absolutely in my top 3 dining experiences ever.

Every dish was delicious, flavourful and authentic. The entrecote melted in my mouth, it was so tender.

Margot, our hostess, was fantastic. Honestly, she was half the experience. She knew everything about all the dishes and her indept descriptions made it quite difficult to choose as it all sounded amazing. She was very sweet and very funny and really made our evening. It was almost too bad that she was working because we could have talked to her all night, haha!

Thank you for a great experience La Campana! We will definitely go back before the end of...