I can honestly say I have not had a bad meal at a restaurant since I have been in Toulouse. I do not know if I have just been lucky in finding fantastic restaurants or whether Toulouse just has really great chefs and restaurants.

My favorite for both atmosphere, nice and friendly staff and great food is Le Panache. It is a small restaurant that specialize in “partage (sharing)”. It is similar to tapas in Spain. The food is creative and delicious. It has many Asian influences infused with traditional French ingredients. There is a small bar where I sit to eat and hang out with the staff. It has become my go to place for dinner on Friday nights. The menu rotates but has some standard dishes so it is fun to try everything on the menu over time.

Terra Tolosa is another of my favorites. I have not eaten there as much as Le Panache but I have made reservations for lunch for my final weeks here in Toulouse. Again, super nice staff and very creative food are specialties of the restaurant. I found it when I was looking for a nice place to have Easter dinner. It met the mark and then some. I went back for lunch today and found it again superb. I will need to try all the items they have to offer. The staff is very nice and I enjoy eating at the Chef’s table as I can see them staff working in the kitchen.

Le Petit Marais is another one of my go to restaurants. It is much more traditional French bistro that Le Panache or Terra Tolosa. It has the standard Toulousaine cuisine. They have magret (duck), cassoulet, onion soup, crème brûlée and other standards. The staff is very nice as well. It is also very inexpensive so it a great deal. I usually go there for dinner on Saturday night. It is even smaller than the other two as it seats about 20 people. It was rated as one of the best restaurants in Toulouse by a Spanish magazine so gets lots of Spanish tourists.

Another of my lunch favorites is Le Petit Quai. It is again more of the French nouvelle cuisine. Great French ingredients but fresh takes on them. The staff is very nice and definitely the cost is reasonable. It has become more of a lunch choice as the fare is good for pre-run lunches and is very relaxed.

Other restaurants that I like are Le Mare du Canard – specializes in Duck and is very traditional. Chez Lilly which is a combo of traditional and new. I had one meal at Le Gourmand which again was excellent. There are so many options for good food here in Toulouse that I am going to miss them when I return to Alexandria but will look forward to coming back and renewing my experiences with these fantastic restaurants.