L’Auberge Provencale, run by 79 year old Frenchman Andre Potron, is a true jewel. Andre, a Lome resident for 40 years, left retirement and bought the restaurant in November 1999.

The Mediterranean-inspired décor and surroundings of L’Auberge Provencale are filled with lush green plants. We declined the offer to sit in the air-conditioned dining room and instead sat on the terrace just beside a window with a breeze coming in straight off the Atlantic.

We ordered green salads, snails, lobster and barracuda. Unfortunately the lobster was finished, but the server recommended and showed me a similar shellfish and I agreed to try it.

My salad was delicious, but I avoided the warm, beef liver. Jim devoured his escargot cooked with wine and garlic. His firm-textured barracuda tasted wonderful. My pseudo-lobster was good but too tough. We drank Colonels (citron sorbet and vodka) after dinner. (Jim says the best thing the French did for Africa was to introduce the Colonel; there’s nothing as refreshing in the heat of West Africa.)

A lovely evening – perhaps the restaurant is reason enough to visit Lome. Bouillabaisse or lobster thermidor can be ordered 48 hours in advance.Video