An evening with Le Living – well almost I couldn’t fault the welcome I received at the Brive restaurant, Le Living. I think it was the owner and chef who greeted me handsomely. I was the shown to my table that I had reserved for...one. At the rear of the restaurant were about fifteen tables for four people on each. My table for one was at the extreme right next to a screen. I just about managed to slide into my seat and was shown the menu for the evening. It was at 37.50€ price for a starter, main course and desert. The maitre D asked if I wanted an aperitif and I chose a kir with mur. This arrived with an ‘amuse bouche’. The kir was perfect with just a touch of creme de mur. The amuse bouche was an interesting concoction but not particularly notable. I was then asked if I wanted some wine with the meal. I asked for a glass of red and was asked if Rhone was OK. The MD asked if I wanted to taste it which was a little peculiar for an already opened bottle and I demurred and he poured a less than generous quantity. He also appeared with a carafe of water but without a glass. I chose foie gras with a mushroom sauce for my entrée which was 3€ extra. The foie was barely discoverable under a thick mushroom sauce with a sprig of parsley on top. Some ordinary bread accompanied it and I thought that it would have been a nice touch if it had been toasted. A group of three people arrived and were placed in the centre of the restaurant. I placed my knife and fork on the finished plate but when the waiter came to collect it, he removed them and placed them back on my place setting. This is acceptable at my local cafe in the Aveyron but not in an establishment which was purporting to be fine dining. I had chosen belly of pork for my main course. It arrived again in a thickish sauce accompanied by some spaghetti and decorated with the obligatory sprig of parsley. It was adequate but no more than that and again lacked any imagination. I had just about managed to make my red wine last for the main course. I had been asked at the beginning what I wanted for a desert but said that I would choose later and I decided on an apple concoction with ice cream. No sprig of parsley this time but a few mint leaves were sprinkled on it. I then had a coffee which was accompanied by a lot of shouting coming from the kitchen. Only two more people arrived so that the restaurant was relatively deserted. Knowing this, the establishment would have shown a bit of style if they had placed me at a larger table in the body of the restaurant rather than cramped up like an afterthought. The meal was barely adequate and definitely not the taste experience as advertised. Overall, it was a disappointing experience. Le living is an ordinary restaurant purporting to be much more.More