In the Ardennes, it's not always easy to find a restaurant that manages to be both "good" and "nice." When it's good, it quickly becomes a bit stiff and when it's nice… well… it's not necessarily good for all that. (I own it.)

In Herbeumont, the baker's daughter (and she really is one) decided to do things with heart, intelligence and generosity. Result: a little gem, not pretentious in the slightest, that's a total hit. About 5 years ago, after training in Brittany, Fabienne Henrion took over the village café where her father baked bread and started serving one of Breizh's most emblematic products: the galette. It could have looked like a bad remake of a 90s crêperie but it's nothing of the sort: we said "heart, intelligence and generosity," and that's where it comes in. On the plate. The galettes are (very well) made with organic buckwheat grown about forty kilometers away, with toppings that are organic, biodynamic and pretty local: Corbion trout, Ferme des Sureaux goat cheese, … As for recipes, great Breton classics share the spotlight with more personal creations that have managed to stay simple and straightforward. Perfect. Since the wine list doesn't exactly inspire wild enthusiasm, we switch to an excellent organic cider from Clos de la Ruaudaie (Morbihan). Since cider pairs rather beautifully with galette, things go wonderfully. On the generosity front, finally, we'll note the magnificent salad bowl that sits in the middle of the table and which you can ask for a refill of if you feel like it. To top it all off, the service is efficient and remarkably kind… In short, it's really a lovely place not to miss when you're wandering around the area: at lunch, on the terrace, with a few well-chosen friends or in the evening before leaving this beautiful region and hitting the road back home.

La Fille du Boulanger