French Restaurants (in France)
Discussion
Is it just me that finds the standard of French food to be totally underwhelming? So far this year I've spent a total of maybe 2 weeks over there, eating out for lunch and dinner, and not once have I had what I'd call a quality meal.
Over the years I've spent a fair amount of time there and looking back I can only think of one outstanding meal (Monkfish in Perpignan), the rest have all been average at best, or in the case of two steaks, completely inedible. It's not as though we've been eating at particularly cheap restaurants, some of them have been costing £60+ per head before drinks!
So is it just me or does French food have a completely undeserved reputation? I was always under the impression that even your cheap restaurants in little provincial towns turned out fantastic meals that no restaurant in England could ever compare to.
(For what it's worth, the most consistently brilliant food I've ever had was in Sweden - even the curry we had was superb!)
Over the years I've spent a fair amount of time there and looking back I can only think of one outstanding meal (Monkfish in Perpignan), the rest have all been average at best, or in the case of two steaks, completely inedible. It's not as though we've been eating at particularly cheap restaurants, some of them have been costing £60+ per head before drinks!
So is it just me or does French food have a completely undeserved reputation? I was always under the impression that even your cheap restaurants in little provincial towns turned out fantastic meals that no restaurant in England could ever compare to.
(For what it's worth, the most consistently brilliant food I've ever had was in Sweden - even the curry we had was superb!)
There's a big middle ground where it's average. At the polar ends both the haute cuisine and the rustic local fare is amazing if you go to the right places, but you'd be a bit over-expectant to think everywhere you dine is going to be like dinner at joel robuchon's gaff
Edited by Stu R on Sunday 8th May 18:56
Stu R said:
There's a big middle ground where it's average. At the polar ends both the haute cuisine and the rustic local fare is amazing if you go to the right places, but you'd be a bit over-expectant to think everywhere you dine is going to like dinner at joel robuchon's gaff
What he says - off the beaten track amazingly good value food can be found.I had a discussion along similar lines with a group of people lately - we generally agree that other than a few 'random luck' restaurant/gite encounters, we've had below-expectation food in France.
As it happens some of the best food I've had in France was also near Perpignan. Perhaps it is the Spanish influence, where the common man still expects high-quality food. Belgium which is heavily influenced by French culture, even in the Dutch-speaking parts, still has excellent food in otherwise average-looking restaurants, takeaways and friteries.
There is a good Brasserie in Calais (The Brasserie de Paris).
So to sum it up, the French believing their own myth has allowed for a national food complacency. Quality has gone down, price has gone up. They love their McDs, Flunches and Quicks but won't necessarily admit to it. Don't even try and eat at a payage service station.
As it happens some of the best food I've had in France was also near Perpignan. Perhaps it is the Spanish influence, where the common man still expects high-quality food. Belgium which is heavily influenced by French culture, even in the Dutch-speaking parts, still has excellent food in otherwise average-looking restaurants, takeaways and friteries.
There is a good Brasserie in Calais (The Brasserie de Paris).
So to sum it up, the French believing their own myth has allowed for a national food complacency. Quality has gone down, price has gone up. They love their McDs, Flunches and Quicks but won't necessarily admit to it. Don't even try and eat at a payage service station.
I agree that there are some poor restaurants with standard fayre. Having moved to Lyon a few years ago, it took some time to start sussing out the best restaurants. Staying away from the tourist traps improves the food quality as the locals know where to go.
Try eating a set menu for lunch and if good enough go back for an evening meal or spot the restaurants with business people eating lunch and go back later.
The cityvox guide is quite good, Lyon has its own 'petit paumé' which makes things easy.
Try eating a set menu for lunch and if good enough go back for an evening meal or spot the restaurants with business people eating lunch and go back later.
The cityvox guide is quite good, Lyon has its own 'petit paumé' which makes things easy.
atlex said:
The once place I haven't eaten but really want to - I was informed the tripe/abats is excellent there. Name the good ones please !
Andouillette à la Lyonnaise/moutarde is fiercly strong, but each to their own.. best tried in one of the original bouchon restaurants (be aware of copies). Francotte, Place des Célestins is a bit of a hidden gem.Seems I must have fallen for the stereotype then! After this trip I was genuinely looking forward to getting home so I could cook for myself, such was the disappointment of the food. Admittedly we were pretty much stuck with the tourist type restaurants but we always picked the busy ones and eyed up the food on people's plates beforehand. Perhaps the fact that McDonalds was the busiest restaurant in town was an indication! 
williamp said:
I tend to use the Logis de france as a good guide for food.
Thanks, I'll take a look at that next time.I'm the same as the OP in that I have found restaurant food in france to be a really mixed bag. Some lovely great value meals but more often than not below standard. I found that if you eat out in towns that have nothing much to offer tourists you generally get a much better meal I guess it stands to reason as they will only stay open if they can bring locals in regually, therefore this is what i normally aim for if we are driving.
If anyone takes the ferry to cherbourg and needs some grub nearby a case in point is Le P'tit Bourg in Les Pieux. its an excellent little restaurant- great value for lunch, seasonal produce, inovative techniques etc and lives up to the stereotype.
Edited to say we always use the via michelin website when traveling around europe. It maps out all of the places that are in the guide (not necessarily michelin starred). Its especially useful when you do want to eat out in popular tourist areas as its really helpful for avoiding the tourist trap.
If anyone takes the ferry to cherbourg and needs some grub nearby a case in point is Le P'tit Bourg in Les Pieux. its an excellent little restaurant- great value for lunch, seasonal produce, inovative techniques etc and lives up to the stereotype.
Edited to say we always use the via michelin website when traveling around europe. It maps out all of the places that are in the guide (not necessarily michelin starred). Its especially useful when you do want to eat out in popular tourist areas as its really helpful for avoiding the tourist trap.
Edited by Pete Franklin on Monday 9th May 14:17
France has it's fair share of dross restaurants but also has some very very good ones. It is about knowing where to go and what to look for. I have been visiting France at least twice a year for 30 years, have worked there and my girlfriend is half-French (and a pretty nifty chef too but she did get some of her training at Maxime's in Paris).
I think if you are talking consistency then France fails (There really are some bad ones!!) - High quality, it has some of the highest. Like everywhere, if you have a cr@p meal, send it back...........
I think if you are talking consistency then France fails (There really are some bad ones!!) - High quality, it has some of the highest. Like everywhere, if you have a cr@p meal, send it back...........
custardkid said:
keep off the beaten track and find the places that have limited menues with local workers eating there.....
never had a bad meal in france... well..... unless you count a particularly "rustic" Andouillette
Custard
Such a place exists hereAll you can eat buffet for €11, which includes a carafe of wine. Full of street sweepers and road maintenance people (and when we went 2 English families with children!)never had a bad meal in france... well..... unless you count a particularly "rustic" Andouillette
Custard
(not too far from Le Mans)
When we moved on to Eurodisney, and it was €11 for a children's menu - really put things in to perspective!
williamp said:
I tend to use the Logis de france as a good guide for food.
^^^^ This too - Stayed at La Ranconniere (google it) over the wedding weekend (third visit there), fantastic restaurant menu and excellent rooms/location. Logis de France do, I believe, have specific standards the member hostelries have to maintain.I would counter that in my experience the quality of french cooking both in restaurants and in the home is still higher than that of the UK. Clearly this is always going to be the case for me as the other halfs family in France are predominantly butchers/charcutieres whereas my family in the UK are most definitely not. I suspect local knowledge does come into play too, for example you'll know which restaurants are good in your local area in the UK whereas in France, unless you've had a recommendation, you'll have to go on gut instinct. It's also fair to say that restaurants in tourist traps are invariably over priced in terms of the quality you receive.
I still believe that awareness of ingredients and quality of food is far higher in France, though I also note with dismay that the ready meal aisle in the local Leclerc is getting larger every time we visit.
btw, I had a cracking andouillette frites at one of the motorway service stations on the A26 a few weeks ago. You try getting anything other than a god awful overpriced fried breakfast or a watery curry at any of the service stations in the UK.
I still believe that awareness of ingredients and quality of food is far higher in France, though I also note with dismay that the ready meal aisle in the local Leclerc is getting larger every time we visit.
btw, I had a cracking andouillette frites at one of the motorway service stations on the A26 a few weeks ago. You try getting anything other than a god awful overpriced fried breakfast or a watery curry at any of the service stations in the UK.
I can't think of a truly bad meal I've had in France (see exception below...). I might be lucky in the ones I've chosen or the areas we go to but local restaurants tend to be pretty decent. I have tried French fast food though and that's as bad as anything in the UK, and with the clientele to match.
The sandwiches are dire but IME the restaurants aren't bad and are vastly better than anything in the UK.
Puggit said:
atlex said:
Don't even try and eat at a payage service station.
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