Restaurant La Bastide
Tucked into the village just a short walk from the château gates, La Bastide is the kind of unpretentious French restaurant that travel writers spend years searching for — a short, seasonal menu built around local duck, walnut-dressed salads, and desserts that involve far too much walnut cake to be entirely responsible. The lunch formule is outstanding value for the Dordogne.
What to Order
The magret de canard — thick-cut duck breast served pink with a sauce built on local walnuts and Bergerac wine — is a recurring fixture and a benchmark version of this Périgord staple. Pair it with the house Bergerac rouge and you have lunch sorted.
Start with a salade périgourdine: duck gizzard confit, crispy lardons, croutons and a soft-boiled egg on bitter leaves dressed with walnut oil. It sounds simple and it is, but the quality of the ingredients makes it revelatory.
Atmosphere and Practicalities
The dining room is small, stone-walled and unpretentious, with checked tablecloths and a chalkboard menu that changes with the seasons and whatever the local farms are producing that week.
Booking ahead is strongly advised in July and August when the château draws visitors and the handful of tables fill quickly. Off-season you can often walk in, but calling ahead is always polite.
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