Le Petit Graillou

A village restaurant facing the volcano

Le Petit Graillou is on place des Parsières in Montrodeix, a hamlet of Orcines on the slope facing the Puy de Dôme. It is the simple place on this list: a renovated room, a terrace with the volcano in front and a short menu of country cooking, at everyday prices. It works with regional produce: pork from the Combrailles, Auvergne cheeses, potatoes from a local family and craft drinks. According to the tourist office, the truffade is made with fresh tomme from the Pardoux farm.

What to order

Truffade is the dish to try in Auvergne: potato cooked with fresh tomme until the cheese strings. Here it comes with Auvergne ham for €18, or with 5A andouillette for €22. The rest of the published menu: Auvergne burger at €16.50, frogs' legs with garlic and parsley at €19.50, sea bream with chorizo sauce and risotto, the beef cut of the moment and a large salad. For starters, a board of charcuterie and house terrine at €7.50, a small casserole of snails in Bleu d'Auvergne, or a goat's cheese salad from a farm in Montrodeix itself. There is a set menu, but not in July and August.

When to go and how to book

Booking is by phone only. The website says the hours change with the season and does not publish them; the tourist office listing, from 2021, says it closes Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday evening, and has holidays in January and early November. Call before you go, especially outside summer. Montrodeix is about ten minutes by car from the Panoramique des Dômes station and a quarter of an hour from Vulcania and Lemptégy.