Archive for August 26th, 2007
Review of Le Rendez Vous
Le Rendez Vous,26 Main Street, Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland
Disappointing food that didn’t live up to menu described expectations.
As it was the last night of current visit to Cavan, Mam and myself decided to go out for a bite to eat, as sisters Lou and Claire held the fort and looked after the childer.Mam had previously been to Le Rendez Vous in Belturbet and had had a good meal out so we booked a table for 2 for 6.30. We were advised we’d have to be out by 8.30. When we arrived the restaurant was fairly empty just one other couple. It’s a pleasant bright room.
The waiter was attentive and left the early bird menu (5.30 till 7.30), a la carte and the wine list for us to peruse. The early bird menu had a good selection of 5 starters and 5 mains. Coffee was also included for €20. This seemed like good value and we both spotted dishes we liked on it so we opted for these. One disappointing aspect of the menu was that the kiddies menu options were just chicken pasta, nuggets and chips or burger and chips. Why or why were chips, burgers and nuggets on a french restaurant menu? I despair.
Mam went for a deep fried brie with salad and berry dressing: 
She felt it was only “ok”.
I ordered soufflé au fromage, which was described as a port salut and wild mushroom soufflé served with a blue cheese cream.
It wasn’t good. It looked awful. The soufflé was flat, overcooked, bland, cold and stodgy. I hate frisee lettuce and the salad contained lots of it. The only obvious mushrooms on the plate were a few slivers of dark black ones scattered around the edge of the plate.
For mains, Mam chose the salmon dish.
Whoever decided the baby pink sauce was a good idea was mistaken. To be fair it didn’t actually taste bad, it was just offputting to look at. Mam asked and was informed that beetroot juice had been added to a butter sauce to give it that colour.
I ordered the lamb shank.
The sauce looked lumpy and congealed. The lamb was tough. The sage mashed potato was fine. The sprig of parsley and chives balanced on top didn’t really add to the dish.
We were given side dishes of roasted baby potatoes and a selection of vegetables which tasted good.
We had a bottle of house red, a french pinot noir, which was very light and tasted fine.
The total cost came to approximately €63. By the time we were leaving, the restaurant was fairly full with a good mixture of young and old couples and groups.
Overall, we left disappointed. This was food that with a little bit of effort could have been done a lot better.
Rated /5 on Aug 26 2007 by ManicMammy
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2 comments August 26, 2007
