La Matelote - Boulogne-sur-Mer

Meal of 29-10-2019 , ratio disappointing quality 85 euros for a dessert entry to choose from with specialties , lobster salad , turbot dish with ceps without flavors , drinks , royal kir to creamy , local biere , coffee at whip rate , very beautiful wine map

I used to work and live in Boulogne and ate here regularly. This place is definitely not worth your time or money. We came on Valentines night, the place stank of bleach and off fish, not a good start. We had one waiter who spoke...English and was very helpful and kind. The other staff are rude and arrogant. The amuse bouche was edible but not amazing. Our children had chicken and cod respectively with pasta. The chicken was very bland , the cod smelt off and tasted bland and past its best. Then my wife and I had scallops to start which were of mediocre quality. Then the mains arrived. I had the Brill in place of Turbot, because the Turbot had sold out. It smelt strongly of off fish and was like eating wet cotton wool. Now I am a fisherman… I have caught literally hundreds of Turbot and Brill and it should flake in your mouth with delicious sweet flavour. If you imagine wet loo paper smelling like old fish this is what you will receive. Then came the worst bit. Rather than to cause a fuss inside the restaurant with other valentines guests enjoying their meal, I decided to discreetly take the waiter to one side and explain that the food was not of good quality and I would prefer not to pay for that dish. Yes I would pay for the rest of the meal, but not that dish. I was then taken into the kitchen by the “boss” if you can call him that. He wanted to show me his fresh fish. I was met by around staff all staring at me and mentioning “Les Anglias”, “Brexit”, “this is French fish”, trying to provoke the age old UK France fish war story, you don’t know what fish this I s, and a barrage of insults along those lines. I have NEVER seen anything so unprofessional. YOU DO NOT TAKE YOUR CUSTOMERS INTO YOUR KITCHEN TO INSULT THEM WHEN THEY ARE PAYING YOUR BILLS. Message to anyone reading this avoid it like the plague, they are arrogant, rude, unprofessional, expensive and to top it all the food is revolting.

How to translate a contrasting opinion. Everything was going well until dessert. refined dishes, attentive services, warm setting. in brief we were in a starry establishment and a good evening. comes the time of coffee (for me) and tea (for my wife) and there it gets complicated. choice first, but this is recurring in many restaurants. for tea we only offer a green tea with mint and that comes the time to serve it we have heard this incredible phrase. "for mint tea, I know it exists, but we don't have it."! more seriously, why there is no possibility of different choices to finish a good meal. we are in a starred restaurant, with mouth-watering and mignardises with 5 choices for sugar and no choice for tea and coffee. Then we had to ask three times and wait 20 minutes to get the check. We suspect a personal concern, because the chief of the room disappeared in the middle of our meal, from which seems to you a certain disorganization. An embarrassing remark to finish. by going to the bathroom I see the place that serves as a dressing room. (the corridor actually.) So I was able to search my jacket in a place without surveillance. I could have used myself in other pockets than mine without anyone seeing anything. Finally it served us well because once the bill was paid, as no one has offered to us, we went to look for our clothes ourselves and left without any goodbye to anyone. In conclusion, if the floating in the service comes from an exceptional circumstance this restaurant deserves our indulgence. if the service is usual at this level of quality, it does not correspond at all to our expectations in this type of establishment

Dishes are very good, well seasoned, well presented, cooking is perfect, hics ... dirty wine glasses, paints and dusts that need to be made .1 hour waiting for dessert and only sommelier is concerned. we ask for the addition, the gentleman who never greeted us during the meal brings it to us, and does not ask us how it happened, he even forgets the tpe next to me while I pay in cash. In short of the menus that are worth their price, but a service to review, we left 170€ to 2 ... no one to say goodbye ... it's still a little disappointing. I booked in this restaurant for this macaron, I didn't have the effect ... 1 macaron ...

Disappointing experience. Meal on good, but you expect more in a restaurant with star. Not really involving, m.U.V. sommelier, dispatched, lingered, red. Paying at the end is a crime: No interest after the meal.