Fodor's Expert Review Le Saint Aubin

Here's a chance to dine in a wonderful old colonial home, once the residence of sugarcane plantation owners. Built in 1819 from the timber of demolished ships, the house was taken apart by its owners in 1970 who moved it, bit by bit, a few hundred meters away from the noisy mill. It was lavishly restored in the 1990s, and today it's a lovely restaurant with a wide verandah, resplendent with black and white tiles and white wicker furniture, and interior rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, serving authentic cuisine using local farm produce. Forming part of a greater complex containing a boutique hotel, vanilla and rum distilleries, and a working tea plantation, the restaurant is a relaxing place to dine after walking around the grounds and gardens. Favorite dishes include smoked-marlin salad, and Creole chicken flavored with vanilla and spices. For dessert there are tempting sorbets in many flavors. The complex is just north of Souillac on the island's south coast.