La Cambuse du Saunier — Restaurant in Narbonne

The area near Gruissan is filled with campsites and holiday cabins. If you are a person who finds pleasure in camping or barbecues or paying to brave a little less comfort than you have at home then you may love this place.

You will be met at the door with a bundle tied in a knot which is your plate, cutlery and a single tumbler tied in a glass cloth. As you may have received as a child queuing at some function. Or as an adult..... in prison (I imagine).

Seating is on wooden backless benches at long communal tables (that prison theme again!). The position is right on the edge of the very picturesque and dramatic pink salt etang Les Sels de Gruissan.

The menu is almost exclusively fish and the vast majority shellfish. There is a chicken in salt dish but it was off when we visited. They don't offer any sugar less or low cal sodas and in fact you are largely limited to full sugar Pepsi or to water if you have driven (or have an aversion to drinking and cycling!).

The oysters are served in this rustic manner with the "lids" still loosely attached and the 12 we had were each left with a hefty serving of shattered shell in the oysters.

The fish are served whole. The selection of shellfish is very large and served in an iron pan with a cuttlefish the size of a man's fist, a dozen mussels, half a dozen langustines, razor clams and a surprisingly large pot of rather dry brown and wild rice (there are alternatives of potatoes or fries).

Desserts are largely ice cream based and none the worse for that.

The food is fine. But the institutional atmosphere and general "that will suffice" approach pervades. Do not expect any attempt at comfort, presentation, sauces or thought through flavour combinations. Instead expect to use your hands ripping and pulling shells as your fellow dinners (at your table) spray you with bits of shellfish. There is a stunning world class visual backdrop which seems to be almost incidental to the restaurant. Not a one single seat is facing the view and there is even some random paraphernalia blocking it.

It's a nice interesting drive to an other worldly place that deserves to be seen. Once. And the restaurant...serves nice fresh shellfish. With an approach of following a set of rules with little or no interest in customer satisfaction.

Sorry that that sounds so negative, it's just that it's such a missed opportunity. There are thousands of restaurateurs across France and the world working their socks off to try to offer a special experience to attract an extra table. These people have a captive market wanting to see the salt and just give every impression of relying on that and not bothering...

We had been looking forward to this restaurant. Recommended by friends. Pleasenly overlooking the salt pan. We booked for Monday lunch. It was already quite busy when we arrived. We were quickly seated, given menus. The waiting staff appeared well organized and friendly.

Our order was taken. I ate a couple of starters. The Oysters were gorgeous and quite salty. The moules in chorizo were OK, I would have expected a more fried Chorizo though.

I was rather disappointed with the Cassoulet. Yes it's a dish that can be prepared before and reheated to serve. The Cassoulet had all the ingredients, I expected a deeper thick sauce and not such a watery sauce. Some of the ingredients were a bit on the cool side, the sausage in the Cassoulet had definitely not been heated through.

My wife found her main couse of chicken encased in salt, not to be encrusted in salt and its texture suggested it was reheated from...

This afternoon we visited Les Salins de Gruissan, also known as “the pink lake”, a striking natural area stretching over 300 hectares between land and sea. With its vivid colors, salt pans, and wide open skies, it felt like stepping into another world. • The site is famous for its fleur de sel and oyster farming, and we got to taste the best of it at La Cambuse du Saunier. We sat outside with a perfect view of the lake, soaking in the scenery while we tackled an impressive amount of seafood. We then sampled the duck confit. It was tender, flavorful, and confit with salt harvested right there. Paired with a glass of chilled white wine, it was the kind of lunch you do not forget. • Though the wind was a bit chilly, the only real drawback was the crowd. The energy felt more rushed and less personal, which took away a touch of the magic. • Still, the setting was stunning, and the food alone made it well...