Most summers, I find myself in this Dordogne region of France for work. It's always a great week.. as we mix a bit of music and concerts with a (sometimes...) great deal of Sun and good food and drink. In fact, this region does get flooded with English and Dutch seasonal tourists... which does keep the local economy going but can also be a bit grinding for the locals when their villages and towns get taken over completely by outsiders!

During this time, I often revisit old favourite places for eating... Riberac is one of the larger towns in the area, and if I'm lucky, this is where they will have found me some accomodation. If that is the case, then the Cafe de Colonnes is always an easy place to stop off for a quick lunch/dinner.

The Space

The Cafe is in the central area of the town, well at least what I consider the centre! It is close to the usual acommodation and rehearsal venues (if they are in this town... somtimes, the rehearsals are much further away...). It is easy to get to, and with a small car park opposite also easy to reach by car. Speaking of cars, they are essential in this area... without one, you are just going to struggle to get from town to town!

As a nice bonus, on the weekends... there is a little market that sets up on the carpark grounds.

Like most of the places in this area of France... most of the decor and style of the dining places hark back to an earlier era. The decor and atmosphere is something that you would expect from an age when caberet was all the rage... Although, this is quite heavily juxtaposed by the modern dress of the customers!

The Menu

Gear up and remember your school day French lessons! All the menus are in French... although, the wait staff do understand some English. Most of the things on the menu are more than easily decipherable by anyone with a passing knowledge of French (there is a lot of duck!).... but failing that Google Translate is always a quick way to handle the problem. After all, you are just ordering food... not discussing politics!

The prices are quite decent for the amount of food that you get.. keeping in mind that you are in Western Europe. The regions of France are definitely good value for money when you are looking to eat out... as long as you keep to the less touristy places!

The Food

My colleague ordered a duck salad... it looked pretty good, and was quite okay taste-wise... however, I'm never going to order a salad by itself!

The French version of Chicken and Chips! Duck and Chips... with a healthy serving of beans (haricots). Now, you do have to keep in mind that this a cafe food and not a "real" restaurant... so the meat was a touch on the tough side with no sauce... and I'm afraid that the beans were cooked to be incredibly mushy... but as the equivalent of fast food, this kicks the crap out of MacDonalds!

The Experience

This is the place to go for a quick and easy feed if you happen to be in the area. It wouldn't be a place that I would make a special journey to eat at... but I do happen to find myself here on a relatively regular basis (at least once a year...).

The staff are friendly, and generally will just leave you alone... some people won't like this, but it is the perfect experience for me... I hate being bothered constantly whilst I'm eating!

The food is cheap, and for it's price... it is good. There are other restaurants in the area that are much better, but they do come with a corresponding price tag!

So, in the end... a place for a quick feed that I keep returning to! I can't fault the place, it's not great... but it is decent! The trouble is that I keep ordering the same dish....

Opening Times

Monday 8am–12am
Tuesday 8am–12am
Wednesday 8am–12am
Thursday 8am–12am
Friday 8am–12am
Saturday 8am–12am
Sunday 9am–12am

Contact Details

Address: 17 Place du Général de Gaulle, 24600 Ribérac, France
Phone: +33 5 53 90 01 39

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