La Potinière Du Lac

Le Manoir du Lys

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

Carte • Hôtels • Français • Européen • Végétarien

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"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 Belle Epoque

➤ 10 Rue Prof Jacques Louvel, 61140, Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, France

Carte • Café • Pizza • Salades • Français

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"J'ai réservé une table par téléphone avant d'arriver. Tous les autres restaurants aux alentours étaient bondés... On m'a informé que certains plats n'étaient plus disponibles. À mon arrivée, j'ai été accueilli chaleureusement dans une salle à moitié vide. Nous avons commandé et pris un apéritif. Nous étions huit. Les quatre premiers plats sont arrivés..."

La Table Gourmande

➤ 37 rue de la Barre, 61600 La Ferte Mace, France, La Ferté-Macé

Carte • Thé • Vin • Poisson • Français

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"Je recommande ce restaurant pour la réception, le service pour le professionnalisme, les plats pour la présentation, la préparation et le goût. pour ma part vraiment excellent, raffiné et diversifié. le petit refroidir le morceau de fromage inclus dans les menus. bonne qualité de valeur .bravo prix à l'ensemble de l'équipe"

La Renaissance

➤ 15 Avenue Du Docteur Poulain, 61140, Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, France

Carte • Pizza • Burgers • Boissons • Français

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"Nous y sommes allé un midi. L’accueil a été froid voir désagréable. On ne nous demande pas la cuisson des burger. On nous vend un burger au camembert à 10,50€ pour avoir une lamelle de camembert. Le pain n’est pas garnie de sauce. Donc un burger sec du au manque de sauce et de Fromage. On nous donne les couverts mal proprement. La serveuse qui a aussi fait la cuisine préférée discuter avec sa copine qui été à l’intérieur du snack en train de manger au détriment d’un accueil, d’une cuisine et d’un service correcte et polie. On n’est pas difficile et on ne demande pas du 5 étoiles mais un minimum pour les clients. Très déçu."

Ô Gayot

➤ 2 Avenue De La Ferté-Macé, 61140 Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, France, French Republic, Bagnoles de l'Orne Normandie

Carte • Cafés • Hôtels • Français • Européen

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"Nous avons eu un accueil chaleureux par un personnel très efficace. Nous avons tous choisi le Menu de Jour. Le plat de saumon était très sympa. Le plat principal d'onglet de bœuf était cuit individuellement selon nos préférences et était délicieux, mais les tranches de pommes de terre striées frites qui l'accompagnaient étaient décevantes. On ne s'attendait pas à ce que des chips soient servies avec une si belle pièce de bœuf. Ce n’était pas pratique de les manger avec une fourchette et nous avons tous eu du mal ! J'aurais préféré des pommes de terre sautées. Le brownie ganache au chocolat et glace était parfait !"