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Auberge de la
Riviere
Rue Fouarn, Velluire. Tel. 02 51 52 32 15
The
Auberge de la Riviere has long been fabled by Trevor and I, Trevor had eaten
there once before as someone’s guest and has always told me that it was
expensive and was a place that you only visited if someone else was paying, and
as a consequence we had never eaten there. Recently he had however discovered
that they had menus priced at €22, €38 and €50 and as a treat for a significant birthday he decided to take me
there.
The first thing to say is that it is in a beautiful setting, the
lovely old building is beside the river and the entrance has a covered terrace
with the building being clad in Virginia Creeper or something of the same ilk.
The entrance hall has a lovely old staircase winding up from it to the
accommodation which Trevor said is favoured by the higher end of the travelling
community. By that he didn’t mean those dread-locked people so often seen
begging with their dogs in the towns and cities of England, or for that matter
those colourful Gypsies in their horse drawn caravans, no he meant travelling
salesmen and their like who have a slightly larger expense account, with rooms
starting from €50. The hallway leads into the dining room through twin glazed
doors and the room is open and airy with windows all along the outside wall
giving excellent views of the river. There were about a dozen tables all of
which could seat at least four but many of which were set for two with the extra
chairs having been removed. An old beamed ceiling with light walls gave the room
a welcoming feel, as did the attentive staff.
We were sat in the centre
at the far end of the dining room affording us a commanding view, there were
only a few diners when we arrived but as the evening progressed the tables
filled up, and one table even had a second sitting, this is unusual as we are
more accustomed to restaurants emptying when we arrive. We ordered aperitifs and
scanned the menu deciding on the meal for €38, there was not a great deal of choice even
on this menu which offered Snails, Salmon or Oysters as an entrée, Lamb or
Monkfish as a main course, and Chocolate Fondant or Melon as a dessert. Before
our entrées arrived we were served with “Mis en Bouche” it was a plate
containing a triple of delights cod roe on a slice of toast, a sector of garlic
bread and a puffball that I can only describe as a soft cheese straw in the
round. Each mouthful was a delight and augured well for what was to come. I had
ordered a half bottle of Mercury as Trevor doesn’t drink, at €15, it was amongst
the least expensive wine on a wine list that was both extensive and expensive,
there was little under €25 a bottle and there was a Mouton Rothchild which was
€375 a bottle. The
Mercury was good enough, but I find it hard to justify spending the equivalent
of €30 a bottle for an
average wine. It would have been easy to spend a considerable amount more on a
decent bottle. We were awaiting our entrées when another little delight arrived,
it was a glass full of orange beads with four long sticks protruding, two of
these contained a cube of Melon from Vix and the other two contained a cube of
local cheese called Mizotte, yet again we were surprised and delighted. Still
the “Mis en Bouche” arrived this time it was a glass of creamed lentils and yet
again it tasted superb.
As it was my birthday I had first choice of the
menu and when my entrée of Wok des Perles et Escargos de Vendeé (Agriculture
Biologique) Cremeuse de Persil et Ail Confit, arrived it was like eating a
little bit of heaven. The snails were ‘melt in your mouth’ tender and very
tasty, and the cream broth was filled with extremely finely chopped vegetables,
it was a fantastic beginning. Trevor had chosen Ballotine de Saumon Sauvage
Mariné, Farci au Langostines, Meti-Meto des Legumes Cru. This was raw marinated
salmon wrapped around raw vegetables and finely chopped langostines, I tasted
the salmon and it was very good and Trevor was delighted by the whole dish,
unusually there was a long test tube like glass file with a stopper which
contained a chive cream sauce which like everything we ate was subtle and
balanced the dish perfectly. Unlike the last time Trevor had eaten at the
Auberge there was no Maitre D’ but there were extra waiting staff and the
service had benefitted from it, being swift without being rushed and attentive
without being pressurising. Our main courses arrived with me having chosen
L’Agneau en Trois Facons : Navarine au Tandoor, Cote Roti et Noisette
Croustilliante, this was lamb cooked three ways, a small dish of lamb stew,
which was absolutely delicious, a lamb cutlet and a lamb noisette, it was served
with pureed potato in a light tempura style batter an onion gravy, a roasted red
pepper stuffed with lentils and a cooked salad onion, the whole thing was
fabulous, the lamb was perfectly cooked and there was no doubt that this was
cooking of the highest quality. Trevor’s main course was Lotte en Croute de Sel,
Reduction de Vin de Vix et son emulsion de Beurre Echiré (a speciality butter
from Echiré in Deux Sevres, which is found in top class restaurants the world
over). The monkfish steak had been cooked in a salt crust, it was served on a
bed of mushrooms with semolina topped with a roasted red pepper and a squash
puree. Trevor was delighted and agreed that the dish was simply a delight to eat
with all of the flavours being in perfect harmony with one another. With every
course we had been offered a choice of white or brown home cooked bread, it was
in itself a trifle but the bread was symptomatic of everything we had eaten it
was fresh, it was home baked and it tasted great. The cheese board was copious
and contained fourteen different cheeses, some that I had never seen before, I
rarely eat cheese not because I don’t like it, I like it a lot, but because it
is high in fat and calories, both of which I normally try to avoid, but I made this
cheese board an exception. I had a small amount of three different cheeses and I
was very glad I did as the cheeses that I ate were excellent.
The light
was fading outside and I was enthralled to see how as the artificial lighting
took over it subtly changed the feeling of the dining room, making it more
intimate. Our desserts arrived, mine was Choco Framboise Chaud et Froide, I am
always in search of the perfect chocolate fondant and unknowingly, I had just
ordered it. The cake was perfect, soft and light, (and) inside was a hot gooey
liquid raspberry and chocolate centre, it was unctuous and was served with fresh
raspberries. The whole thing was so scrummy that it didn’t need cream, in fact
it didn’t need anything else, but the single fresh strawberry was a nice touch.
Trevor had Declinaison de Melon de Vix : Nature, Sorbet et Soda Aromatisé Menthe
Fraiche, which was Melon from Vix served in three ways. There was the natural
melon slices, a melon sorbet and quite uniquely a melon soda served with straw
and all. There was a tuille and something akin to a brandy snap without the
brandy and a small sprig of fresh redcurrants, the whole thing was fabulous, I
would never normally choose melon as a dessert, but seeing how much Trevor
enjoyed it I could be converted. Just as I was feeling a bit disappointed to
think that the meal was over, two small pistachio flavoured crème brûlées
arrived, they were so fantastic that it was hard to believe that they had no
alcohol in them. These were followed by a plate of two small cakes and a cube of
chocolate, which were a perfect accompaniment to the two large coffees which
were served with warm milk and were, in line with everything else, excellent, but
so they should have been at €4.50 each.
This restaurant is without doubt out of the
gastronomic top drawer, great ambience, great service stunning food and surprise
after surprise, treat after treat. It is true to say that all of this doesn’t
come cheap and the overall bill for the two of us came to €107.40 and that was
without pushing the boat out on the wine, but if you want exceptional food
sometimes you have to be prepared to pay for it. I would not hesitate to come
here again the setting is lovely, the building is old and has a great feel to
it, the service leaves nothing to be desired and the food as you can see from
the photographs is beautifully presented. All of the ingredients were fresh and
they were cooked to perfection, Thanks Trevor for a great birthday treat. Tate -
July 2010
About the author: Tate spends the summers in the Vendee and is
passionate about good wine and good food,he writes exclusively for the http://www.vendee-guide.co.uk/
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