L'Île aux bateaux — Restaurant in Nérac

Worst restaurant we've been to in our 20 years of living France. We were a group of 6 and on arrival, the unwelcoming, unsmiling server just pointed to our table and carried on setting tables up - it was 40 minutes before she approached us for any drinks orders. 2 of us ordered a goats cheese salad: the salad leaves were old and brown and the goats cheese had a horrid texture and absolutely no flavour. The dressing on the 'cheese' was a sickly, bitter Balsamic (I think) - not at all nice, so both of us left our plates pretty much untouched. The server didn't ask why when collecting our plates so I told her - she just shrugged her shoulders and walked off. 2 hours in and she still hadn't cleared the remaining starter plates. 3 of us had the main: Brochettes of scallops/gambas/fish (I forget which) which sounded lovely. On the contrary it was awful. Tiny portions coated in a off-tasting sauce which tasted like a cheap shop-bought fish bisque, one of my companions actually gagged when tasting it. None of us ate any of it - it really was bad. Others on the table complained that the chips were soggy and undercooked, and some chose not to eat their meals either. The other starters (foie gras and mussels in a curried sauce) were ok - nothing special, but totally acceptable. Overall the food presentation was poor, service appalling, and cooking abysmal. The place was busy (Saturday night) and I'm sure there were a few regulars - perhaps other dishes were satisfactory. On leaving, the staff/manager showed no interest in our compaints and offered no apology or excuse. I should also point out (just after Covid19 lockdown) that none of the staff had any masks or face visors on (inside or out), and used paper and laminated menues were on every table - staff did not socially distance themselves and albeit outside, the tables were still too close to each other. It's such a shame we had a bad experience - I had hoped this would be a new regular eating place as the setting by the river and canal is beautiful. None of us will be...

This is the best restaurant our group of 8 golfers have experienced. The quality and variety of food was excellent as was the value for money. I began with a goat’s cheese salad which was enough for a main meal. my main meal, (forgot its name) was 5 chunks of beef cooked in wine and a large roast potato. The meet was cooked perfectly just fell apart and was so tasty. As we were in the land of prunes I finished with a bowl of eight delicious prunes decorated with a few slices of strawberry. This restaurant, beautifully situated by an old lock between the Canal and the River has lots of atmosphere and character. If we return next year it will be top of my list...

Starters and mains very average from the cheaper set menu. Desserts ok the other hand disproportionately huge, and not the best (we had two creme brules in the party and there wasn't enough sugar on them to create the crispy sugary layer). The seating outside is quite nice, however ruined sometimes by people smoking (it's 2025, let's move on with times and ban smoking in public places!). The location is the best element. One additional star for a...