Restaurant du Grand Barrail — Restaurant in Libourne

Lovely Ambiance, But a Missed Opportunity in Service Flow Restaurant du Grand Barrail – Dinner Experience

We were staying at the hotel and decided to dine at the main restaurant. It opens at 7:30 PM, and we were the first to arrive. A staff member brought the drinks menu after a few minutes, and I asked for still water while reviewing the options.

Soon after, more guests arrived—four tables total in our section. Oddly, the second staff member introduced the food menu to all tables except ours. We were left without a menu or any explanation, despite arriving first. I became visibly restless, and the first staff member returned to ask about drinks. I asked to see the food menu first to pair my wine properly.

At this point, other tables were already enjoying their amuse-bouche. The first staff whispered our request to the second, who remained at the computer and never once acknowledged our table. We waited awkwardly until nearly 8:00 PM—30 minutes after being seated—before finally being assisted.

We ordered the Menu Terroir, hoping for a better second half of the evening. However, when we were ready to order wine, we were again asked to wait for the first staff member to return. Thankfully, a third staff member eventually took over—he was clearly more experienced and provided a much smoother service.

What we ordered: • Duck foie gras with orange marmalade and saffron • Charolais beef tenderloin with potato rolls and grape jus • Bourdaine honey entremets with lemon cream and madeleine biscuit

The dishes were beautifully plated and photogenic, but the flavors were mixed. The foie gras lacked creativity and felt basic. The beef dish was the highlight, and paired well with a Pomerol, Château Mazeyres 2018. Dessert was pleasant but forgettable.

Atmosphere: As the sun set, the restaurant filled with guests and a lovely golden glow. The terrace is pet-friendly, and the views are beautiful. We finished around 9:45 PM. The total was about €200—not unreasonable, but disappointing given the service.

Overall, aside from the ambiance and wine, the experience didn’t meet expectations. I sincerely hope the service team reflects on how guest attention is prioritized—especially when it’s clear who...

The welcome by the serveuse was great! We were shown to our table and she even brought a small stool to put our bags on. She took our wine order. After about 15mins, we got our drinks. The other lady came to take our food order. We got the amuse bouche. When I had one, I found a stone in it! (They were served in some fancy contenants. Yes, a stone in it which hurt my tooth! When the maître de service came to collect the plates away, I told him about the stone, I was in pain. He didn’t even apologize (the waitress later said “I understand how you feel, it happened to me before”). He took away the plates and brought another set of amuse bouche. Our starters arrived, the foie gras was not great. Next, my main dish arrived. The duck breast was not I asked for, it was well done whereas I asked for medium rare! Again no apologies. The dessert, crème brûlée was cold! Never had a crème brûlée cold, plus we’ve had much better ones. For that price you would expect something amazing. When the bill came, there was no geste commercial for the stone! The only thing good was the wine (at that price, I didn’t expect anything less) and the waitress who was lovely. This restaurant is for American tourists and not for locals. If I pay €260, I’d expect exceptional service and food! We got neither! Will never go and will not...

We were cycling around vineyards & decided to drop in for lunch. It looks like something out of a fairytale so we were so pleased that they could accommodate us. The restaurant rooms are resplendent with stained glass windows. We were sat in the room off the terrace. Service was a little slow but I understood that a lot of people arrived at the same time. However the amuse bouche had arrived and been eaten before we were even given the water we ordered. I had to ask for it again, The food was presented lovely but my starter of zucchini wasn’t seasoned, it was supposed to have a vinaigrette but it was tasteless.. the pickled onions were a good contrast but there weren’t enough of the for seasoning. The salmon starter was good. The mains of duck was delicious & the tuna was cooked to perfection but again not seasoned but the black rice was. Again because the service was a bit slow we didn’t have time for dessert & had to leave which was a shame because they sounded lovely. Wine by the glass is very reasonable. I would definitely go back but with more...