Montagrillades

Montagrillades

It’s truly a bonus that for 2 months each Summer , Friday nights in Montagrier become alive with music and street food. I call it Fusion Friday because the local village  is awash with both tourists and the local community enjoying the best of the weather, the local products and the night music. It doesn’t matter if you have already eaten because there is still the local wine, the artisanal beer and the live music to soak up and enjoy as the sun goes down. My recommendation though, is not to eat beforehand because there are a multitude of options to enjoy seated at the communal tables whilst you can mingle with the locals and watch the children playing safely together. 

Montagrillades

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are your options?
Well, over the last 3 years I have personally tested, the steaks , the maigret de canard, the chicken/frites, omelettes of cèpes and or vegetables, tagine , pizzas ( of course) massive burgers, l’escargot ( yes it’s quite traditional to have snails in season ) oysters, succulent charentais melons, local cheeses, ice creams, crepes and gaufrés. There really is something for everybody!
If you don’t want to queue for food and share the communal tables, then why not book a table at the restaurant situated in the middle of the village ( Auberge Délices de la treille ) , you can enjoy table service whilst still being able to hear the live music and do some all important people watching.

 

Montagrillades

 

A typical night at Montagrillades
The fun starts around 7 pm from which time you will find a steady stream of cars heading up the hill towards Montagrier to find a good parking space. The town itself is closed off to all traffic during the evening at both ends which allows musicians, tourists, locals and stall holders a free rein throughout the village during the festivities.
If you haven’t booked the restaurant then the first priority is to find a table to set up base for the night. Usually by this time, any children have automatically disappeared to play cache cache ( hide and seek) or wall jumping or sitting on the wall watching the action. My next action is to secure beer, wine and water for the table which is readily on sale by the bottle (wine 6-8 euros) or the glass ( beer 3 euros) and baguettes to accompany your food selection. After that it’s drink , eat  and repeat whilst the band plays. Once the sun goes down the music continues and the dancing starts, the kids continue with their running games whilst eating crepes and ice creams until one by one they drop off to sleep.

 

Montagrillades
Music at Montagrillades
Each Friday night in July and August there is a different local based group who perform on stage in the middle of Montagrier. Twice during the season Montagrillades also plays host to the Regionally famous Douchapt Blues bands. Douchapt Blues will be the subject of a future blog but just by way of explanation the Douchapt Blues organisation invites various blues musicians throughout the whole summer period to play around the Dordogne. Consequently and fortunately we are never too far away from a night of quality music ( assuming of course that you like Blues music).

Montagrillades 

 

 

1 Comment

  • Arjan van der Veeken

    Arjan van der Veeken

    Reply

    Montagrier is a beautiful place, it is quiet and a perfect base for nice places like Periqueux, Riberac, Lisle and the beautiful Brantome.

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