Le Plateau De Fromages
Le Manoir du Lys

Le Manoir du Lys

route de Juvigny-sous-Andaine, 61140 Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, Juvigny Val d'Andaine, France

Hôtels • Français • Européen • Végétarien


"After something of a gastronomic trip to South West France we thought we'd try and end the trip on a high with one last nice dinner. After dining at a number of Michelin restaurants, of course we weren't expecting the same fireworks, but equally...we expected a very solid offering worthy of a star, sadly our expectations couldn't have been any more misplaced. We made a last minute booking here as a number of other starred establishments nearby were fully booked; we should have taken the hint! What we were hoping for was some good quality, old fashioned cooking, what we got were a series of unremarkable dishes. The dining room itself deserves a mention as it has been modernised over the years, but rather than starting afresh each time, items have been added to it or taken away so it is something of a patchwork quilt of styles and eras. This might unintentionally suggest it is charming in some way, for the avoidance of doubt, it isn't. The best thing by far about this restaurant is its wine list which is full of great wines from hard to find producers and vintages. It is absolutely superb, but sadly the same can't be said about the food. Without the wonderful wine list I would have given this a rating. A quick detour if I may... we started this trip at a Michelin restaurant with rooms which for me fully embodied what a Michelin restaurant should be (see separate review), and naively we hoped for this to share the same values so were genuinely surprised that the food was so unremarkable. Also, the price point here (a similarly rural location) was around higher so I do not think it is unreasonable to have expected the quality to at least have been comparable. The amuse bouches were overly fussy and tasted bland and some actually had a rather unpleasant texture. Quite frankly, the meal would have been better without them. Despite ordering a EUR course menu, they still charged me a EUR supplement for a mushroom first course. I have no problem with supplements at all, but EUR is so small that it just feels petty, and in this sort of restaurant I'd have expected a supplement to start at more than this. Also, rather bizarrely, given that we are in the middle of white truffle season, the menu was entirely devoid of them. Anyway, back to the food... first courses were pretty bland, and my wife's salmon had a somewhat unpleasant flabby texture. There were a couple of better dishes, scallops with mousseron mushrooms and chestnuts, and a red mullet dish both worked quite well. The cheese trolley deserves a special mention as the cheeses were great and the server had perfect knowledge in making their recommendations. This was probably the high point of the meal. Then came dessert which was their signature mushroom dessert. I am never a fan of savoury items in a sweet dish, however, the evening before we had enjoyed just that at a Michelin restaurant and it had totally surprised us by its sheer brilliance, so thought we'd give it a go again. This was a mistake. The dish was visually strong with some excellent and very fine blown sugar work (something you rarely see these days), but none of the elements of it had a particularly strong flavour, and whilst nothing was actually unpleasant, it didn't taste great and we wished we'd had something else. The service from most of the staff was very good, although one or two clearly lacked experience in places. All in all, other than the amazing wine list, there is little to recommend this restaurant. Its price point for the food does not represent good value, and more importantly, the cooking is very pedestrian, and certainly not what one would expect at this level. Also, the hotel that this restaurant is part of, is an awful relic of what bad hospitality (both hard and soft product) is, so that simply poured petrol on the flames of disappointment. We will certainly not be returning."

La Ferme Saint Siméon

La Ferme Saint Siméon

20 rue Adolphe Marais, 14600, Honfleur, France

Sushi • Cafés • Asiatique • Fruits De Mer


"Nous avons eu le menu Marin et c'était une cuisine superbe, bien qu'inévitablement pas bon marché... créative, merveilleusement savoureuse et vraiment astucieuse en termes de combinaisons. Le seul plat décevant était l'huître qui était une huître dans une compote de pommes mais c'était une merveille d'une bouchée. Cependant, le plat suivant, le maquereau était sensationnel. Suivaient du saint-pierre et des artichauts grillés, des calamars dans une sauce exceptionnelle, puis un superbe fromage de chèvre frais inventif, léger et contrastant merveilleusement avec la salade et les fruits. Enfin un chocolat dense avec trois éléments pour l'atténuer dont une algue et une compote de citron. Cuisine astucieuse, astucieuse MAIS le service ne pouvait pas être complété de la même manière car il ne correspondait pas au niveau de la nourriture ou de l'établissement. Toute la salle à manger avait besoin d'un maître d'hôtel professionnel qui donne le ton et l'ambiance du restaurant du trou. C'était même si le service était assuré par le collège de restauration local... très enthousiaste, très disposé mais il n'avait tout simplement pas de finesse. Le sommelier était un peu mieux mais encore une fois pas de haut niveau. Nous avons séjourné à l'hôtel et la même chose était évidente au petit-déjeuner (voir la critique séparée) et c'est tellement évident que je suis étonné que cela ne soit pas rectifié, car c'était la même chose lors de notre visite il y a un an."