L'Auberge Des Isles — Restaurant in Saumur

So, this is my third occasion attending this beautiful town in the Loire. We have on at least two previous occasions been turned away because the restaurant claimed to be full or "complete."" Annoying, but it has a big reputation to live up to, online at least.

This evening, we walked past at 18.40 and asked if it was full, and were told in English, by a friendly waitress that it wasn't, but that it would be busy later... I asked if that meant now and was told they didn't open until 7 pm (by now, only 15 minutes away).

We returned at 7 on the dot, and now the maitre d' said, without the slightest hint of apology that they were full. His English was poor, as sadly is my french, so after standing around for a while, and then him attempting to explain, eventually he sent the previous, now slightly embarrassed looking waitress over, with a claim that there had been two large bookings in those 15 minutes and there were now no spaces. She did apologise, but the impression I got was that the maitre 'd had an issue. Whether that was with my English accent, short trousers (for a mostly outside dining experience in July) or my brown face, I will never know, but I can tell you that I, and my disabled, 71 year old mother with whom I was hoping to dine, were made to feel both distinctly uncomfortable, and most unwelcome.

Reading through the reviews online, it would appear I'm not the first to be disappointed by the greeting or the overall service experience. If you wish to avoid a similar experience, try any of the numerous excellent and less snobby establishments at the top of the hill!

Edit.

I wrote the above immediately after. I really didn't feel convinced, so went back, twice and saw three tables fully set out for dinner, on the Terrace that were not occupied at all between 7, and 9.15pm one for four and two for two. On the second occasion, I took a few photos, that I intended to add to the review, including of at least one of said empty tables. Cancellations and no shows happen, so while this adds to my skepticism, I understand it isn't a smoking gun.

However, the waitress I had spoken to earlier came over and threatened to call the police, over a tourist taking photos from outside a restaurant. To say this was shocking is an understatement... I asked if she wanted to repeat that on camera but she stormed off. I wasn't on the property. I had said nothing until approached, and at no point was I rude or aggressive in any way that might have justified such a response.

Despite the quite reasonable response from the management, which I have seen posted, the lasting memory I will now have of this location will be of...

I visited this restaurant at lunchtime with two friends 2 weeks ago. The food was excellent and the staff were very friendly. Given the positive experience, we visited again a few days ago with 4 other friends who were visiting from the UK. The restaurant did not disappoint! Parking was easy and plentiful. We were received by a very friendly waitress who spoke very good English, a great relief for our friends. The waitress helped select the wine according to our food order which was appreciated. Both the food and the wine were outstanding. The atmosphere was wonderful and as it was a warm evening we were able to sit outside under the illuminated tree canopies. Two other waiters also served our table intermittently and they too were very polite and accommodating. I would highly recommend this restaurant, the sharing entrecôte steak, was according to my son, the best he’d ever eaten (and he is a steak connoisseur!) The restaurant is beautiful inside and the toilets...

It was a very busy Thursday lunchtime. Service was slow. We ordered and got oyr aperitif drinks fairly quickly, but no little amuse-bouches to accompany our drink. We'd not gone for the menu de jour as none of the three choices of starters, mains and dessert floated our boat at all. We waited a long time for our starters. Had to ask for bread and water , then another long wait for our mains ( and to order another drink). We almost decided tocancel desserts but catching anyone to do so was a challenge , so we waited it out! The food we ordered was tasty, but only luke warm, as though it had been put out and forgotten about. The staff were clearly busy, but were smiling and friendly . The food was "okay" but underwhelming and just not hot enough. It was "okay " but for €114 we'd expected at least 4 * . This...