Outside view of the picturesque Pont de Louysse restaurant located near Bordeaux, France. (photo courtesy of GE)
What is important when tasting a good dish in an exceptional restaurant? It is not only the food that lets our senses enjoy the experience to the utmost. The atmosphere is essential: temperature, noise and light. Light: an indispensable factor to enhance textures, colors and sensations to the maximum.

The Pont de Louysse restaurant, located in the tourist destination of Sarlat-Souillac-Rocamadour near Bordeaux in southern France, seeks to offer unique experiences. Two steps away from the castle of Belcastel in an incomparable setting, this Michelin one-star restaurant has a curious history. When the bridge, which is located in front of the hotel, was being built in 1885, the workers would look for a place to eat every day and the nearest farm began to serve meals. That is how the restaurant began, and it was later enlarged with a hotel.

With mostly international guests, the Pont de Louysse hotel-restaurant offers signature cuisine based on regional specialties such as foie-gras, duck and pigeon, and it is known for its quality and personalized service in an exceptional natural setting.

Maintaining the Restaurant’s Personality

Partial renovations are normal in the hotel sector, both to upgrade installations with more efficient technologies and to improve the premises making space for different uses. In this case, the restaurant removed a step that divided it into two levels to give more depth and spaciousness to the dining hall. “We wanted to maintain the room’s personality but modernize the lighting systems. We aim to combine ambient lighting with individual lights to be able to create intimate spaces that help to appreciate the content of the dishes and their presentation”, says Mr. Chambón, owner and head of the restaurant.

Mr. Chambón, owner and head of Pont de Louysse and M. Jean Pierre Magne, head of LGE, stand together outside the restaurant. (photo courtesy of GE)
The balance being sought for this restaurant was clear; energy efficiency had to be combined with considerable savings while maintaining the rustic personality of the setting. Quality was also an important factor, since the result was supposed to be more uniform, with areas of shadow but without too much intensity that would differentiate them excessively.

GE Lighting’s GU10 LED: performance and design

The proposed solution for replacing the restaurant’s halogen lamps was the LED GU10. The possibility of dimming the lights helped create an atmosphere according to needs, with different color temperatures to choose from, thus achieving a softer light that made the diners feel good and enjoy their experience more. The GE Lighting LED lamps were installed throughout the restaurant, especially in the areas that needed to be better illuminated for a longer time. A better implementation has been achieved, in terms of light fixture distribution, to enhance the quality of light without being too intense or dazzling.