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La Grand Voile  La Faute-sur-Mer
28 Ave. Plage, La Faute-sur-Mer.  Tel. 02 51 97 03 42

Sud Vendee.. Haut Bocage.. Coastal Region.. Marais Poitevin.. Marais Breton.. Bas Bocage.. Plaine.. Marais Olonne..
It was the first Sunday in July and we were in La Faute visiting the large market there to buy some wine to bring back for friends to taste with a view to making a larger purchase later in the month. Trevor and I were accompanied by my French neighbour Dominique who until his hip replacement had worked on the markets for many years. The market, which compares favourably to the Sunday market in La Palice, La Rochelle was very busy and after tasting the wine and making my purchases we went on into the town proper to find a restaurant to have lunch in. I had been recommended to try Le Canot but Dominique insisted on asking his market friends where to eat and we set off up the main street. Unfortunately he took us to La Terrace, a very good restaurant that is frequented by the locals and is recommended by everyone. We have eaten their previously and reviewed it, and so Trevor refused to go there again. Dominique was not able to walk back to Le Canot and so against my better judgement we ended up in La Grand Voile which is two restaurants down from La Terrace.

It was a very hot day and we sat outside on the pavement under the awning with the world walking by as we dined and exhaust fumes from the cars as a condiment. We had a round of cold beers and looked at the menu. We didn’t have entrées and Trevor chose the Vendéen Ham and Mojettes, Dominique went for the Entrecôte and Frites and after some deliberation I made the error of going for Moules and Frites. The meals came and we had another round of drinks, Trevor’s Vendéen Ham and Mojettes were standard fare, cooked well enough although it is a hard meal to get wrong other than overcooking the ham which literally takes seconds to cook. Dominique’s entrecôte was well cooked it had a small salad accompaniment and the frites were as is often the case from a packet and not home produced, that notwithstanding Dominique was perfectly satisfied with his meal. That just leaves me. My meal was awful I had chosen the mussels because L’Aiguillon and La Faute are the main mussel producing area in France, and I had, mistakenly as it turned out, expected the mussels to be fresh. The mussels were not fresh and were undoubtedly re-heated which, even though they were in the usual light wine sauce, made them dry and tasteless. The sauce itself was no better, instead of it being tasty and soup-like combining the saltiness of the water from the mussels with a good white wine shallots and butter, it was thin, tasteless and watery. The frites which undoubtedly came frozen from a packet were definitely the best part of the meal, which in all  was as big a disappointment as I can remember since eating at Le Cond’or, and on reflection I think even that was less of a disappointment.

I had the misfortune of picking up the tab for this meal, which made it all the more galling, and at
17.00 per person for a single course I couldn’t possibly recommend either for the quality of the food or as value for money,

I understand that it was a busy day in La Faute, however the restaurant wasn’t full, unlike when we ate at La Terrace which was bursting at the seams and still managed to deliver a 3 course meal of very high quality for
15 a head and offered a formula meal at 12. The quality of my meal was without doubt very poor indeed, in fact it was sub-standard and I suggest that if you find yourself in the main street of La Faute, you don’t hesitate in passing by La Grand Voile going two doors down and eating at La Terrace, even if you’ve eaten there before, I promise you that way you won’t be disappointed and you’ll get a decent meal at a good price. I’m sure that you will not be surprised when I say that I could not recommend this restaurant under any circumstances. Tate - 2011




About the author: Tate spends the summers in the Vendee and is passionate about good wine and good food,he writes exclusively for the www.vendee-guide.co.uk
The coping of this article is permitted as long as the complete article along with these credits are published.


Return to find more Restaurants in La Faute-sur-Mer
Restaurants Marais Breton
Restaurant Sud Vendee
Restaurants Coastal Region
Restaurants Haut Bocage
Restaurants Bas Bocage
Restaurants Marais Poitevin
Restaurants Mervent Forest
Restaurants Fontenay-le-Comte
Restaurants Plaine
Restaurants St.Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Restaurants St.Hermine
Restaurant La Chataigneraie
Restaurants l'Aiguillon-sur-Mer
Restaurants La Faute-sur-Mer
Restaurants La Tranche-sur-Mer
Restaurants Les Sables-d'Olonne
Restaurants Lucon
Restaurants Bretignolles
Restaurants L'Ile-de-Noirmoutier
Restaurants Les Herbiers
Restaurants Pouzauges
Restaurants St.Jean-de-Monts
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