The l'Ile aux Oiseaux is one of two waterside offerings on the stretch of the Canal du Midi between Castelnaudary and Carcassonnes. Situated on the banks of the canal by Bram Harbour, it provides easy access for those on the water.
On the Friday night we dined at the restaurant it was packed. A reservation would be well advised, although our own efforts to contact the restaurant over the course of the day were assiduously blocked by a polite, but insistent, answering machine. We were nevertheless given a table on the deck serving the bar menu. The table itself offered a nicely shaded view of the canal and a pleasant breeze.
The view was the best aspect of what was otherwise an underwhelming dining experience. The esoteric menu included a variety of allegedly Polynesian-influenced seafood dishes, such as a tuna cerviche served with a salad inexplicably dressed in mustard sauce. There were no non-seafood dishes on offer. My oysters to start were tasty, but accompanied by only a slice of lemon and hunk of butter, leaving me missing red wine vinegar and shallots (and wondering what to do with the cold block of butter).
The highlight was the main course - a jambalaya under a different name - which was generously proportioned and well spiced. But even this had some odd ingredients - carrots and mango chunks made strange bed fellows. And the fish and squid were far too chewy, over-cooked and undercooked respectively.
The deserts were, frankly, terrible. The stewed fruit salad was packed with nuts and served in a tall glass that made transporting the mainly liquid contents to one's mouth on a long sundae spoon a serious challenge. I gave up. My partner's coffee creme brûlée was burnt black and must have contained a flask of espresso, such was the overpowering coffee taste. Two spoonfuls were enough to confirm that that ice cream would be the only safe choice here.
Perhaps the food is better in the main restaurant. Perhaps a busy Friday overwhelmed the small kitchen. Perhaps my fellow reviewers are looking a little too favourably on their experience by comparing it to the most obvious alternative on the Canal du Midi - pasta cooked on a small gas hob in the bowels of a canal boat. But this restaurant would not, in my opinion, survive if it had any competition.
Overall I would say the chef would be much better off taking advantage of the great location to offer either classic French fare or authentic South Pacific seafood. It seemed instead they were trying to create dishes they were unfamiliar with. We won't be returning, but given the few options available on the canal I wouldn't rule it out for those...
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