12 votesLocated on top of a hill with a spectacular view of the landscape, Le Clos des Cimes in St Bonnet le Froid, a small village in the volcanic region of France, is a gourmet restaurant and cozy inn that serves some of the best mushroom-based dishes in the country.
The Menu Degustation offers a wide array of creative dishes combining both traditional and contemporary. It includes an apertif, five different courses, cheeses, desserts, and sweets. In autumn, the restaurant offers a Menu Champignon featuring many different kinds of local mushrooms such as ceps, morels, and chanterelles. The chef, Regis Marcon, is known in the gastronomic community as the “mushroom king” and grew up in the St Bonnet village walking in the wild and picking flavorful ingredients for his cooking. He sees the plate as a canvas where he attempts to achieve balance and harmony in taste and presentation.
Chef Marcon believes that there is a close similarity between a painting and the cuisine. Both search inspiration in the history as well as the territory and look for perfect equilibrium in forms, tastes, and colors. Through cooking, he wants to understand nature and its products.
The atmosphere in the restaurant is tranquil, friendly, and charming. The décor is minimal and rustic. The scenery is one of the best in the region and has glorious views of distant peaks. The building has hardly changed and stands humbly on an isolated plateau. The spacious rooms are equipped with modern conveniences and decorated with a contemporary flare and country charm.
The hotel restaurant Regis et Jacques Marcon earned three Michelin stars. Local ingredients such as green lentils from Le Put, milk-fed veal, Mezenc beef, red fruit, cheeses, and mushrooms feature heavily in the cuisine. Some of the interesting dishes in the restaurant include cassoulet made with lobster and lentils, chocolate and mushrooms, and ice cream and blue cheese.
