L'Artenset - Saint-Martial-d'Artenset

...And there I was, expecting a bar. l'Artenset is a pinnacle of excellence in an area that ought to abound with good restaurants, and, according to them, doesn't. There are many restos, mostly of barely average quality and lacking imagination. Imagination abounds the decor,...the food, all in a very agreeable package. The Pigs Trotters were excellent, and the Beef Cheeks delicious. I wasn't allowed to see the wine list, though of course I could go to the web site. Maybe I won't, we were being treated after all. Amusingly, this restaurant seems to have no identification signage outside. Don't drive by.

After chatting with Mathieu the chef, he thought up a menu just for us. We had a deconstructed prawn cocktail to start, then giant grilled gambas with seared scallops. Dessert was a plate full of chocolate desserts. We had a marvellous meal. Marie and Mathieu...do a great job. Very welcoming and reasonable prices. There is ample parking.

What a pleasant surprise in a tiny rural village. Great food, fabulous atmosphere and very pleasant staff. Many thanks for a great lunch.

Trad French food with a modern vibe. Shiny happy attentive staff in a modern clean and stylish setting. After all eating out isn't all about the food, is it? Worth polishing your shoes for! So many places around here are not!

We passed this restaurant on a number of evenings but it was closed. Finally on the last night of our holiday it was open. I understand they open at lunchtimes...definitely worth checking out and visiting.We were welcomed by the host (who spoke very good English), we had good fun with a mixture of English and our limited but constantly learning French to communicate and order. The best fun was the hosts actions to tell us the item on the menu was Frogs legs. It really was fun and relaxing.There were 2 choices of menu. A €19 menu - Entree, Main course and either cheese or dessert and a €23 for Entree, Main, Dessert AND cheese.The menu choice was really good and had something for everyone. The food was beautifully served and tasted fantastic. Of course I had to have the frogs legs and really enjoyed them.The service was very discreet (when a bottle of water was empty it was quickly replaced).The price of the meal was slightly cheaper than some others that we had tried during the week but was by far the best in terms of atmosphere, service and the fantastic meal. Thank you for a wonderful end to our holiday.There is also plenty of parking.