The best wine bars Pyrénées-Orientales

Wine bar, tapas and restaurant. This is Laroque des Albères' new Swiss Army knife. A beautiful elevated outdoor terrace, and a harmony of metal and wood in the two rooms: downstairs eating areas and a beautiful dining room upstairs with its starry sky (the lighting fixtures). On the menu, it's mar i munt: tapas from the sea or the mountains. The products are meticulous and tasty, and the wines to accompany them come from small, carefully selected estates. Boris, the manager, has just handed over the keys to his two partners, who are continuing the work in the same spirit.

A drinking restaurant: that's how you could define this little nugget in the rue des Cardeurs, a pedestrian street in the old part of Perpignan, known by the local gourmets. The place is intimate, very cosy and minimalist, a bit like the owners, and above all what you find on the plate and in the glass: fresh and local high quality! The emphasis is on the origin and quality of the products. Everything is fine and delicious, charming and original. The ideal place to enjoy a good glass of wine with some crazy tapas on a quiet terrace.

Chez Mémé has become the must-see tavern in Castelnou. We don't know if it's a restaurant, a wine bar or a tapas bar, but one thing is for sure, the place and the atmosphere have a "let's go back there quickly" feel. An address that we liked to taste in the dining room or on the large terrace craft beers or local wines with friends. In this small, typical family house, Emeline offers various Catalan dishes: pan con tomate with Serrano ham, her famous patatas bravas or the unmissable Cerdanya cheeses.

L'Apothicaire is the ideal place to spend a good evening with friends, to taste delicious wines, to feast on aperitif boards made of fine charcuteries or rare cheeses and to learn a lot of things about the world of good food. Fred, the owner, is not shy and likes to talk about his products and tell you anecdotes. He defines himself as a "taste buds dresser". On the terrace and in the calm of the pedestrian street or in one of the two rooms with their refined decoration which brilliantly combine old and modern, we simply love it!

At once an art gallery, a wine bar and a wine cellar, Chez Syl Vins surprises and enchants. More than 500 references of wines, 100 of which are natural and living wines. "I like wine without make-up", Sylvain confides to us, "I am a wine merchant but my past as a master sommelier catches up with me, I am always looking for what is rare". We discovered some delicious small vintages, accompanied by local cheeses and charcuterie. Listening to this kind, tender and modest man comment on a tasting, guiding your taste buds and your senses is pure happiness. We love it!