CHEESE and nothing else
Imagine a place where cheese is the protagonist. In which he has a huge space dedicated exclusively to him and so that you, a lover of this dairy delicacy, can enjoy it in a big way.
Keep imagining and think, now, of a space where you can taste 111 different types of cheese. I repeat. 111 different types of cheese . It's possible? Yes it is.
Where? in Narbonne. Not for nothing have they renamed it the Cheese Capital of the World. It may not be exactly what you had fantasized about, but, surely, it will not disappoint you.
Located in the south of France and in the heart of the Narbonnaise Natural Park in the Mediterranean , Narbonne is one of those medieval towns with a charming appearance that invites you to stroll and discover calmly, eagerly and with pleasure. Cheese, of course.
Fortunately, Narbonne is very close to our border , so that, in less than two hours, it can be reached from Barcelona thanks to the European high-speed alliance Renfe and SNCF . A successful union that also takes us to places like Sète, Perpignan, Lyon or even Paris.
Narbonne, cheese capital of the world
Very close to the Mediterranean coast, the city was founded by the Romans back in 118 B.C. , and from that time few, but very important, archaeological remains are preserved.
Thus, we find the Roman Horreum or the small section that can be seen in the Town Hall Square of Via Domitia ; a road that, silent and discreet, runs under the streets of the modern city. Were it not for these traces, it would be difficult to say that Narbonne was the first Roman city in all of Gaul.
But let's get to the point or, rather, to the cheese. When you get off the train, a sign draws your attention in the middle of the station: “Welcome to Narbonne, the city of Les Grands Buffets” . It is the claim that has been imposed, far above everything related to its historic center or its ancient Roman ruins.
** Les Grands Buffets ** can and does boast of having the largest variety of cheeses in a restaurant. If it is true that France is "the country of cheeses", it would make no sense for this place to be outside Gallic territory.
Cooks, to your stations!
Just outside the city, embedded in a disconcerting and kitsch leisure space, known as Espace de Liberté, its exterior could very briefly remind us of a somewhat crude and suburban version of the glass pyramid of the Louvre Museum.
Once through the doors and with all our senses already inside the restaurant, its decoration and staging of dishes, trays and employees, suggests a feast in the purest style of Beauty and the Beast, with the playful Lumière chandelier about to perform her dance number along with all the cutlery.
What a feast! What a feast!
111 cheeses is a lot of cheeses. Many more than you will be able to taste in one sitting, a truly astronomical figure that, however, invites us to make an unprecedented gastronomic journey through the Occitanie region, France and Europe, in which our palates and stomachs will find delicacies that they have never tasted before.
“Soft pasta, pressed pasta, blue pasta, flowery or washed rind, cow, goat or sheep milk, ladleful, young, semi-cured, aged... The 111 references of varieties are subjected to a rigorous selection carried out by Louis Private, director of Les Grands Buffets; David Marrand, restaurant cheese master; Y Xavier Thuret, Best Artisan Cheesemaker in France, with the collaboration of the L'Affineur du Chef team", they affirm from Les Grands Buffets.
we love cheese
Founded in 1987 by Louis Privat, Les Grands Buffets is also the largest restaurant in all of France. Despite the fact that its extensive cheese offering is its letter of introduction, Privat's intention with this establishment has been to recover the customs, trades and traditional recipes of the French table.
Playing like this the buffet concept that existed in the country between the 16th and 19th centuries, but at affordable and popular prices: offering its customers all its buffets at will (including foie-gras, oysters and smoked salmon), at a single price of €37.90 for adults – for children up to 5 years old the menu is free. For children from 6 to 10 years old, the menu is half price, that is, €18.90–.
Foie gras, another essential of French gastronomy
Open every day of the year, the restaurant is always full, Around 340,000 people went during the past 2018. Therefore, although it is not mandatory to make a reservation, it is highly recommended. And it is only possible to do it through its website.
With primary and local products, the Privat restaurant allows us to savor traditional recipes of the French bourgeoisie: plateau royal de seafood and lobster , 6 varieties of Foie gras , 9 cut hams, Coquille Saint-Jacques in Nantes sauce, baked turbot, tournedós with foie gras, duck breast and suckling pig and roasted lamb from the Pyrenees.
The terrace of Les Grands Buffets
There is also kidney, veal liver in perillade sauce, foie gras crème brûlée, bouchee à la Reine of veal sweetbreads and morels and popular dishes such as stews, veal blanquette, wild boar with onions, frog legs, etc.
And to spread so much food, they have more than 70 prestigious wines by the glass or bottle , at producer price. But don't be overwhelmed by so many options, walk around, observe, choose and, if so many offers overwhelm you, the best thing to do is be advised by the experts. Enjoy and, as Gargantua's motto says, which is the image of the grill: Fay ce que vouldras (do what you want).
Save room for dessert!
Of course, the gourmet marathon cannot be closed without putting a piece of candy in your mouth. Or half a hundred. Because, in addition, the master pastry chefs of the buffet make, daily, more than 50 essential pastry desserts from the neighboring country: macarons, éclairs de nata, mille-feuille, mousses, Tarte Tatin decorated with baked apples, rice pudding and, as expected, delicious crêpes Suzette made on the spot in a stall dedicated exclusively to this typically French sweet.
Once the incursion –or, perhaps, excursion– through the fascinating world of hundreds of cheeses is over; there's nothing like get carried away through the streets of Narbonne, walk her, put the food down, and then, yes, with a full stomach and an impressed palate, leave now it is the city and its monuments that stimulate all our senses.
A feast in the purest style of 'Beauty and the Beast'
Address: Espace de Liberté, Rond Point de la Liberté, 11100 Narbonne, France View map
Telephone: +33 4 68 42 20 01