This bistro is the more casual sibling of the star Auberge de la Tour, helmed by chef Renaud Darmanin, which is even more reason to stay overnight in the medieval village of Marcolès deep in the Cantal countryside. The dining room takes up the most part of the hotel’s ground-floor and is extended by a terrace overlooking the street. Regional produce takes the limelight in well-crafted recipes, including veg from the cottage garden and other local ingredients such as volcano trout, poultry from the next-door farm, Auvergne cheeses. Examples of dishes: trout, vegetables, garden leaves and a knockout stock of fishbones or the melt-in-the-mouth vanilla and apricot millefeuille.