Le Foudre — Restaurant in Narbonne

What a real shame……..

The last time that we visited La Foudre was October 2019 when I rather over-dosed on visits (3 times in 10 days) due primarily to my love of their Beef Carpaccio, as well as the unpretentious ambience. Indeed, I offered up a glowing Tripadvisor review reflecting same.

Since then, due mainly to the effects of the pandemic, we’d not been able to get back to Homps until now. As a result, perhaps I’ve been guilty of building up my expectations of a re-visit unrealistically- perhaps not.

So it was with, I think, realistic expectation that we booked a table at the earliest opportunity at La Foudre.

Same staff it seems and a similar menu where I saw Beef Carpaccio again featured. So, for me, a no-brainier, Beef Carpaccio it was. My wife opted for the Cod with risotto.

Whilst the proprietor was pleasant and welcoming, I’m afraid that the ‘waiter’ was less so, indeed his whole demeanour was more of a Parisian equivalent. When my wife innocently requested a little more detail of the dish she was considering he flatly refused even to try and explain and stalked away. Perhaps we were at fault having had the temerity to interfere with his evening……?

Anyway, we were sure that the food was to be looked forward to and it duly arrived.

I’m afraid that my Carpaccio wasn’t as I’d remembered. The beef seemed much thinner than previous and seemed to almost be a laminate on the plate. The taste was fine however. The accompanying frites were on the ‘well done’ side but whilst disappointing still edible.

My wife’s cod was not good. It was water-logged and the risotto was mushy. This was pointed out to the proprietor when she enquired, she agreed and offered to replace it which was fair enough. We declined since our enjoyment expectation bubble had been burst.

I finished my carpaccio but it was more with relief than satisfaction. The bill was settled and there was no charge for the cod which was very reasonable and appreciated.

What a shame that our extremely good memories of this establishment have been tarnished so much so that I’m not certain that I want to revisit. I’d have thought that given the trying circumstances over the last couple of years an establishment that relies on footfall would bend over backwards to be welcoming - maybe there’s a different set of rules here?

As a footnote, the next day we visited another old haunt, Rive Gauche which is under new management. Whilst their menu is more restricted than previously it did feature Beef Carpaccio - whoopee! So I gave it a go. Excellent and extremely good value for money with a friendly welcome throughout - we...

Came across Le Foudre whilst mooring at Homps on our barge. We had a fantastic evening with superb food and live entertainment. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. We would definitely recommend. The risotto with scallops and asparagus was amazing! As was Fish of the day which was sea bass with vegetables. And the desserts were...

Lovely evening at this great and a little quirky restaurant. Food was yet again superb. The soup last night was to die for - velouté of butternut squash with a poached egg and grilled bacon. Simply divine. Rump steak was beautifully cooked on a wood grill and was locally sourced. Very friendly service from owners. Highly...