Rendez cette journée spéciale en dînant à L'Auberge des Arcades. Situé à Place des Arcades | 81140, 81140 Castelnau-de-Montmiral, France, nous sommes ouverts et enthousiastes à l'idée de satisfaire ton palais. Notre note 3.3 et nos commentaires 2169 témoignent de la qualité et du soin que nous apportons à chaque plat.
Arriving in France on a Sunday evening is always a problem, and as we were staying in the town, this was our first meal out. The square is incredible attractive and looks like the restaurants would survive on the lunch trade from tourists; it was certainly quiet on the evening of our arrival.The food was of good quality- my fish dish was excellent and well presented and flavoured, and the salad starter was very enjoyable. The prices are probably 20% higher than other towns, but the setting justifies it. A stroll around the town before or after would make for a pleasant experience.
Arriving unexpectedly at 7.00pm on a Sunday evening you hope for something nice to eat. The owner was incredibly helpful in directing us to the car parking at the hotel (we'd never have found it without him) and then was attentive and helpful. After ordering our meal he produced tourist plans of the village and told us the best route to walk, where to view the sunset (which was, indeed spectacular) and what not to miss. The food was excellent, including a cherry claffouti dessert and very good value. I thoroughly recommend this restaurant.
Lovely to sit in the square and drink coffee and people watch. Market day is on Tuesday morning to get fresh breads, meats, and crafts.
I am surprised by the *very* mixed reviews to be found here and it is very hard to understand why it would be. All one can do is honestly report one's experience and offer any suggestions that might help the diner and the owner. We ate at this restaurant last night. The first thing to say is what a fantastic location. Castelnau is a beautiful medieval village and the square is stunning by both day and night. If you want to eat there you don't have much in the way of choice unless, you want to drive some distance. The only other restaurant is three times the price, it was deserted when we arrived. Des Arcades had two French couples seated there. We ordered from the two very reasonably priced set menus - trout and duck. The service from the young waiter was good. The trout and duck were perfectly cooked and both came with a good quantity of vegetables. At the price, really, impossible to complain about anything. The Gaillac rouge (Rieux) was good. Indeed, given the many, usually disappointing, Gaillac reds I have tried, I'd have to say that it was amongst the best. The deserts were alright, nothing special, but more than adequate. All-in-all, I think the restaurant did well. The staff we dealt with were friendly. Credit where credit is due, I cannot but recommend giving this restaurant a try. It seems to me to be a lot better than some of the reviewers have suggested. Perhaps it is to do with who is front-of-house - the young man we dealt with was great, an asset to the place.
We stayed in this area for 2 months going into the square every day. After being totally ignored on our first visit to this restaurant and walking off after 30 minutes we were never going back! People around us got served but we had no eye contact or menu given to us in this time frame. When we did walk off and wave the staff threw there hands up in the air in dismay as if to say Where are you going? We returned to give them another attempt at service during the second week there. The waiter with the long messy moustache and dishevelled appearance placed a bottle of white wine on my arm and said No ice required. Cold enough! Even though we attempted to explain why as Australians we like ice in drinks! (What happened to pleasing the customer since they are paying) We were very polite and used French where possible but never got a response by anyone except the young male waiter who works there! In the time we were there we frequented Frederics cafe and had the most pleasant experience each time. Al Baladin on the terrace! A must to visit!We ate out every day for 2 months in this village so L'Auberge des Arcades missed out on some serious tourist money and meeting 2 very nice people who wanted to talk with them. A shame and we told our local friends of our experience!
Our group of four was quite happy with our set menu and we felt we got what we paid for.Being a cool evening we sat inside but the small area was quite crowded and they could have spread their customers out into more of the inside area. Staff were quite pleasant and helpful even with their limited English which was better than our limited French, but that is all a part of the experience.The set menu started with Caesar salad or assorted meats which were both very good. The main fish and beef plate was a bit dissapointing with the fish lacking in sauce and flavour. Dessert of chocolate mousse was superb.
A friendly and popular place. The food is fine, nothing special but perfectly ok. If you want somewhere for a special occasion you might be disappointed.
Now, I am the first to admit that my French is not perfect but to be met by a shrug of the shoulders and a "no" when we asked if we could have a cake to go with our coffee was actually so bad we all laughed. We were in Castelnau, a beautiful little village for the summer market and had met lots of lovely people and fancied coffee and a cake, not normally tricky anywhere in France, before we went on our way. This cafe is in the square where the market was held. The coffee itself was actually OK, although would have been improved by some sort of cake but it was not to be. I think this chap could do with a few training sessions in customer relations!
