Hostellerie de la Fontaine

We picked this place in beautiful Saint Paul de Vence as it was one of several restos recommended by the friendly staff at the tourist information counter. It’s also because we thought it would be nice to have lunch in a place right in the middle of everything, next to the fountain…and the shop selling gelato. Lol. La Fontaine is a cosy little place, and family-run. We were the first to arrive and dined out on the terrace. For drinks, my friend had the “Red Witch” (yikes), made of strawberry juice, rhubarb bitters and pepper, while I had the refreshing “Le Gouter d’Alice” with biscuit syrup, lemon cream, lemon juice and Italian meringue. (A bit like drinking a lemon tart!) There’s also a drink called “Evil Queen” (haha), made of apple juice, tonic juice and almond syrup. We had their two most popular dishes - the Daube of Beef Chuck (braised slowly for nine hours, to perfection) and the Aioli du Moment, with seasonal fish and Lactonesa (eggless mayo) with black garlic. My beef stew dish looked way more appetising and as expected, the meat was tender and fell away easily. The potato was lovely but very filling. The fish aioli dish was nice too, but the photo doesn’t do it justice. I was so full that I had to skip dinner!!

The food was good - we had the tomato burratina and the houmous salad - but the wine was very pricey. We sat on the terrace which was very pleasant. St Paul is busy and the restaurants clearly do most trade at lunchtime so they want you to eat as well as drink.