Le Bouchon — Restaurant in Libourne

You know it's a tourist trap, yet you want to sit in the middle of the square with everybody else, under the parasols, smack bang in the middle of St Emilion. You know it's going to be poor value, bad service, and mediocre food, but you insist, like everybody else before you, in waiting patiently for a table.. Before long a group of men barge in front of everybody else and take seats on a table that isn't even clear yet, without even acknowledging the Maitre'd, or the people patiently waiting in line.

We had a family in front of us, and we were a group of 3, completely ignored by the host, who seemed to be under too much pressure for the job that lunchtime. When we remonstrated with the group of gentlemen (that's being rather too nice to them I feel), the Maitre'd did nothing about it at all. What's the point in having a host if he can't run the seating plan? Even less so if it is indeed a free-for-all and you can sit where the deuce you like without waiting in line.

Eventually seated (on a dirty table), you know you are in for a bad time. Menus straight away, but ordering, receiving food, and waiting for the bill took a few months. Service in France can sometimes seem strangely absent, but this was well below par, there were plenty staff clearing tables, delivering food. We asked for the bill three times (and not in quick succession at all) before finally receiving it.

The crepe I had (with apple sauce), could be described as a cold-flannel brushed with a dusting of apple flavoured sauce, a big disappointment. The French toast, and a crepe with ice cream, caramel sauce and almonds were much better. Coffee, well, you know the French don't really do coffee well at all, they never have done, and this place isn't bringing that standard up anytime soon.

One of the few positives; our waitress seemed like the only person who actually wanted to be there. Charm and even a bit of positive energy go a long way. It's a shame she is working somewhere...

Was an overcast and occasionally rainy day so not too busy, but was under good enough cover. Food was better than expected for a middle of town restaurant like this. I thought it was going to be more of a tourist trap but was pleasantly surprised. I had the burger, boring I know, but it was good, medium was actually medium, chips were good. Tuna carpaccio was decent. The whole thing just lacked a bit of care but absolutely fine. Very disappointed that the beer was 11eu though. Atmosphere was bit dull, but it was a dull day and lifeless. We visited because all the others we tried were full, and that is the reason...

We were traveling with children and St. Emilion restaurants seemed not so child friendly. This place accepted us for dinner - without reservation- and we were pleasantly surprised by the good food and service. So much so that we didn't even attempt to go elsewhere the 2nd evening. The service was a bit slow (typical for France though) but not a big deal and both nights we ate here, we had very nice, helpful servers. My big kid loved the kids chicken dish and we enjoyed both duck dishes and a fish dish. Glad we weren't completely deterred by the poor star rating of this place. Would eat here again in...