Chateauneuf-du-Pape is a small medieval village located about 30 km from Sablet. The village spreads out on the hillside at the foot of ruins of an ancient chateau that I told you about here. From the chateau hill, you have an impressive view in all directions, mostly of vineyards and the Rhone River, 1.9 miles to the east. The village is best known for the wine that is produced from the vineyards that surround the village.
There are several cafes with outdoor terraces and a gastronomic restaurant with one Michelin star in the center of the village. Although this is a tourist town, there are not many tourists' shops besides those selling wine as the business of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is wine.
The village streets are narrow, curving around the hillside or climbing up and down between the houses up to the chateau. The buildings are old, but everything seems to have been completely restored.
You can get to the chateau ruins at the top of the village by walking up Rue Joseph Ducos pas the front of the Town Hall to the Church at Rue des Papes. Just to the left of the church are steps that lead up the wide stone-step streets to the chateau.
We were dragging on Sunday morning after our flight from San Francisco and especially the 3-hour drive from Nice where we landed, to Sablet. We hadn't done grocery shopping so eating lunch at home was not an option, so I called Le Comptoir de la Mere Germaine in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and reserved a table for 2.
Le Comptoir de la Mere Germaine is in a relatively new complex, a few steps from its sister restaurant La Mere Germaine and the center of the village. There is a lovely terrace for dining when the weather is a little warmer, in our opinion.
We entered the restaurant at the time set for our reservation and we were offered a choice of tables inside or on the terrace. Although it was sunny day, it felt a little brisk to us, so we chose a table inside with a nice view of the terrace and entrance to the restaurant.
The dining room is large and airy with an open kitchen featuring a rotisserie. We like to sit at the counter and watch the kitchen team work their magic. Like the terrace, the dining room offers a panoramic view out to the vineyards.
The menu is a la carte and offers a few starters, some larger dishes to be shared, single portion main courses, and a few side dishes to accompany main courses.
To start, we ordered Pissaladière du Comptoir to share. Pissaladière is a dish of flatbread with traditional toppings from Nice being caramelized onions, black olives, and anchovies. It was served cold, quite tasty but I would have preferred it to be warm.
Shirley chose the fish plate of the day, which was filet of John Dory, served over braised cabbage.
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| John Dory filet over cabbage |
I chose the veal roasted on the rotisserie and served with a plate full of vegetables. We were both very happy with our selections.
As you would expect from a restaurant located in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the wine list is large with many selections of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
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| Veal roasted on the rotisserie with vegetables |
As we walked out, we had a great view out over the village and Chateauneuf-du-Pape vineyards towards Mont Ventoux, far in the distance.
Le Comptoir de la Mere Germaine
4 Rue des Consuls
84230 Chateauneuf-du-Pape
France
www.lameregermaine.com
Tel: 01133428690060
Tel: 01133428690060
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