L'évêché — Restaurant in Saint-Malo

Having read the reviews and had my hotel recommend this restaurant, I booked via email in March for our trip at the end of April. On the day of the booking we arrived back from a day trip later then planned, although in time for the 19:30 booking. I asked the hotel receptionist to ring and change the appointment to 20:00. After the call, he informed me the restaurant was fully booked and they didn't have my booking! I went round to the restaurant and showed the, I presume, owner the emails. He begrudgingly agreed to the booking. On arrival at pre-booked time I saw there was only him and a young girl who were the waiting staff. At a rough guess, I would say there were 60 covers.

I should have known this didn't bode well. We shown a table and seconds later the menus arrived and said young girl eagerly waiting for our order. I ordered drinks and the wine, drinks arrived and she attempted to open the wine, Clearly she hadn't received any training as she was trying to remove the cork turning the corkscrew the wrong way! She was saved by the owner who saw her struggling. Food order was taken including the desserts (red flag). Starter came within minutes, Crab Ravioli sauce very nice, ravioli awful (when have you needed to saw your knife across the ravioli to cut one?). Wife ordered medium bavette steak which came raw (not blue, raw literally). Trying to catch the two, now run off their feet waiting staff, proved a challenge. As my veal and dauphinoise potato getting cold, I didn't finish my meal veal smothered in a sweet sauce and potatoes were a mush. Wife's steak came back cremated and inedible. Desserts were just OK. We were going to have coffee but thought better of it and asked for the bill and waited and waited. We then got up and went to the bar to pay the owner who had seen what was happening all evening (the place is not that big). No apology. As I don't speak French well and he said he didn't speak English a drawn out argument would have been fruitless we paid the €148 bill and left.

Ruined my birthday.

I can see why he begrudgingly accepted my booking, he clearly knew the kitchen and him and one other front of house would be swamped with a full restaurant....

Nach zwei Wochen in Frankreich führte uns unser letzter Abend in ein vom Hotel empfohlenes Restaurant. Um 21 Uhr, eigentlich keine zu späte Zeit zum Essen in Frankreich, bemerkten wir sofort die gehetzte Stimmung. Ein Tisch wurde hastig für uns vorbereitet, der Umsatz schien im Vordergrund zu stehen. Beim ersten Gang, Ravioli mit Garnelenfüllung, war die Suppe nur lauwarm und musste aufgewärmt werden. Der zweite Gang, ein Filet mit Polenta, war eiskalt. Mein Partner erhielt einen schlecht zubereiteten Thunfisch, der größtenteils ungenießbar war. Zwar war das Fleisch von guter Qualität, aber die vorherigen Unannehmlichkeiten verdarben den Abend. Bei der hektischen Abrechnung wurde ich nach meiner Meinung zum Essen gefragt. Nach meiner ehrlichen Antwort zuckte der Kellner nur mit den Schultern und lief wortlos davon. Es ist sehr enttäuschend, dass ein so schöner Aufenthalt in Frankreich ein so bedauerliches Ende fand. Fehler in der Küche können vorkommen, aber wenn sie zweimal hintereinander passieren und dann nicht professionell darauf reagiert wird, hinterlässt das einen negativen Eindruck. Ich fühlte mich, als ob man nur mein Geld wollte, ohne sich um meine Zufriedenheit zu kümmern. Dieses Restaurant ist sicherlich keine Empfehlung für andere Touristen. Hände weg und woanders essen gehen!

Französisch:** Après deux semaines en France, notre dernier soir nous a amenés dans un restaurant recommandé par notre hôtel. À 21h, une heure normalement pas trop tardive pour dîner en France, nous avons immédiatement ressenti une ambiance tendue. Une table a été préparée à la hâte, comme pour faire un peu plus de chiffre d'affaires. Au premier plat, des raviolis garnis de crevettes dans une soupe tiède, qui a dû être réchauffée. Le second plat, un filet accompagné de polenta, était glacial. Mon partenaire a eu du thon, mal préparé et en grande partie immangeable. Malgré la qualité de la viande, les désagréments précédents ont gâché la soirée. Au moment de partir, dans le tumulte, on m'a demandé mon avis. Après une réponse honnête de ma part, le serveur n'a réagi qu'avec un haussement d'épaules. C'est très décevant de voir une si belle expérience en France se terminer de manière si désagréable. Je conseille vivement de chercher un autre restaurant pour profiter d'un repas dans une ambiance agréable. Je comprends qu'il puisse y avoir des erreurs en cuisine, mais deux fois de suite, suivies d'une réaction non professionnelle et d'un manque d'empathie, cela laisse un goût amer. Je ressens comme si j'étais seulement là pour payer, sans considération pour mon expérience. Ce n'est certainement pas une recommandation pour d'autres touristes.

English: After two weeks in France, our last evening brought us to a restaurant recommended by our hotel. At 9pm, a time usually not too late for dining in France, we immediately felt a rushed atmosphere. A table was hastily prepared, seemingly just for turnover. First course, shrimp-filled ravioli in a lukewarm soup that had to be reheated. The second course, a filet with polenta, was ice-cold. My partner received poorly prepared tuna, mostly inedible. Despite the meat's quality, previous inconveniences ruined the evening. When leaving amidst the hustle, I was asked for feedback. After an honest response, the waiter merely shrugged. It's deeply disappointing to see such a lovely stay in France end so poorly. I'd strongly advise looking for another restaurant for a pleasant dining experience. I understand occasional kitchen mishaps, but twice in a row followed by unprofessional responses and indifference leaves a bitter taste. I felt valued only for payment, without concern for my overall experience. Definitely not a recommendation for...

The food was good and the ambiance was amazing. The large windows make you feel like sitting outside in the garden. This restaurant has a lot going for it!

However, the service was weird:

The waiter was friendly, but seemed to avoid as much contact with us as possible. There was no communication in between our meals, exept for when we first arrived and ordered our entire meal. It was not possible to order dessert after our initial order, which I found a bit weird as well. I dont know the portion sizes and therefore didnt know if I would want a desert.

After this moment of initial contact, nobody asked if we wanted another drink, if we liked the food or if we were ready for the next course. The coffee we ordered in our initial moment of contact arrived 1 minute after the main course; we were still drinking our wine.

We werent treated in a rude manner or something like that, but we did miss some hospitability. Apart from that, we had a good time...