Are there an recommendations for restaurants in La Rochelle …open on Monday?
Something special but not 2 star Michelin.
The world is your oyster. The restaurants that I eat in regularly have no pomp and circumstance just excellent seafood at really good prices. 28 has the best name.
1 Like
Not sure about 28…
My friends are even more fussy than I.
He is another restaurant owner/chef from London and
we cook mussels at home often…
So we would like something a little special.
Monday is not the easiest but maybe I have now found something.
But thank you.
Even in September Monday is rarely a problem in La Rochelle. I don’t think you explored 28 enough. Try a bit of word play in French.
fish and rice.
not as in risotto.
Say the number in French then play around with some homophones. I think it’s great.
Re your original question it’s hard to answer without knowing what your friends expect. If you want authentic seafood nearly anywhere around the the Cours des Dames would provide that, and if the weather is OK an atmosphere as well. If you want to go up market and more removed from the ‘real’ town one of the well known guides would be your best bet.
booked L entr’acte at Rue st Jean Perot.
1 Like
I did not manage to get to La Rochelle but my friends went to the restaurant.
Sadly they were disappointed by the service and the cooking.
My trip through vendee and on the edge of Loire atlantic was pleasant but not
a great culinary event.My next journey is to the Basque and that will be very special.
That’s a shame in a town that offers so much for those who enjoy eating out.
1 Like
Depends on what you feel is good.
We stayed in Il de Re in a" cute " hotel but the food was very bad.
Well I had large prawns …tempura…well the batter was like a very thick over
coat and the three prawns tasted of nothing.
My duck was a piece of leather, potatos cooked days before they arrived on my plate…horrid.
The cepes were remenents of dried bits of cepe…once again cooked in oil.Oh and the sauce was nasty, The main course sat
on my plate uneaten and I said nothing…neither did the waitress.
in Bernay en Reitz we ate in a 2 star hotel out of lack of choice…and we were pleasantly
surprised by the obvious interest the chef had in cooking from his sauces to his friendly way with vegetables.
The whole meal was a pleasure to eat…and the chef had a great command of Asian and morocan
spices.
Le Grande Large…just by the sea.
One of the joys of eating out. The pleasant surprises often come in the most unlikely places.
Hi Barbara… what a pity that you did not comment about your meal… at the time. Without feedback from clients… things are unlikely to improve.
Yes, I know it takes courage… (far more than I have)… but OH and I have witnessed the very odd occasion, when out with our French pals. These are ordinary folk who do not suffer silently if they feel anything is not as it should be… they would not have finished the meal without something being said/done.
I must add, that in 50 years of travelling in France… we can list bad experiences on only one hand, if that.
Have you taken the opportunity to mention the Good and the Bad on Trip Advisor… ???
The problem is that being a chef by trade and in the leisure business it makes me look bitchy and by speaking my mind everything becomes more painful.
Most people enjoy food which I can find ttstes disgusting.
I can eat in the Routier near St Emilion very decent rustic food…excellent steak and ok chips, salad with
a nice walnut oil dressing for around 19 euros …with some desserts to follow…even though I do n ot eat them.
But at 70 euros a head for one bottle of San peiligreno and 2 glasses of champagne…and no desserts…
this was a little sad. However every one seemed happy enough to waste there money.
Trip advisor can be cruel.
Ah yes one of the joys of eating out. Thank goodness we can…I love doing it.
I am not a chef… but I know what I like… and generally end up chatting with staff (and often the chef himself)… about what we have eaten… My being English seems to make them forgive my (perhaps) impertinence…
In recent months, I have been moved to go on Tripadvisor to support places where I have enjoyed good food and service… but only when I note that the enterprise publicly displays the Tripadvisor link…I am torn between wanting to support them… and perhaps encouraging too many folk to find them…
We tend to favour restaurants where a good deal of their menu is home made… starters, main course, dessert… (plus on some rare occasions cheeses from chevre or brebis running around outside) 
while I appreciate you may have limited eating choice… steak and chips is not high on my list…
No steak and chips is not high on my list either but this was just a comparison in price and what is edible.
I like ALL the produce/dishes to be made on the premises but there is a massive amount of cheating which goes on…there is brake bros in France and Metro.
Pre made choc puddings…almost everything infact and instant dessert mixes…just add water and set!!!
Sometimes when we are out and about we just eat …and this could be in a routier.
But our holidays are about really good food.
Our restaurant in London had 3 AA rosettes and we made everything including the bread.
But such hard work.
fair enough…but wouldn’t you have wanted someone to tell you if they were not happy ???
and I agree about “home-made” v “transformed on site”… …which is why I normally/often visit the kitchens and chat to all and sundry… if we are using a place for the first time…
.
I am not so sure that chefs appreciate visitors to their kitchen.The routine in a restaurant kitchen is hectic and even the cleanest of kitchens looks a little bit of a mess during service.
But visitors to the kitchen also take the chefs off mark and break their concentration.
A chef has to concentrate totally as putting dishes together…real dishes is like performing surgery…using different components and instruments and making sure of correct hot and cold side of the food.
There are other aspects too which relate to health and safety.
There is so much to know about a professional kitchen.
Barbara…
I have never disturbed a chef in full flow… more often than not, we are amongst the last to leave an establishment…as we like to relax with our food and in between courses… and I have safely viewed many a kitchen without infringing on H&S.
In my experience, chefs are keen to discuss/explain how they put a menu together and the various home-made offerings… although not all of them will part with a special recipe… but that is understandable