An institution – French haute cuisine
Le Relais de la Poste should be called an institution, reminiscent of the Troisgros in Roanne, which has remained in family hands over several generations. But while Troisgros turned its back to tradition and is now heading towards the avant garde, Le Relais de la Poste remains a bastion of classic French gastronomy based on local ingredients, especially game meat, cooked to perfection, with sauces prepared in the traditional way without any shortcuts.
The emphasis here is not on small portions and colorful presentations of plant-based creations, which may look like pieces of art which are more conducive to taking instagram photos than titillating the taste buds. Here the presentation of dishes follows well established rigorous patterns as the main focus is on deliciousness. This is why many meat and fish portions are often cooked on the bone and presented like in the heyday of nouvelle cuisine as in the mid-80s. The chef, Monsieur Jean Coussau, has been formed by this tradition, and now he is mostly present in the premises, although one is more likely to chat with his maitre d’ brother, Jacques Coussau. Jacques’s young daughter, Clementine, is at the helm in the kitchen. The whole service team is also like in the old days, which means that they are very friendly and professional at the same time. The pacing between the courses is perfect, dirty plates are cleared immediately, the wine list is very good with fair prices, and wine advice by the sommelier, Monsieur Bruno Montus, is always on target. Monsieur Daniel Giust, the “directeur de salle” and connoisseur of great wines, oversees the whole operation and fills any gaps before they are noticed. I am afraid such a tradition of French style haute cuisine service is being gradually lost, even in France. This is a topic which is worth serious discussion.
When we say that this is classical haute cuisine, and it is not a plant-based cuisine which is very trendy nowdays, one should not think that the cuisine is heavy. It is not heavy by no means. As has been the case with the greatest creators and executioners of nouvelle cuisine in France, the operating principle here is “balance”. It is the nature of the main ingredient and the season that determine the accompanying sauce and the garnies offered with a particular main course. In my four visits, the last one with Julien Mallol, we witnessed that the chef never gave a concession from the principles of balance and seasonality.
Are there examples? In Fall a venison loin was roasted with great precision and accompanied by classic components: chestnut pieces, chesnut and celery purees, and huckleberries. The “sauce veneur” that accompanies the dish is the best I have seen in years. We asked for more sauce and cleaned the last drops of the sauce with bread. Lievre a la Royale is so good that it should serve as a benchmark for senateur Couteaux style preparations. The spiced pear cooked in wine and the pommes soufflees—a rarely seen classic as it is time consuming and labour intensive—are all the dish needs. We also had a rare game bird cooked rare (saignant) and served with its own juices and its internal organs. Both the liver and the brain of the bird were served on toasts, which are also rarely found gems. Overall, this was such a masterpiece! In season, a suckling lamb, is roasted to perfection on its bone and is simply served with its own juices flavored by garlic. This course is accompanied by very fresh mouthwatering spring vegetables, such as asparagus, peas and fava beans. What rustic elegance this is!
In short, what one finds at Le Relais de la Poste depends very much on the season. But given the consistency we experienced in all of the four visits, our conclusion is that one leaves the restaurant and the comfortable hotel, if one stays there, satisfied and glad for coming.
Menu
The summary of our March 14, 2026 meal with Julien Mallol and our partners.
We began by sipping our champagne on the comfortable patio in front of the garden. Amuses were served: warm and airy gougeres, a boudin noir tartlette, and crisp cauliflower flavored by tamarind. We especially love it when we are served a rustic and flavorful amuse, such as the blood sausage.
Our table had a view of the beautiful garden. The rain stopped as we arrived from Paris and the sun started to smile at us from behind some clouds. It was a beautiful early spring day. As we finished our champagne, the last amuse was served: an airy quenelle in a velvety lobster bisque. It was exemplary.
Brouillade à la Truffe
We shared a “La Brouillade à la Truffe Melanosporum Fraiche”, a timeless classic served almost in liquid form with the last black truffles of the season. It is not only apt in this season and when one is in countryside with real farm eggs, but it is also a textbook definition of the best use of truffles without unnecessary sophistication. As a side note, we should add that the paco magnatum or the so-called tartufi of Alba also shows its best with non-industrial chicken eggs.
Ris d’agneau
Ris d’agneau or veal sweetbreads is also offered as an appetizer. They are more rare and are as good as veal sweetbreads. The key thing here is of course the freshness. But it is not easy to crust the sweetbreads and keep their inside creamy, at the same time. Here they achieve what is very difficult and the execution is perfect. Moreover, the dish is accompanied by the first fava beans of the season and green asparagus spears, together with two crunchy white asparagus gratineed with parmesan. The light sauce is truffle jus and I suspect they also glazed the sweetbreads with truffle juice to add umami depth. Creamy, bitter-earthy (favas and asparagus) and with an umami dimension, this is a superb appetizer.
Saint-jacques (scallops)
We took advantage of the last truffles of the season with our last appetizers: steamed scallops served with the corral, that we believe prove its freshness, as the corral of scallops is neutral in taste. A buttery foam containing a touch of porto and topped by matchstick truffles rendered this course truly succulent.
Agneau de lait (lamb)
Then we had the best “agneau de lait des Pyrenees”, rack of suckling lamb roasted whole. It was served with cooking juices flavored by garlic and garnished by all above-mentioned spring vegetables and artichokes. This dish was a triumph of sophisticated simplicity that titillated our taste buds.
Pigeon
The other main course we ordered was roasted local pigeon, “Pigeon de Chez Dublanc a Magesc Roti”. The breast was served with the thigh glazed by truffle jus, glazed carrots and fresh peas. The pigeon was as good as what we are accostomed to in the upper end French restaurants, but two details elevated this pigeon to a higher level. First its sauce was flavored with the “Vin de la Petite Lagune”, a little vineyard in town owned by the family. While we have not tasted the wine from the bottle, it was an apt choice given that the sauce was savory, light, and fragnant. In addition, next to the pigeon, they served excellent fresh morilles, meaty and delicious, thanks to the vin jaune sauce and wild garlic (l’ail des ours). In our opinion, the first of the season morel mushrooms were at least as exquisite as the pigeon.
Desserts
We concluded with the two classics of the house: Grand Marnier Soufflé and the Pistachio dessert. Instead of the traditional “crème anglaise”, when they punched a hole in the middle of the souffle, they poured a thick cream flavored by fresh blood orange. The grand marnier souffle was airy, not heavy or eggy. This was an excellent rendition of a timeless classic.
The second dessert is called “Le Russe Pistache de Bernard et Ses Nouveaux Atours”. It contains two separate parts. One part featured a crisp bird nest shaped cake, filled with pistachio cream and pistachio pieces. There was also pistachio coulis and a pistachio macaroon. The second part was like a dacquise cake composed of the same ingredients. Both were delicious. This is a great dessert if you love pistachios.
Petits fours were also excellent, but we could not finish them after the sumptous and very generous meal.
Wines
Champagne: 2015 Franck Bonville Pur Mesnil
This was very good, a blanc de blanc with good depth and balance. It was quite elegant.
2009 Château Rayas – white
There are two categories of people for us: wet and dry. The latter don’t drink alcohol, and we symphatize with them if there is a health reason behind teetotaling.
As for the “wet” people, there are two sub-categories: Those who drank Chateau Rayas and those who did not!
The 2009 white is striking in the sense that it dances around normally undesirable extremes, but pulls it through in a harmonious whole: Candied fruits yet perfect acidity; thick texture yet elegant; warm year and high alcohol yet perfect balance. It continued its development throughout the meal and displayed hidden layers of complexity even though the bottle was opened a few hours before the meal. Admittedly 2009 is not as ethereal as the other worldly 2008. It is the embodiment of a wine with a strong personality.
2009 Château Rayas – red
We had the bottle opened in the morning. This was a good decision as we enjoyed it more than 2010. We had the 2010 recently here, and it was still a bit tight with pronounced tannins. We also recently had the 2008, and it was giving so much pleasure that one can coin the term “orgasmic”. The 2009 was almost on par with the 2008, but ultimately can surpass it. To describe it in one sentence, one can say that all of its structured elements, i.e. tannins, fruit, and acidity are all in perfect harmony, As one swirls, smells and takes small sip, intoxicating aromas of spice, Ottoman and wild strawberries, and sous bois unfold slowly on the palette with subtle ripe summer berries, damp earth, and wild mushroom undertones. Savory and exotic, this is a complex wine with a dense silky texture and undescribable elegance. Never mind the touch of volatility, sometimes a tad imperfection can be carried as a badge of honor, provided that one opens the bottle a few hours in advance.
Personal note on Château Rayas
The year 2026 is marked by the passing of the iconic man behind these wines, M. Emmanuel Reynaud.
I remember the very fist moment I tasted his wines. I was 24 years old, at La Crémerie, a wine bar in Saint-Germain-des-Près in Paris that I used to go with my friend Corinne Loppin Roch, as our dear friend Frankie was working there after leaving La Cave des Papilles.
Château Rayas was not as widely recognized at the time as it is today, but I immediately felt that I was holding something special, both in my hands and on my palate. Its style touched me, and over time it became something of an obsession.
The prices were not as high back then, which, to some extent, is still true today for allocataires of the domaine.
I had the chance to visit the domaine in 2019, received by M. Christian (Cri Cri for those close to him) and M. Benoît (son of Emmanuel Reynaud). I have kept very fond memories of that visit and still a few bottles resting in my cellar.
