Pamparigouste — Restaurant in Forcalquier

Wow, what an interior!! As soon as you enter, you are immediately impressed. You receive a warm welcome. On the way to the restaurant, you pass by the bar and the breakfast area, and everything is beautifully decorated. The dining area also looks stunning. The waitresses' outfits are coordinated with the interior design. You can really tell that everything has been thoughtfully considered.

For children, they had different food options available, such as pasta, nuggets, or fish. When the kids wanted an extra gazpacho, it was no problem. The food was ok, as you would expect from a bistro. Not outstanding, but fine. For our dishes at this moment, not necessarily worthy of a Bib Gourmand classification (diner). The desserts were very tasty and presented nicely!

The waitress was very friendly, but she seemed to be very busy. Refilling water, olive oil, and wine took quite some time and was really delayed. All in all, the experience...

We dined at La Pomparigouste, the sister restaurant to the flawless Michelin-starred spot next door — but were let down a bit.

The staff were friendly and the food had potential, but three out of four main dishes arrived at room temperature. Only the tartare, which is meant to be cold, was served correctly. We asked for the others to be reheated, and while they were taken away and returned after 5–10 minutes, no one acknowledged the issue.

Desserts took about 25 minutes to arrive, and we had to ask for the bill three times, waiting over 20 minutes. For mains priced at over €35, you'd expect them to be served hot — and for the oversight to at least be addressed. A small gesture or comment would have made a difference.

Overall, the experience was fine, but not worth the price. We wouldn’t return to Pomparigouste, though the Michelin-starred restaurant is...

Our experiences varied. Breakfast was quiet, lovely, and well organized. The woman in charge of the dining room made everything happen quickly, quietly and smoothly. Dinner the wait staff was a little quicker to dislike Americans. You could feel it despite us being European quiet and ordering in French. The maitre d' was the weakest link. He denied our request for an outdoor table despite the restaurant being 90% empty on our arrival. We then watched him deny changes to two French families both of whom elected to leave without dining! Finally when a third elderly couple wanted a different table they were permitted to do so. This stands in stark contrast with the other fine restaurants we visited in France almost all of which offered us a choice of any table. And when we departed the restaurant was still less...