My wife & I will be staying in Ville Base, Carcassonne for four nights in September. We plan to have one extravagant meal at La Barbican in Hotel de La Cite. Beyond that, would be curious for recommendations down in Ville Base (along the lines of wine/bar or bistro with good food).
Thanks, -Rick
Posted by
France Southwest - Occitanie
4040 posts
A small spelling correction, but an important one: it's not the "ville base" but the "ville basse" (lower town). I also assume you mean the restaurant La Barbacane and not "La Barbican".
And by "ville basse" I don't know if you mean the very small part of the city of Carcassonne also called "La Bastide Saint-Louis", or if it's just in contrast to the medieval city.
Be aware that La Barbacane lost its single Michelin star two years ago, from relying too much on people who want to be inside the walls of the citadel rather than those who actually want to eat well.
I'm also not sure what you mean by an "extravagant" meal. If that means exceptional and excellent, you're more likely to find it at Franck Putelat's restaurant. He still has his 2 Michelin stars and his 4 Gault & Millau toques.
And he is an MOF, the highest distinction for a chef.
https://latable.franckputelat.com/
Well, if that's too much for you, you can also go to his brasserie "La Brasserie à 4 Temps"
https://www.brasserie4temps.com/
Otherwise, in this part of town ("ville basse"), I don't see a nice and not-too-expensive place to eat that stands out from the rest, except for "La Table de Marie", which serves a good cassoulet (a must-try in the region)
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
11935 posts
I agree with JoLui’s recommendations. I’ve eaten at all three restaurants and the Michelin starred one is truly memorable. The Barbacane is much more ordinary though the setting, a reconstruction, is interesting. The Barbacane hotel and restaurant are part of a hotel chain, the other is a chef-owned gastronomic experience.
And it is basse, pronounced bahs.