Hotel Le Midi Clermont-Cournon

Quentin Brunet (formerly of Polypode) welcomes diners confidently and warmly to this Ostal (house in the local dialect). You will be seated in a snug dining room (seating for twenty) appointed in a smart, contemporary vibe with natural materials. The several-course set menu showcases the chef’s creativity and culinary skill: Breton langoustine, horseradish-laced seaweed tartare; free-range guinea fowl with cèpes and butternut; blueberry dessert with fermented milk and oxalis. A spot-on lineup in the zeitgeist.

Bang in the city centre, on the first floor of Saint Pierre Market, this swanky restaurant enjoys a lofty location. The stylish venue sports a series of beautifully appointed contemporary dining rooms and exquisite tableware. Chef Arkadiusz Zuchmanski, of Polish extraction, decided to move to France to fortify a vocation that took root in the kitchen of his forebears. He confesses an unbridled passion for noble ingredients and for Auvergne, which reminds him of the landscapes of his home city, Drzewica. The focus is on visually striking plating and honest, simply crafted ingredients, such as f

Located in the historic town, this revamped bistro, which sports a smart, cosy interior appointed in midnight blue velvet seats and matching walls, sings an ode to Italy. The youthful chef signs an uncluttered, spontaneous Italian-inspired score in a bistronomic register: tonnato of courgettes; confit of pork belly, orzotto of spinach and pistachio pesto; pan di Limone, creamy lemon and raspberry mascarpone. Reasonably priced concise menu at lunchtime, more ambitious in the evenings.

Hugues Maisonneuve is at the helm of this vintage bistro that sports a trendy, weathered look, soft lighting and a pleasant patio. The chef orchestrates a seasonal, market-fresh lunchtime menu, with a more upmarket slant courtesy of noble produce come the evening: warm oysters, calf’s sweetbread, scallops… Everything looks as good as it tastes.

In this pleasantly fashionable bistro in a pedestrian street by Place de Jaude and St-Pierre-les-Minimes Church, Valentin Chambonnière concocts gutsy, up-to-date fare, with a hint of nostalgia and based on seasonal ingredients. The sensibly priced menus are lip smackingly enticing: grilled loin of veal, garlic foam, millefeuille of potatoes and fresh tomme cheese; steamed Atlantic cod, beurre noisette, creamy celery and curry foam, followed by grapefruit-laced iced parfait, rose- and elderflower-flavoured ganache. Splendid cocktails and spirits. Warm, spot-on welcome and service.

This restaurant within the Stade Marcel-Michelin names its set menus after rugby terminology ("Forward Pass", "Grand Slam" and "Chistera"). They showcase contemporary dishes made with ingredients sourced from the Massif Central. Designed in the spirit of a modern brasserie, the dining room affords panoramic views of the stadium and has a terrace that looks out over the Chaîne des Puys.

A stone's throw from the remains of the ramparts of the Montferrand district (once a rival town to Clermont), this cosy little restaurant with a vaulted ceiling serves seasonal cuisine that is carefully crafted and full of flavour. The short menu is divided into meat- or fish-based set menus ("tout terre" or "tout mer"). There is also a reasonably priced lunchtime menu that changes every week. The desserts are every bit as accomplished, among them an indulgent baba with warm spices, mulled wine sorbet and Corsican lemon cream. Small summer terrace to the rear.