Restaurant Le Carré des Saveurs — Restaurant in Alès

Food: Simply put, it’s an embarrassment to French cuisine. Definitely not where I would recommend one to go for a “gastronomic experience” in Ardèche unless you think “gastronomy” means plating every dish with a branch of rosemary and squeezing a little bit of balsamic-esque sauce on the plate. Prior to making our reservations, we had called in advance to make sure that there are vegetarian options available because I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian. The restaurant ensured us that they do accommodate for a vegetarian diet so we proceeded with the reservations. When we got to the restaurant, one of the managers said that they can prepare a vegetarian quiche for me as an entree with a side of local greens and for the main course, I will have a choice of pasta or potatoes with local legumes (which sounded appealing, because fresh and locally grown vegetables here in Ardèche naturally tastes AMAZING - I know this from experience having lived in Ardèche for work in the early fall and the summer months and benefiting from getting my produce from the local farmers). My entree, was a sad looking vegetarian quiche with large leafy greens drenched in olive oil and balsalmic vinegar (with that ridiculous aforementioned “sauce” splattered on the side of the plate in attempt to give it that “gastronomic” appearance. To my dismay, the tiny slice of quiche was served cold - like it was leftover from the brunch service earlier. It’s a shame, because the quiche was definitely flavorful, but serving cold leftovers at an upscale restaurant is utterly disappointing. Furthermore, the main course was a disgrace... to vegetables and everyone who knows how to cook. I was given a plate of under seasoned seared potatoes bits and a few pieces of overcooked and under seasoned aubergine, zuchinni (corgettes), and red pepper. It was literally two julienned slices of pepper, diced, two rondels of zuchinni and aubergine, diced and sautéed and forgotten in the pan. Instead of a side of pasta like I asked, they gave me a side of bland and undercooked mashed potatoes. Fried Potatoes and mashed potatoes in one dish... seriously?! Anyway, one of the managers also offered to give me a side of greens which again, was the large pieces of lettuce drenched in balsalmic and olive oil (ironically it was the best thing that was on my plate). My last course, I just ordered cheese because it’s something one cannot mess up. The meat dishes that other members of my group was having didn’t look anything special either. Overall, I am utterly disappointed with the experience I had because the chef made absolutely no effort. I dine out quite a lot around the world eating at some of the best restaurants from Michelin stars to restaurants fronted by up and coming chefs; cooking vegetarian is not a limitation, rather, it ignites creativity and introduces unimaginable flavours and texture. For example, just look at three Michelin Star chef Alain Passard’s Arpège (Paris) and La Bijouterie in Lyon (has an up and coming young chef). Needless to say, will not be returning to this restaurant again.

Service: Mostly inattentive and below average especially for a higher end restaurant.

Ambiance: It’s such a pity that the food and service is subpar because the location is beautiful and chic...

We experienced only a cold welcome, and were placed "in line" with a view on the carré. The ambiance of the restaurant was both clean (=not warm) as well as messy (attempt to present a modern bright interior failed in our view). We were served by a waiter who smelled quite heavily (sweat), and also other guests experienced his scent with disgust. Our tarte tatin and saumon tartare were burned and average at best, respectively. The main course (volaille) was not well cooked. One of us got served the meat with raw parts still in it. Service from other waitresses was poor too, lacking interest for our feedback. I'm afraid we were very disappointed in the Carrè de Saveurs. We received a bottle of wine upon exit as token of goodwill for our suffering. Although this was somewhat soothing our temper, the overwhelming conclusion has to be that dining in this restaurant was very disappointing, not living up to its pretentious profile at all. Please do not expect anything close to fine dining. We were genuinely surprised to see that Le Guide Rouge de Michelin handed out its...

Nous sommes venus dîner en amoureux pour mon anniversaire. Rien a dire sur la cuisine qui est raffinée et excellente, nous avons très bien mangé. Gros bémol sur le service en revanche. A notre arrivée on nous montre la table où nous installer sans nous y amener vraiment. Puis nous ne savions pas quoi boire lors de la venue de la serveuse. Quand elle revient nous voir, elle nous demande « Alors vous voulez boire quelque chose ou pas? » . Comment ça « ou pas » ? On vous dérange ? Un sourire écorcherait-il votre bouche ?

Dans un tel cadre, et pour une cuisine raffinée, on ne s’attendait pas à un tel manque d’amabilité. Nous sommes là pour nous détendre et apprécier, pas pour se faire parler comme ça. Un peu comme si on n’avait rien à faire ici. Pour quelle raison je ne sais pas mais mon impression : est-ce parce qu’on n’a pas l’air aussi aisé que les autres clients ? Est-ce parce que mon conjoint a une barbe et mange du poisson ? A méditer.

Au moment de payer, comme d’autres avis le mentionnent, on doit attendre à la réception que quelqu’un vienne s’occuper de nous. À nouveau l’impression de déranger pour que quelqu’un se décide à venir nous encaisser. Lorsqu’il édite la note le serveur nous facture le dessert hors menu et je demande donc pourquoi. Il répond que c’est pareil c’est le même prix, qu’il nous fait presque une fleur car c’est économiser, cela d’une façon assez désagréable comme si on connaissait les prix de leur carte par cœur. Ce n’est pas moi qui travaille ici. Je n’ai pas insisté me sentant mal à l’aise suite à cette façon de parler mais mon conjoint a demandé par curiosité la différence et finalement, 8€ de différence. Si l’on payait 120€ la table au lieu de 128€ je ne pense pas que vous auriez accepté.

Le serveur s’est donc excusé et il n’y a aucun souci sur le fait de se tromper cela arrive à tout le monde. En revanche me parler de cette façon avec un tel aplomb pour au final se tromper, c’est un peu too much. Venant de Suisse, nous avons déjà mangé dans plusieurs restaurants gastronomiques et ne nous attendions pas à une telle différence de qualité de service en France. En somme, je ne conseillerai pas ce restaurant si vous souhaitez être reçu aimablement et avec le sourire, mais peut-être que si vous portez du Gucci / Chanel, ça...