Au Bon Vivre

Worth stopping - Lovely couple with great food. Stopped with 2 overtired children and they served us early. Beautiful food, and lovely relaxed feel. Will definitely visit again.

Rural, friendly, hospitable restaurant, great food, parking, people. Rural et très sympa - Arrived late, greeted with a smile, great menu, relaxed evening meal.
We arrived late, the hostess was very nice and welcoming, also patient with our bad frennch. The meal was... read more delicious, and the price not too high. The couple are french, young and have the experience of travelling overseas.
Nous sommes arrivé tard, la hostesse etait très sympa/gentille et patiente avec notre mauvaise franÇais. Le repas etait delicieux et le prix pas trop haut.
Le couple sont francaises, jeune et ont l'experience des voyages etrangeres.

New Beginnings - Starters

Every time I visit Parnac I drive past this restaurant, slowly, trying to spot any signs of life. Nothing. Google underlines my sadness in red: fermeture définitive. One... read more YouTube video hints at better times. And then the Mairie posts that Au Bon Vivre is set to reopen. Daily checking gets me no closer to when. I hope that I’m there when it opens. Yesterday I was driving past, slowly. And I spotted signs of life. I stopped. There is a menu, new today. As we approach the door it is opened by a man, the new patron, sporting a beaming smile. He tells us of his years bringing joy through food, of his team, of his desire to bring new life into the village and to bring people together. He is joyful because doing what you love is never a chore. We’ll see you around 7 then!

Mains

As we walk the few minutes to the restaurant we are filled with nervous excitement. A long-awaited experience is just around the corner and we wonder whether we will be disappointed. Too late. No turning back. We are led to our table as if we are long lost friends. Aperitifs are served as we choose our meal from a selection of four starters, four mains and four desserts. This length of menu makes me happy. A brief selection prepared with fresh and local produce. Even the drinks menu reflects a thoughtfully curated list of regional beers, ciders and wines. Our nervousness is giving way to hope as we order.
Our starters are a velvety squash soup and a warm goat’s cheese salad. Dana hates soup but loved mine. Dana’s starter allowed me to understand, for the first time, that there is a place in my life for a goat’s cheese as good as this. For her, Cheeseburger and Chips. My entrecôte was served with chips, salad and two beautiful sauces. Meltingly good local beef cooked, lovingly, to perfection. A chocolate and nut brownie and an apple tart to finish. Or to finish us off?
Portions were good, service was attentive and the food, chosen and prepared with love, was utterly beautiful. The bill didn’t make us sad, but leaving did.

Desserts

Every time I leave Parnac I feel a little sad. I’m back to England in a couple of days and I know that I’m going to miss the opportunity to visit this restaurant. The team are all committed to bringing joy to the village, and the whole area, through great food prepared and presented with passion and enthusiasm.

Pay them a visit. Don’t thank me. Thank them. Understand that love makes their food, and our life, better.

Great Food and Pleasantly Served - Have eaten here many times.

Always a pleasure, a lovely couple who work hard and are very helpful.

Food is great and prices good.

Good food - This place is really out of the way unless you are stopping nearby but it's quite a find if you like good food in a friendly surounding.
The owners are... read more English (this came as a surprise) but the food is very French and the clientel are mostly locals.
Nowhere is cheap in France but I consider they serve good food at reasonable prices so if you are on the French A20 and looking for a meal break then take junction 19 or 20 and head for Parnac and it's opposite the church.
Also, if you are looking for a place to stay then see my review of La Villonniere.

Great Restaurant - The restaurant is newly re-opened with hosts Sam & Mathieu.
The staff are super friendly, the food is great and the prices are really good.
We will be back to... read more visit Sam & Mathieu again the next time we are in France and we wish this business the very best of luck for the future.