Le Médiéval — Restaurant in Sarlat-la-Canéda

Wow. We nearly didn’t come here because of the mixed reviews on trip advisor; however there’s a big gap in them because it has recently reopened with - as I understand it with my poor French - a new management and cooking team. The food is outstanding and the restaurant deserves a much higher rating than it has. We had the three course menu. Unlike most of the other restaurants in the area this allowed you the choice of any of the a la carte options from starters, mains and desserts. It was explained that each would be a scaled back, smaller version of the carte option. However, the size of each plate was what I could expect from a full menu order. I couldn’t have eaten much more of any of them. Although no English menu was available, our waitress was able to untangle the dishes for us almost completely; useful when the menu is quite far from ‘standard’ - all dishes have at least a twist, with many completely original. I went fairly traditional with Duck terrine, followed by confit goose leg and a waffle “in the style of a rum baba”. All were delicious. The terrine had a generous portion of fois gras as well as shredded duck meat and a quenelle of very tasty green… pickled stuff?… whatever it was, it was delicious and cut through the rich terrine beautifully. There was also a line of sparkling purple salt over the dish which I think was truffled (truffle is not my thing personally, but it wasn’t too strong, and worked with the dish overall) and very pretty. The main dish was served with a yellow split pea purée that was - frankly - divine, another purée/sauce and chips/fries that were awesome. Apparently they were Jerusalem Artichokes. Dessert was flambed at the table and more like a crepe suzette (I’d say) than rum baba. All great. My partner went fully off piste though… and was delighted! Starter of “Dragon egg” was a soy marinated soft boiled egg on a base of croutons and… something completely delicious! The rocket and its dressing that make the “nest” are a vital part of the overall taste adding that pepper and bite. The main was a fish and crayfish concoction - sort of like a set mousse? - wrapped in cabbage (also served with the split pea purée and artichokes). It was one of the best things either of us has tasted in quite some time. Desert was “wheat in the style of crème brûlée”… we didn’t know what to expect but the dish was similar to rice pudding with a brûlée top. Service was superb. We also had a little amouse bouche that was...

Found this gem of a restaurant hidden among the medieval side streets of Sarlat, drawn in by the cosy atmosphere and concept, the owner explained they had just recently opened and were aiming for authentic and ancient recipes done justice with modern means and a sense of the fun and fantadtic. And gosh were we not disappointed!

Delicious cocktails/mocktails to start things off as the staff brought truly scrumptious little dishes of duck and humus to snack on while we ordered. When our appetizers arrived they were delicious, gorgious and copious, I had the hot fried duck gessier in a cool sun dried tomato sauce, while my husband got the "dragons egg" which I was almost jealous of!

The main courses were less whimsical, but extremely tasty and filling, beutiful cuts off meat, beef for him, boar for me, with a huge helping of sauce, split pea puree and a selection of crispy and delicious vegetables. We did not have time.. Or room in our stomachs for dessert, but almost ordered one anyways!

Next time, for sure, as we may be returning as early as Wednesday to try a few more of the dishes and introduce some friends to this charming and tasty find!

Best of luck with the season and hope more restaurants with respect for their customers and ingredients open...

Déception. Je me réjouissais d'aller dans ce restaurant pourtant recommandé, dans un cadre agréable et chaleureux, en phase avec le nom, Le Médiéval. Un menu foie gras, magret et brioche qui semblait appétissant (nous sommes tout de même dans le périgord noir ! Mais : le fois gras, sans goût car sans doute trop froid. Les petits oignons d'accompagnement étaient très bons. Le plat : le magret avec une sauce au miel (donc un sucré salé en perspective que j'adore). Le magret est très bien cuit, le croquant de la graisse est très bien, mais pourquoi la petite sauce dans laquelle il est est acide ? On dirait un petit vinaigre, de framboise peut-être ? En tout cas, pas de douceur de miel. En accompagnement une petite carotte fondante à souhait, et une purée de pois cassé ! Pour moi, c'est une faute : il faut sublimer le goût du magret, et le pois cassé, de par sa force, emporte tout. Impossible à manger avec le magret, c'est l'un ou l'autre. Et, en plus, il y a un petit mélange en purée d'herbes et ails...complètement froid ! Je ne comprends pas comment on cherche à détruire le magret à ce point. La brioche impeccable, pas la glace vaguement vanille d'accompagnement Le service un peut lent tout de même (1h30 entre notre arrivée et le dessert) Le personnel : une jeune femme très gentille et à l'écoute : sur ma remarque pour la fois gras froid, elle dit qu'elle va le signaler en cuisine. Un homme plus commercial, qui pose la question de savoir si ça allait mais qui n'aime pas entendre une réponse négative ou mitigée. Sur ma remarque sur les pois cassés, il me dit que tout le monde aime (personne n'oe dire le contraire), que c'est parce que j'ai pu être traumatisé par ma grand-mère qui me faisait manger cela de force (d'où il sort ça ?), bref, pas un mot de "Ah tiens, je m'étonne mais je vais en parler au chef), donc je lui dit finalement dit que tout était bien, ce qu'il voulait entendre, car cela ne vaut pas le coup de se battre contre des moulins à vent. En conclusion : encre un restaurant touristique, commercial, qui fait du plat Instagram complètement déséquilibré. Dommage, il y a tout de même quelque chose...