Hôtel Emeraude

The place was quite busy, but we had a pleasant lunch, and the welcome and service were friendly. It was helpful that the menu was in English and English was spoken. My duo de poisson with sauce, rice, and vegetables was nicely presented and seemed thoughtfully put together. My partner's Plat du Jour, chicken leg with sauce and mashed potatoes, was a letdown and looked more like canteen food.

We went to the bar to raise the problems with the manager, but he shouted and gestured aggressively at us in front of other customers. We were three women, and it was frightening and very unsettling. We paid quickly and left rather than risk making him angrier. The bill for three salads and three soft drinks was over 40 euros, which felt steep given that much of the food was left. I would caution people against eating here. The whole visit was awful, and the staff's behavior was disgraceful. We'd stopped for lunch on a recent visit to Confolons because friends had praised the terrace overlooking the river. We were seated outside. There were people on the terrace, but the restaurant itself was empty. When our order was taken, our friend, who speaks fluent French, tried asking about the menu, but the waitress seemed completely uninterested and was extremely rude. She brought the drinks with three mistakes, dropped them on the table, and walked away. When we caught her on her next pass, she reluctantly took them back and returned with the right drinks but no glasses. One of us went to the bar to get glasses rather than wait. She said the manager responded very aggressively when she explained the issue, refused to hear her concerns, and said he was too busy, despite three staff working out front and only a half full terrace. The food wasn't as described and was almost inedible. My friend didn't touch hers because it didn't meet the dietary requirements she'd tried to explain when ordering. The other diner and I ate about half, but neither meal was good. Mine was a bowl of iceberg lettuce drowned in mayonnaise, with cheese, fried chicken, and a poached egg, sold as a Caesar salad. The lettuce was gritty and tasted unwashed. We picked off the egg and chicken and left the rest. Nobody checked on the food, even though one person hadn't eaten hers at all.

We really liked our stay in these charming rooms in Confolens' old center-ville. The pizzas are good as well.

The snail pizza, the Charantaise, is what I love about this restaurant. The other pizzas are just as nice, too. It's a cool spot with great service, and I'd recommend trying the tasty French-Italian mix if you're open to something new.