Macadam Caffè — Restaurant in Bayonne

St. Jean de Luz. The kind of place where the rhythm of the sea seeps into your soul, where the briny breeze fills the air with promise and possibility. It’s not a place I’d expect to find Pad Thai—especially with rice. Yes, rice. But here we are.

Maybe I ordered it by accident, perhaps lulled by the charming waitstaff, who unlike what some would have you believe, treated us Americans like old friends. There's this myth that the French despise us, turning their noses up like we’re some bad wine from Alabama. But here, none of that attitude. They were on top of their game, attentive, without being overbearing, which, for anyone who's ever sat in a cafe for half a century waiting for the check, is a feat worth noting.

Now, let’s talk about the food. The Pad Thai. With rice. Not sure what cosmic forces aligned to put that on my plate, but there it was, staring back at me. A curious rendition of a Thai classic. At best, it was fine—not quite a dish to write home about but also not the culinary disaster one might fear when East meets West in a small French town. The flavors were serviceable, familiar even, but without the fire, the zing that makes Pad Thai sing. The rice, instead of noodles, felt out of place, like a jazz musician at a rock concert. But hey, we all make mistakes and I’m sure it was mine.

But the service? Damn, the service was impeccable. Every plate hit the table at the same time. That’s a dance not every restaurant knows the steps to. It's the little things, the small graces that elevate a meal, even if the food doesn’t hit the mark. And in that moment, in that coastal town with a view of the sea, the mishap of ordering rice with my Pad Thai didn’t feel so tragic. It felt like a story, one of those little moments that gives travel its flavor.

Would I go back? Maybe not for the Pad Thai. But for the hospitality, the care, and the small joy of being well-treated in a place that could’ve easily been...

Extremely disappointing! We have been there on many occasions and the kitchen has always closed at 2 so we do our best to be there beforehand which is not easy coming from Spain with kids. We made the effort arriving at 1:50 only to be told the kitchen had closed at 1:45, we were also told that there was a special menu and we had to have a reservation because it was full. It was not full, there were two tables with people who had just received their lunches and despite my pleas the waiter and the barman were extremely rude to us and I would say bordering aggressive. I am very very disappointed in macadam caffe as we had always recommended it to friends going to France. We won’t be doing...

Very nice ambiance. Polite and friendly waiter. Food was very good. My husband enjoyed his ramen, I ordered a veggie-noodle dish that was flavorful and fresh, but sadly it was covered in cilantro :( If you are a fellow cilantro-hater, you will understand the disappointment. Wish they would mention the cilantro on the menu. We would...