Leo’s Top Restaurants for 2025

As you know, being a devoted foodie, I make it a point to dine at a minimum of two excellent restaurants in every town I visit. This past year has been no exception, and I’m excited to share my top restaurant choices that truly stood out for me. Each of these establishments managed to create a memorable evening and a delightful dining experience that I won’t soon forget. However, it’s important to note that I do not believe in assigning numerical ratings to restaurants; instead, I prefer a simple pass or fail system, reminiscent of Roman-style judgment—thumbs up or thumbs down.

In the spirit of transparency, I want to remind my readers that I have not received any compensation from these restaurants, either in monetary form or through perks of any kind. Furthermore, I do not inform the restaurants in advance that I will be reviewing their establishment prior to my visit, ensuring that my experiences remain genuine and unbiased. For those interested in following along, you can read all of my restaurant reviews as VivreMaFrance online at Tripadvisor.com. If you have a restaurant you would like me to consider reviewing, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

This year, I didn’t travel as extensively as I did in previous years, which means many of my top choices are located closer to home in the beautiful south of France.  Despite this proximity, each of these restaurants is a hidden gem worthy of exploration. The culinary delights, warm atmospheres, and attentive service I encountered made dining out a true pleasure. I hope you find joy in these selections and perhaps even discover your next favorite dining spot. Enjoy the culinary journey that awaits you!

La Dome Café

108 Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75014 Paris, France

01 43 35 25 81

La Dome Café has been around for almost 130 years, it is in Montparnasse, the 7th arrondissement of Paris, and one of my favourite restaurants ever.  Former home to many French artists and writers during the Interwar period, like Samuel Beckett, Ernest Hemingway and Picasso.   Hemingway even referred to it in his book, The Sun Also Rises.  It was also home to many American writers and artist residing in the left bank.  It has received a Micheline star and been touted as one of the best Parisian seafood restaurants in the city and that is because chef Yoshihiko Miura is in charge.  On the night I dined there, I was alone having just finished producing a grand wedding in the Loire Valley and I wanted a lovely seafood meal.  I was not disappointed.  As usual, I asked for table outside and when they realized I was also going to dine outside, they added a square top and white tablecloth to the black bistro table I was sitting at.   I then ordered my standard dry white wine; this time I chose a 2023 Sancerre from Domaine Roger Neveu and had the Tagliatelle with blue lobster and shellfish sauce (sauce crustacés).  It truly was divine.  You should make a reservation in advance, but I was able to get a table as a single on the terrace. 

La Cigale

7 Bd des Arceaux, 34000 Montpellier, France

09 74 97 46 40

La Cigale is located conveniently at the start of Les Arceaux the grand food market in Montpellier, La Cigale is a fantastic restaurant for a coffee, drink of lunch and dinner.  Brought to you by the fabulous owners of Les Garçons located in L’Eccuson of Montpellier, Antoine, Adrien , Anthon et Jonathan never fail to bring it to the table.   It’s a wonderfully delicious bistro and the food is fantastic.   Lots of options for starters, main plates or even sharing.  We sent there recently after a wonderful shopping trip to Les Arceaux and shared the Oeuf Mayonaise a la truffle and then I had the saucisse puree and my husband had the fish of the day.  We topped it off with a lovely viognier.  The ambiance is laid back and comfortable. 

Restaurant Leclère

8 rue André Michel 34000 Montpellier, France

04 67 68 96 85

You don’t expect much from this restaurant as the outside is rather plain and non-descript.  But everything changes when you walk through the door down a pin-lite hallway into a grand space with vaulted ceilings and a mix of limestone, tiles, granite and steel.  And it doesn’t stop there, Chef Guillaume Leclère presents a fusion menu which he calls “cuisine d’arrivage,” offering a single set menu that changes frequently based on the freshest available ingredients, such as Mediterranean fish and veal from the Pyrenees, all procured through short supply chains.  Diners are only presented with a list of ingredients that’s all.  He then creates sumptuous yet minimalist dishes.  I went there for luncheon with a dear friend and we thoroughly enjoyed everything.  There is a reason it has a Micheline star, from the food to the wine pairings, you cannot go wrong at Leclere.  It’s open for luncheon Thursday to Saturday and dinner Tuesday to Saturday.  Reservations are needed.

Les T’OCqués

15 rue Rocher, 34000 Montpellier, France

04 67 63 42 86

To celebrate my birthday, my hubby surprised me with a reservation at a restaurant that frankly we had completly forgotten about.  Pre-covid, we dined at Les T’OCqués but after confinement, we completely forgot about it.  Needless to say, after dining here we won’t forget it again.  The space is cozy, and there is only room for about 25 people, but I can tell you that every table as filled and the place was had a harmonous atmosphere.  People enjoying themselves. The food is divine and as it was my birthday, we started off with a coupe de champagne.  For the food, we first shared the escargots ragout served in a Vin Jaune and celery mousse with hazelnut butter and the prawns in a mousse of red lentils.  Both were divine, and I don’t generally like Vin Jaune.  We went on to share the two mains which were sea bream with bottarga crust, gnocchi with fermented black lemon, artichoke cream and the Roasted duck, vanilla carrot mousseline, cranberry sauce.  It’s that kind of menu, that you want to taste it all. We then had the chocolate mi-cuit: salted butter caramel centre and the Chestnut mousse, meringue and blueberries.  Everything was just wonderful and the best part was that it was all under 100€ for two, including two coupes de champagne and a bottle of white wine.   You definitely need to book in advance as there was not an empty seat in the house and there’s a reason for that.

MIMINO

30 Pl. du Millénaire, 34000 Montpellier, France

07 44 88 21 41

MIMINO is a small, charming restaurant in Antigone (Montpellier) featuring cuisine from Georgia, Armenia, Russia and Ukraine. The service was warm and friendly (French and English both spoken), the space is pretty and cozy, and the food was all SO delicious.  We started with eggplant rolls with a walnut filling, delicious marinated vegetables, and beet and spinach pkhali. We then shared prawn khinkali (Georgian dumplings filled with the tastiest sauce and prawns—they give you a glove to eat it since it’s messy!) and two khachapuri, one beef and one cheese with the traditional egg yolk in the middle. A slice of medovik, a layered honey cake that was light and not too sweet was the perfect finish.   The Armenian and Georgian wines were a definite highlight too. We loved Kef, a white blend of the local Armenian grape Kangun and Chenin Blanc.   The value is excellent as well—you can see more info, including the full menu with photos and prices on their website:   Advance booking definitely recommend: it’s small and some people without reservations were turned away last night. I can’t recommend Mimino highly enough and am already looking forward to going back!

Ardnamurchan Scottish Restaurant and Bar

325 Hope Street, G2 3PT Glasgow, Scotland

14 13 53 15 00

On a recent trip to Scotland, we stopped in to this charming restaurant in Glasgow as we had heard about it from friends.  They offer a lot of unique and artisan products from the Highlands and Ardnamurchan’s name comes from the forestland in the highlands.  We decided to get their Haggis, Neeps and Tatties with Auchentoshan whisky cream and then oven-baked Caithness Lamb Stovies, which were like little cheese and lamb scones – delicious!!! Then we shared the smoked salmon and the Venison stew.  Everything was out of this world.   We shared a bottle of Lua Nova Vinho Verde, from Portugal.  This wine was fresh, zesty and tasty.  Definitely make reservations as this place was busy.

CEBA

53 Rue de l’Aiguillerie, 34000 Montpellier, France

04 67 67 22 14

We discovered the recently opened restaurant in Montpellier by walking past it.  And so, with three other couples we decided to give it a try and were we happy with that choice.   It’s a charming restaurant with beautiful vaulted stone ceilings and an open concept kitchen.  There were two staff working that night and they both seemed to be doing cooking and serving.  They first explained the menus to us (which changes daily) and informed us that most plates were small and for sharing, so as a table of eight we decided to order two of everything on the menu.  We started off with the squid calcots (Catalin onions), then the croquettes with Kim Chi, marinated anchovies, the cheese and roasted nuts and this delicious home-made herby crusty bread.  Later we had the boudin sausages with the mashed potato, the pesto and homemade pasta and the Tomme de Pyrenees cheese.  We ended the meal by sharing the lemon pie with meringue and the chocolate fruits.  We also shared the bio dynamic wines Éponyme red and a white from chez Foulaquier.  It was all so delicious and the price was very affordable too, each couple paid about 80€ to eat there and remember, we were a table of eight. The services was on point and the price point too.  We wholeheartedly recommend CEBA!

Le Comptoir de L’Indie

11 Place Pierre Mendès, 49100, Angers, France

02 41 87 68 88

I recently went here with clients who were getting married in Angers.  They were a lovely couple from London and they loved Indian food, so I knew exactly where to take then in Angers.  Le Comptoir de L’Indie is by far the best Indian restaurant in the area.  We arrived for dinner at 8 and ordered some of their appetizers to share.  We had the vegetarian samosas, the garlic naan and the mixed Pakoras.  Then we shared several main plates, including the Curry Prawns, the Lamb Vindaloo and the Butter Chicken.  We also shared a bottle of dry white wine, but I cannot remember the name, sorry!  Everything was great, and this restaurant was busy and several tables turned over while we were there.  But they do also know service and you are taken well care of by the staff. Definitely make reservations as you might not get a table if you just show up. 

Il Barone

5 Rue Léopold Robert, 75014 Paris France

01 43 20 87 14

Located in a small street near the Luxembourg garden, Il Barone makes you feel at home. The owner, Angelo welcomes you to enjoy a truly typical Sicilian décor with a wide variety of pasta, including the menu du jour according to season. This winter, we enjoyed the chanterelles penne and the authentic linguine with truffles grated just above your plate and a glass of Prosecco offered by the house. My personal favorite which is an all-time winner is the paccheri with pistachio pesto and burrata, so delicious!  If you’re lucky enough, the digestive is also offered by the house.   Definitely, make reservations, you won’t be disappointed.

Bon appétit and Vivre ma France !