After walking past during the day and being suitably unimpressed by the front, we were in for an even more delightful surprise upon arriving in the evening. Behind the door in the picture was a glass wall and a large piece of floral/vegetative "artwork". One had to walk to the right around the display to enter the sitting room area.
After being seated and ordering an aperitif, we were given menus. Despite appearing identical, the only male among the three of us had received the menu containing the prices. I found this quite interesting, especially since gender had obviously trumped age (the third person in a party was an older female). Of course we had previously decided to go for the equivalent of the Menu de Degustation, but after we'd looked through the menus anyway and officially made our choice, we were escorted to our table (and don't think that we had to carry our own drinks).
We were fortunate enough to be seated next to a window and in the room overlooking the beautiful garden filled with roses and sculpture, which we did walk through later. You could also see into the kitchen, which had a glass "wall" of windows and was built along on the right side of the garden (looking from the restaurant). The interior of the restaurant was quite the opposite of the first one we'd been to. This restaurant had very high ceilings, a subtle modern color scheme and style with lots of modern art on display.
We also had quite an enjoyable time talking to the sommelier, who later escorted us through the wine cellars under the restaurant. Just getting there was an experience, going through the kitchen and a couple of storage rooms, ducking so that we wouldn't knock ourselves out on the low ceilings and stone arches, and wandering around through the maze of passageways piled with crates and dusty bottles. It was perfect.
Again, this was before we purchased a digital camera, but I did bring home my copy of the menu (below). The only information I have about the wines is the following, of which we also purchased an extra bottle (although the sommelier did have to consult with the chef first before giving us permission to do so):
1998 René Balthazar Cornas, France
Le Menu
Spaghettis cuits "Al Dente", tomate marinée et oeuf de caille poché, grosse langoustine de Guilvinec rôtie, sauce à la coriandre en croûte de pain
Fin ragoût de jambonettes de grenouilles, écrevisses et ris de veau aux champignons des bois, feves de marais et cerfeuil
Légumes d'été et condiments à l'huile de basilic, pavé de bar cuit sur sa peau, gnocchis frits
Escalope de foie d'oie poëllée, ris basmati sauté au "wok" en salade, gigotin de poularde lacqué, goujonettes à la noix de coco et curry de Madras
Quelques fromages fermiers, leurs petits pains aux raisins et aux noix
Les douceurs autour des fruits de saison et chocolat
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