L'Ambassade - Béziers

As soon as the wine arrived, we were treated to our first 'surprise', a little rectangular platter of five tastebud tittilators each including a shot glass of the essence of 'courgettes' ( zucchini) to tiny brochettes to wee glasses of asparagus mousse with creme fraiche. From the menu, 'L'Approche' at 33 Euros, I chose the marinated tuna with sardines and green asparagus to start, the most tender piece of marinated tuna I have ever had that cut like velvety foie gras. Swordfish with caramelized mushrooms followed. My husband chose from the 'La Decouverte' menu at 45 euros: carpaccio of red tuna with a citrus vinaigrette and his favorite French dish, riz de veau on pasta with an addictive creamy mushroom sauce. Everything was beautifully presented, tho' I found my swordfish a little salty and rather plain without a sauce. Included in the 'La Decouverte' menu was the heavily laden cheese chariot with such a generous representation of French cheeses making the choice of only three or four extremely difficult. Turning on the 'sweet' tastebuds after that was another 'surprise offering' of dainty squares of chocolate mousse followed by our dessert choices: cherries arranged around a chocolate 'craquante' with little 'bombes' of cherry sorbet and the seasonal 'fraises des bois' with a cornet of strawberry sorbet., each exquisitely good. Of course, with the demi-tasse of coffee came a plate of dear little biscuits creating the perfect ending. The waiters were attentive and personable taking after the grand master of it all, M. Karim, who runs a very fine restaurant.

Venus mangeant ce soir avec mon mari, le repas était excellent, chaque plat était une belle découverte et délicieuse. L'accueil était chaud et le personnel était vraiment au sommet, surtout au moment du fromage pour nous conseiller. Le cadeau du petit chef à la fin du repas était un plus

Très belle découverte Le personnel est en haut Le repas est emballé, absolument délicieux

L 'Ambassade is that rare thing, a restaurant that delivers exceptional food with outstanding service. There are several different menus to choose from, as well as the 'a la carte '. Two of us had courses from the 'Balade ' menu at 60 Euros and one chose the 'Decouverte ' menu at 50 Euros. As well as 'amuses bouches ' to enjoy (all with a crustacean and marine flavour to them), there was an excellent wine from the Languedoc region, before we started the main courses themselves. These were delightfully presented on the plate, and each part of the course was lovingly explained to us, including the origin of the food or wine and how it had been prepared and cooked. The courses were a mix of crustacean, fish or meat, and each used fresh, local ingredients that hailed from the region. The turbot was delicious, the lamb excellent and the tuna cooked perfectly, all served with a variety of interesting vegetables and sauces to tickle the taste buds. I finished with a magnificent and scrumptious Crepe Suzette, while my fellow diners had beetroot and lime sorbet and apricot ice cream with meringue. The bill was very reasonable indeed for the quality of the service and food, and we even had a chat (in French) to the owner and head chef. This restaurant is well worth discovering now, before it gets a well deserved Michelin star and becomes too expensive!

We had the set-price €33 and €45 menus, both of which were accompanied by a generous range of delicious extra bites. On each of the menus the food was wonderful : cooked beautifully with tasty, balancing sauces, or jus. The service was of the highest order and every effort was made to ensure that we understood the French menu. The wine list was extensive and the suggestions highly appropriate to the food. We cannot recommend this restaurant more highly. Why no Stars ?±

Like stepping back in time to the 70's, which apart from the sexist "women's menu" is a good thing. Lovely classic french cooking and great service. Nice to see Daniel Radcliffe found work after Harry Potter as the Sommelier The 30€ menu isn't available at weekends but the 45€ menu is well worth the money.

It amazes me that L'Ambassade has not regained its Michelin star. Last year I ate in Giles Goujan's Auberge du Vieux Puits. It was good, very good, but L'Ambassade is in many respects just as good for one-sixth of the price. Patrick Olry is a creative, stylish and, most of all, discerning chef who produces excellent well-balanced dishes. We had the L'Approche menu at 30 euro. I do not know how he can produce such a meal at such a price. I had the red mullet and cod starter with artichoke -- superb, as was my partner's tuna. My swordfish was supreme: it tasted as if it had been caught that morning. My partner's veal was equally good. The deserts were delicious: a roasted apricot for her and a delicious fabricated cherry for me. The cheese trolley is one of the best I have ever come across. The wine list is extensive and the somellier very helpful and knowledgeable. There are other good restaurants in the area, including the Auberge du Vieux Puits to which foodies from all over make their pilgrimage. But L'Ambassade is so much better value.

We are staying in Sete for a few weeks so thought we'd do a day trip to Beziers and time it so we arrived for lunch and try out this one-star opposite the station.On arrival it looks very closed, but it turned out that the owners simply thought frosted windows was a good external look! It was relatively posh inside and only three other tables being used. We went for the €30 menu, but there were €45 and €75 options. We had a bottle of Minervois white, which was very nice indeed (and only €24).This restaurant is very old-school. Nibbles to start, amuse bouche, starter, largeish main, cheese or desert. Pre-desert if you went for desert. All very nice, but not outstanding. The best dish was the amuse bouche! It was a foie gras and mushroom thing with foam on top. The foie gras was ridiculously good. We couldn’t work out if it was pan-fried or the mousse type option but extremely smooth. Anyway, as we ate it we doubted whether we would have anything better to follow, and so it proved. As usual with “old-school”, the starters were better than the mains. I had tuna with asparagus (with some nice touches in terms of sauces) and my wife had rouget on artichokes with a cod fish cake underneath. I won’t trouble you with the mains. For desert, I went for cheese and there was a massive cheese board (hadn’t had that for a while) and my wife went for the chocolate delice which was classic and very nice. Coffee was €4 a go (expensive for France), so we refused on principal and found a place for €1.50 up the road.The service was very good and we enjoyed ourselves, but I sensed that this is a restaurant that would not get a Michelin star in a buzzy city like London. I've certainly eaten better in London restaurants that do not have a star. The lunch menu is good value, though, so don't be put off. Perhaps the bigger menus are a step up.