The story
L'Argence is a bistro with a modern kitchen at Rue du Riols in Sainte-Geneviève-sur-Argence, in the Aubrac foothills of Aveyron. It appears in the Michelin Guide as Recommended for 2026.
Chef Jonathan trained with Anne-Sophie Pic, Michel Guérard and Olivier Roellinger, and spent twelve years alongside the Bras family. In 2022 he and Candice took over this former stagecoach relay. She grew up in the nearby village of Argences-en-Aubrac and worked as a mixologist in Paris, London and New York. Her cocktails are served in the evening, and Le Fooding listed the house in 2026.
The evening and weekend menu costs 39€ and leans on local produce. A recent version offered smoked trout from the Aubrac mountains with quinoa and trout roe. It also had foie gras with miso-infused celery purée, and snails in red-wine butter with aged Laguiole. The Le Fooding reviewer praised cold grilled zucchini dressed with elderberry oil, and a trout steak in beurre blanc. Weekday lunch is 20€, and the children's menu is 12€. The carte adds Aubrac beef entrecôte with house fries, with aligot on the side.
The building is a renovated hotel-restaurant, and Le Fooding describes a mix of wood and glass. A garden terrace opens in good weather, and a private room is available for groups.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
An old building that was wasting away in the foothills of the Aubrac region has been brought back to life by bartender Candine Knyf (Mama Shelter and Candelaria in Paris) and chef Jonathan Rigoulet (Pic, Guérard, Roellinger and most importantly, Bras). The result? A modernist, classy hotel-restaurant that combines wood and glass decor. The night we went, we had all of the following: some incredible organic zucchini from Condom-d’Aubrac grilled on the plancha and served cold, dotted with elderberry oil and balsamic vinegar, tickled by a cow’s milk caillé cheese with sesame seeds and pesto, plus grilled capers and croutons; a very fresh organic trout steak from Nicolas Mairiniac of Les Monts d’Aubrac, caressed by a delicate beurre blanc sauce, with grilled beets and a sweet potato purée; before a somewhat less impressive finish, a Paris-Brest cream imprisoned within a cinnamon shortbread crust, with strawberry ice cream and dotted with chocolate. // Gérard Roubeix
Location
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