La Marine

There was confusion with people’s orders, and our entrees never arrived, just the main courses. The rolls were rock hard, and people at the table opposite waited so long they took rolls from other tables. Cereals were left uncovered, the fruit was mouldy, and there were flies around. The young waiter seemed inexperienced, but that wasn’t his fault. When we paid, the owner was aggressive and refused to provide a breakdown of the bill. He became defensive and seemed to lose his ability to speak English. He also seemed disinterested during our stay last night.

The restaurant was the worst dining experience we’ve had in 45 years of visiting and eating in France. After an hour, our main course arrived before our starters, and the bread rolls were so stale we couldn’t break or eat them. We never got the starters. The food was average, and people around us were complaining too. We spoke to the chef, who is also the manager and receptionist. His attitude was awful. He suddenly couldn’t speak English, blamed the problem on it being the waiter’s first day, and never apologised. I expect he’ll respond by blaming the customers, as he did when we complained. We stayed one night as a party of four. The rooms were basic but clean, and check-in was poor.

The location is unbeatable, and the restaurant has huge potential, but it’s currently struggling to cope. We felt for the manager, who was serving us with his 12-year-old child. It was clear he needed help that hadn’t been hired, and the boy was eager to pitch in, which was endearing. Unfortunately, service was confused and one main meal was forgotten. It seemed to have been left unrefrigerated for some time and then reheated, though not thoroughly. We also saw food served to other tables that looked unnaturally piping hot, perhaps to avoid the same situation. We got food poisoning from our meals and were still unwell a week later. For older or weaker people, that could be exceedingly dangerous. We had the best intentions and a lot of sympathy, but the restaurant is disorganised and hazardous, and we suffered the consequences.

For a short stay, it’s excellent. The room was clean, and the bed was comfortable.