Beauséjour

Sunday lunch was a relaxed two-hour affair, and everyone was happy with their meal. The new management are clearly making a real effort to please. We'll be back in the summer.

The food was amazing and not expensive, and the sunny restaurant and gardens are lovely. It's about halfway between Brantome and Angouleme. Katie and Bruno are a lovely couple who give you a warm, friendly welcome. They speak French, though Katie is Polish and Bruno is Italian. Five stars.

Seb, the chef and joint owner, is from the Savoie, so the menu includes some of his own specialties alongside local dishes. His wife Nat, who's from Mauritius, adds an exotic touch. We chose local favorites, foie gras and duck. There was a generous buffet of first-course nibbles and a chilled dessert display. This place has the feel of a hotel from 40 years ago, and it's still going strong. It has heaps of charm, though it's not luxurious or posh. We used to come when Madame was in charge, and the welcome is still friendly, the food is still good, and the value is still great. There's good wifi too. The rooms are modest in size, with simple shower rooms, but they were clean and comfortable. During the July heatwave, they brought us electric fans. The hotel sits on a minor road, so traffic noise wasn't an issue, and there's plenty of parking behind the building, away from the road. Outside, there's a lovely semi-wild garden with a stream along one side. Keep an eye out for donkeys in the field across the water. You can eat lunch or dinner under the trees, near the pizza oven. Well worth a visit.

Nice meal, would go back. Parking outside.