Some friends suggested we meet for Sunday lunch last week at this restaurant in Narbonne, run by Camille and Patrick Pastoret. We were on our way back to Roussillon from a stay at fellow MW, Rosemary George's house near Beziers (have a look at her excellent Blogspot blog - Taste Languedoc). The exterior of Le Petit Comptoir is unassuming, even off-putting. Inside was an empty bar area with a promising, well-stocked effort at a wine bar to one side. We were led down a corridor to the back of the building, with windows giving onto the road behind, where we found a small, crowded restaurant with Art Nouveau style lights, mirrors and panelling. The set menu offered two options for 26 euros: the chef's choice of small starter, with your choice of main course and dessert or your choice of starter and main plus the chef"s choice of small dessert. We all plumped for the latter. A generous amuse-bouche of creamed lentils with mushrooms and a hint of truffle was delicious and well-seasoned. I then opted for Coquilles Saint-Jacques with a cress sauce. The scallops were cooked to perfection and the sauce was just tart enough. Several of us then chose magret d'oie (goose breast) which was cooked pink, as requested, succulent and tasty. Under it were delicious Catalan-style braised leeks. We drank Pinot Noir Camas 2008 from Anne de Joyeuse, which cut through the richness of the goose well. The pudding was announced as 'glace" (ice cream) but turned out to be a slice of creamy, not-too-sweet, caramel bavarois. Petits fours then appeared with our excellent coffee and tisanes. The service was attentive but discreet. There are other cheaper options on the menu, but we all still felt we had had good value for money and will definitely be going back. Le Petit Comptoir, 4 Bd Marechal Joffre, 11100 Narbonne (tel: +33 4 68 42 30 35/68 41 52 71, web: www.petitcomptoir.com).
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