We had driven past this place a few times and wanted to try it so booked online (for two at 12.30). We arrived at 12.15. We were shown to a table in an empty part of the restaurant, an area plainly reserved for non- locals (Paris style). The older female (manager?) brought a board with a few starter and main options immediately explaining several of the limited options were not available- quite surprising as they’d only been open for 15 minutes! There was no 'menu du jour' so we were stuck with the very limited and pricey options from this board - Euro 14 upwards for starters and Euro 22 upwards for mains so we decided just to have a main. We ordered the steak with garlic butter and a fish on chorizo and lobster risotto and We then ordered a large sparkling water - Euro 6 and a glass of Entre deux mer “Chateaux Bonnet” - Euro 7: the wine was good.
We were served a delicious, but tiny, amuse bouche of mackerel pate in a little pot: the steak knife was bad at getting at this, and there was no other option. The main courses arrived. The steak was tough and fatty: the blunt steak knife met its Waterloo, the wobbly 'designer' plate slid around on the table under the pressure (no table cloth or place mat) crashing into what we thought were table nick knacks but were dark coloured water glasses. The haricot vert were tasteless (how?) and the blob of mash and sad salad, with a couple of warm cherry tomatoes, didn't make up for the losses. The accompanying chips were tasteless. After a while a waitress dumped a plate of garlic butter, without apology - sadly the meat was cold by then. My husband gave up and left it.
I received a piece of fish that looked like it had been sautéed at some stage and then re-heated in the microwave (flaccid skin) on a bed of rice. This tasted of nothing and could have been Ross's boil in the bag circa 1978. The rice was covered in a pink sauce but had no taste to identify it. The highlight was a crisp size piece of fried cheese which was very tasty - we overheard the other 'non locals' (French) who arrived after us and seated next to us commenting the same on this but the “crisp” was really not enough to save the dish. It was served in a high-sided bowl so was difficult to eat, so all in all another disheartening offering.
The waitress then wound down the shutter as the sun was streaming directly into our faces and we were overcome by heat in our 'non-local' window setting. Meanwhile an alarm clock was bleeping in the background - not great as we were woken by one at 05.00 that morning to cross the Channel to get there!
When they cleared our plates no one bothered to ask how our meal was. The manager appeared with another board for a short list of puddings - Euro 10 upwards and we declined.
We then asked for the bill which came as a card machine printout (a first) and was Euro 66. We paid then left.
This is a true review and the place is very pretentious, plainly designed to be a money cow. As Francophiles who lived in France for many years we would advise others to re-visit Calais centre and have another look at the offerings there as we will next time we...
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