Le Soleva

9÷10÷15: We were very grateful to find a good restaurant this deep into the country. And perfect for accompanying your trek through France’s lesser traveled roads, you dine in an outdoor patio right next to the main attraction – the river. Very picturesque!
This restaurant’s somewhat different in that you eat in the patio, but the kitchen is actually the ice cream shop across the street – weird right? So, the servers actually have to run back and forth, up and down the stairs, across the street, to place and get your orders.
If I remember correctly most people in this beautiful little town in the countryside did not speak English, but somehow we were able to communicate enough to order.
The food itself was alright, but nothing particularly special. The service was also pretty bad as I recall, and it was extremely hard to hail anyone. They did have one single waiter that did speak a little English though, so we were grateful for that.
So, the food…
1. Salade Nicoise 9,90 EUR: So, we had yet to try the famous salad from its home country so this was our chance! This version seemed to fit the wikipedia definition of nicoise having the essentials of olives, boiled eggs, and plenty of fresh vegetables like green beans and such. They used anchovies which are usually found in fancier American versions, but I thought the traditional plate should have tuna? Anyway, that’s fine cause I’d prefer anchovies over plain-‘ol tuna, having far more flavor. Everything was pretty fresh. Good salad, and glad we tried it here in France. ⁷⁄₁₀.
2. Magret de Canard 12,90 EUR: A little bit of a let-​down. This is basically a duck steak with skin, sliced into 3 thick pieces. Unfortunately it was a bit overcooked and the skin wasn’t properly crisped. Came with French fries, but they’re pretty plain. Also comes with some salad. ⁵⁄₁₀.
Yeah, the food was basic. And yes, I even said their service sucked. But… I think this might be the best restaurant within 50mi, quite possibly. And it really was a very pretty place to eat.
So, since I did enjoy my time here despite its shortcomings, I think I can give it a ⁴⁄₅.
#french #france