French brasserie€€€ÉcussonTue-Sat 12:00-14:00 and 19:30-23:00; closed Sunday and Monday
Pampa Bar & Brasserie serves brasserie classics in Montpellier's 1770 bathhouse off the Comédie, courtyard tables under century-old palms at Les Bains.
Tip: The former shower cabins around the courtyard are the most-requested tables; the bar side runs late Thursday to Saturday.
French bistro€€€Port MarianneRestaurant Tue-Sat 19:00-23:00; rooftop bar daily from 15:00; brunch Sat-Sun 11:00-14:00
Miranove runs a bistronomic dining room, a weekend brunch and a rooftop pool bar on the top floors of its Port Marianne hotel above the tram line.
Tip: Go up for the rooftop at golden hour even without a dinner booking; the bar pours seven days a week.
French bistroChef Jacques and Laurent Pourcel€€€ÉcussonDaily 12:00-14:15 and 19:30-22:00
La Canourgue is the Pourcel brothers' every-day bistronomic room at Hôtel Richer de Belleval in Montpellier, Mediterranean plates on the shaded square.
Tip: It serves seven days a week, a rarity in this city of Sunday closures; the courtyard tables go first in summer.
Mediterranean€€ÉcussonMon-Tue 19:30-23:00; Wed-Sun 12:00-14:30 and 19:30-23:00
Le Paresseur cooks grandmother recipes with Italian flair and Sétois heritage under vaulted stone on Rue Jules Latreilhe in central Montpellier.
Signature: Gnocchis à la betterave
Tip: One of the few good Écusson kitchens serving Sunday and Monday nights; the vaulted cellar room downstairs suits winter, the terrace summer.
French bistro€€ÉcussonFri-Sun 10:00-15:00 and 17:00-23:30; Mon-Tue and Thu 17:00-00:00; closed Wednesday
Tôt ou Tard fills a plane-tree square in Montpellier's Écusson, bistronomic plates, tapas and organic Languedoc wines poured until around midnight.
Tip: The terrace on Place de la Chapelle Neuve is one of the old town's loveliest; it stays open through August.
Mediterranean€€EuromédecineTue 10:00-19:00; Wed-Sat 10:00-22:00; closed Sunday and Monday
Soulenq turns a former plant nursery in Montpellier's Euromédecine quarter into a wood-fired bistro and 400-reference wine cave with a big terrace.
Tip: Buy any bottle from the cave and drink it at the table for 10 euros corkage; the name is Occitan for the harvest-end meal.