L'Horloge - Auvillar

My wife and I had a flying visit to Auvillar and booked a table for Sunday lunch with 4 other friends at the L' horlodge. We ate on the Plane tree shaded terrace as the weather was fantastic. I have seen some of the other reviews on trip advisor but we had no complaints, the food was excellent and Gerome the waiter was very attentive.

A group of 9 of us went there this summer, the setting was very pleasent and the staff were very friendly. Food was excellent but the portions were small and rather pricey for a little restaurant.

The main dish with pork was way over cooked and everything but tender... my wife had the veal which was very fat and came only with a few vegetables, no potatoes nor other carbohydrates. Fine to lose weight, not too good for an evening at the restaurant. The table besides us complained about a tasteless cassoulet ... 4 dissatisfied customers.

We ate here twice in large groups. We had high hopes as local friends had recommended it. But although some dishes were acceptable, too many were poorly conceived or executed. My merlan (fish) was seriously overcooked, and the cold leeks with poached egg was simply odd. On my first visit I had braised vegetables also with poached egg and that didn't work either. My wife had a maigret (sic) a duck breast which was completely tasteless. The service was friendly but too slow and we were all seriously underwhelmed. They serve lampreys which is unusual, and I can't complain about them. But they are an acquired taste which I failed to acquire. Wines were not too pricey with many local ones.

Our first visit to this charming village was enhanced by the warm welcome and authentic atmosphere and food at this restaurant. We arrived without a reservation as soon as it opened for lunch and they were soon turning people away.Do book, I imagine in the summer it would be very hard to just turn up.