Bristrot du Port Restaurant at l'Aiguillon-sur-Mer

Trevor and I were back on the road again following a summer of visitors which had curtailed our restaurant reviewing for the website. Today we were incorporating a visit to La Rochelle to buy replacement pool equipment with lunch at the Pergola, a restaurant on the Pointe de l’Aiguillon. The visit to La Rochelle went well but our lunch plans were scuppered when on arriving at the restaurant we discovered that it is closed on Wednesdays, and wouldn’t you know it today was a Wednesday. We looked at a couple of other restaurants on the point but decided against them both and instead went on into the town, where we settled on the Hotel du Port which had been recommended to Trevor. There was a large modern dining room which was already very busy and it was barely 12.30, so we took a couple of seats on the decking outside which was also pretty full. The view from the decking was the roundabout at the end of the bridge between L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer and La Faute-sur-Mer, it wasn’t the best view we’d ever had but the sun was shining the breeze was tousling our hair and we were happy to be out and about once again. Most of the diners were French and we thought that they were locals, normally a good sign when choosing somewhere to eat. It turned out however that there were a mix of locals and workers from the fair which was in town and had set up in the large car park just across the road. The waitresses were very busy and we did have to wait quite a while before we got our menus. There was the menu du jour at €12 and then menus at €14, €17 and €22 we both decided on the €17 menu, I had Foie Gras followed by an Onglet of beef while Trevor had Salade des Gesiers followed by Lemon Sole. There was no non alcoholic beer so as an aperitif Trevor had tonic water while I had a Kir Royal. It was pleasant sitting in the sun watching the world go by as we waited for our entrees, made all the more enjoyable as there were plenty of attractive young ladies making their way to the beach.

Our entrees arrived and they were not disappointing, Trevor’s gizzard salad was large by any standards and it looked very good, there were plenty of gizzards, a couple of slices of duck breast, lardons, green salad and croutons. I had a taste of a gizzard and it was excellent. My foie gras was equally copious, it was served on a piece of slate with an onion confit, four triangles of toast and a green salad of lamb’s lettuce with a creamy dressing and croutons. The foie gras was superb and the onion confit was the perfect accompaniment, unlike the wine. I had ordered a pitcher of Cote du Rhone as they didn’t have a house wine, it wasn’t the best Cote du Rhone I’d ever drunk but nonetheless it was palatable enough, I should probably have ordered by the glass as I would have been able to drink a more complimentary wine with my entree. The entrees finished we were both feeling better, Trevor because the edge had been taken off of his hunger and I always feel better when Trevor has eaten. Soon enough the main courses arrived, my steak was Onglet or flank, I had been introduced to the cut by my French neighbour who eats a lot of it, it was as usual excellent and was served with a decent portion of large chips, almost certainly frozen, and an onion sauce that was so tasty I finished it off with the remains of the bread. Trevor’s lemon sole was just as good being served as it was with a julienne of assorted vegetables including carrot, onion and celery and steamed potatoes. For desert I had Riz au Lait which is essentially cold rice pudding, it is a desert that I like and this was a good one. Trevor’s Ile Flotant was a huge cube of meringue on an ocean of crème anglais (custard), another one of my favourites and a tough choice, Trevor seemed very happy with it and soon we were drinking our large coffees with an accompanying white Ferrero Rocher type chocolate, wondering where the meal and the time had gone. While we were drinking our coffee we were treated to an altercation in the car park, between two of the diners, one having opened his car door onto the other’s car denting it, the waitress a slip of a lass came out punching above her weight and separated the two protagonists and calm and order returned. The food had been good and we hadn’t stinted, last year we would have eaten the plat du jour but this year we are looking for meals that are more likely to be enjoyed by the more discerning diners. It wasn’t a cheap meal for a lunch costing as it did around €60 but it was an enjoyable experience, and though I doubt we’ll ever eat there again it was a restaurant that I would be happy to recommend. - Tate August 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/
The coping of this article is permitted as long as the complete article along with these credits are published.

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Bistrot du Port L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer Review by TATE2, Rue de Bellevue. Tel.02 51 56 40 08

Bistrot du Port L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer Review by TATE
2, Rue de Bellevue. Tel.02 51 56 40 08