La Fête au Palais — Restaurant in Profondeville

We booked La Fete au Palais just after Easter. It was not very cheap and we were somewhat disappointed when we entered the room.||||The room is very basic, finished to very basic level. The shower is a very small cubicle and the beds are absolutely way to small. The measure 2 m by 70 cm or so.||Comfort of the bed is OK, but very soft.||The room was very clean, the use of carpet has not my preference.||||We were here in April and although it was only like 10 degrees C outside, the room was very hot. We opened all windows, but it was difficult to get cool air in.||||If you stay here in the summer you will be cooked, it is in desperate need of an AC.||||In our room there was a steep staircase towards the mezzanine. The kids can sleep here and our daughter loved it. But the staircase is steep and you have to pay attention on how you walk on it. It will not be every bodies cup of tea.||The mezzanine will be very very hot in the summer as there is no way you can ventilate or open a window. Our daughter already complained (which she never does) and it was April.||||The location of the hotel is fantastic. It has a nice terrace, excellent restaurant and the views are to die for and to impress.||Sitting here, enjoying the view and a good Belgium beer will give you the feeling you concurred the world. The beer selection is extensive with more then 70 variations on the list.||||The host is super friendly and helpful. He gave us several tips on things to do in the area.||He is currently working on 4 new rooms and he showed us these briefly. They look a lot better then the one we stayed in. Showers are bigger and better, décor and everything is too a much higher standard.||These rooms will deliver for what you paid for. Maybe next time.||||Breakfast was OK, but nothing special. For the money you pay, you expect more. We feel this needs improvement if you want to sell at a certain level.||||For the room we had and the breakfast served, we felt it was a bit overpriced, but for a 2 night stay it is perfect, and those views..... pffff.||||I do recommend it, especially when the new rooms are ready, as it has also one of the best restaurants...

I was told this was a nice restaurant, so I wanted to give it a try, we left underwhelmed though. The food wasn't bad, it just did not leave us with any kind of enthusiasm at all. Pro point: the vue is nice, the beer menu is rather extensive and they have a kid menu which is a nice thought. On to the meh: no vegetarian options on the menu, also our waitress didn't seem to speak french as a first language and seemed generally rather annoyed by our questions or demands (also, I do expect a waitress to have at least a vague idea about the business so if I ask a suggestion for a rather hoppy beer I don't expect 'I don't know' for an answer - if you don't know you go ask someone who does know, for instance). The mise en bouche, gracefully offered by the restaurant, didn't make much sense (a tiny scoop of strawberry and basil ice cream and a few slices of zucchini pickle, I fail to see culinary sense in that pairing but let's say that's on me). Moving on to the hors d'oeuvre: croquettes de crevettes and croquette de fromage. These are the exact things belgians grow up on and if you are going to make them as a serious restaurant, they'd better be seriously good. Unfortunately, they were meh. And adding a 'sauce provençale' to it all is really just a way to add insult to injury, in my opinion. As main course I had the duck filet. Fine, but not something I'd write home about. The presentation felt 'old new' and the added flavors (honey, spices, cherry, something pungent along the mustard family) felt somewhat confused and confusing. The nougat glacé desert was ok, but did not stand out. So was it bad? No. Would I go...

Accueil authentique et confort à "La Fête au Palais"

Commentaire : Mon expérience à "La Fête au Palais" a été réchauffée par l'accueil exceptionnel du patron, qui a su créer une atmosphère des plus conviviales. La chambre, quoique 6n peu petite, était décorée avec goût et disposait de toutes les commodités nécessaires : serviettes, sèche-cheveux, ventilateur, et rangements adéquats. La terrasse offrait une vue panoramique à couper le souffle, rendant le séjour inoubliable.

Un point notable est la flexibilité des horaires : l'accès à la chambre est possible dès 14h00 le jour de l'arrivée, et le départ est autorisé jusqu'à 11h00, ce qui est très appréciable.

Le petit déjeuner, bien que simple, était de bonne qualité, avec des produits frais et locaux. La vigilance du patron assurait que rien ne manquait.

Au restaurant, la carte variée promettait une expérience culinaire enrichissante. Cependant, malgré la fraîcheur des produits, les plats manquaient de cette étincelle gustative attendue. Des erreurs telles que le foie gras trop cuit et le ris de veau surcuit ont été notées, bien que l'entrecôte maturée fût parfaitement cuite. La présentation des assiettes aurait pu être améliorée avec plus de garnitures.

Le personnel du restaurant, bien que chaleureux, devrait gagner en professionnalisme. Des gestes comme essuyer le goulot d'une bouteille de vin avec le doigt, ou laisser le client se resservir seul, ainsi que des erreurs de placement des assiettes, sont des aspects à améliorer.

En somme, "La Fête au Palais" se distingue par la sympathie de son personnel et la qualité de ses chambres. La vue panoramique est un atout majeur. Pour le restaurant, une attention plus fine aux détails culinaires et au service pourrait transformer une bonne expérience en une expérience exceptionnelle. Un détail pour les chambres : un papier toilette plus doux serait le bienvenu.

Note : ★★★☆☆

Je recommande "La Fête au Palais" pour son accueil sincère et son cadre enchanteur, tout en espérant des améliorations...