Le Pain de la Bouche — Restaurant in Lens

Recommended by our B&B hostess, this place was packed late on a Tuesday night. Menu totally in French of course so a little challenge for my limited vocabulary. Being Welsh I was amused to see two Welsh dishes on the menu. €14.50 for Welsh Rarebit (Cheese on toast) and fries (their fries are fat and glorious, recommend them) and couldn't figure out what Maroilles is/are despite asking the waiter. He said cheese but i dont know in what form. We had fish and chips, a safe choice, which were great. Service is slow, we saw 2 staff for at least 50 covers so understandable, they worked hard. Google translate came in handy for my ice cream order which was amusing. The next night, despite a search of the area, couldn't find an alternative French restaurant so we returned. Same lovely staff, not as frantically busy. My companion ordered the veal casserole which was a great choice, he ate every morsel and said it was delicious. I ordered steak with Bernnaise sauce. On a cold plate, a small iron saucepan held the freezing cold Bernnaise, obviously all straight out of the fridge. As a change from the previous night, I'd ordered potatoes dauphinois. These, while supposed to be hot, were cold to luke warm in the middle of the square. The steak was overdone and chewy though the price implied quality. The waiter was surprised when I asked for the Bernnaise to be heated. I wasn't sure 'room temperature' would translate, I objected to icy. Didn't return the dauphinois, would have messed up the meal timing with my friend. Didn't stay for pudding in consequence. I recommend the restaurant, overall lovely staff, good food. Note to chef - hot food hot on hot plates; sauces room temperature or...

Great Estaminet, beautifully decorated, in the center of Lens! Delicious food, big portions, great beers and friendly service! We especially liked the huge Faluche with chevre, red onions with honey and prosciutto! It was delicious! Also their Welsh with marroille and french fries was great! Their beer Mort Subite was excellent ! Red and fruity, a must try! Big coffee portion, in an old pot! Their baba au rum was served with a big bottle of rum to put as much as you like! A genuine...

We liked the look of the place as we walked past so we stopped for lunch. The staff were very friendly and patient with our basic french language skills! I wanted to try the andouillette, but was intrigued with the Welsh Rarebit, so I ordered that. It was like no Welsh rabbit I had ever tasted. An absolute cheese lover's delight. My family had burgers, and potjevleesch, which were also excellent. Very big portions, excellent coffee, lovely atmosphere. We will be sure to...