Chez Gilles Et Marika Bernaud

This restaurant does not have much competition in the small village if Vendays Montalivet. It is located on a traffic island opposite the church. We were seated outside as were the other diners. The cars driving past made for an unpleasant experience as we could smell exhaust fumes plus a party of four smokers stood on the road side also sharing their smoke with us. I recognise that the owners could do nothing about this situation but this restaurant was quite expensive and yet the menu was quite average. They seem to be reliant upon their local exclusivity to charge high prices when there is little ambience experienced in their outdoor dining.

The outside area is charming and under the spite of a beautiful church across the main road. The hotel itself is charming and the WC is amazing. The Chef clearly has talent as the purées and sauces were sublime but there is too much going on and the result is confusing. The Terrine starter was good with some homemade chutneys but it also has ‘mushy peas’ and puy lentils. Excellent Sauvignon Semillion white wine. Friendly service, authentic French atmosphere. Very expensive and did not meet expectations set by other reviews

We have been to hotel de France before. Again we were not disappointed. The service was friendly and helpful (our French is not very good) and unrushed . The food was excellent, and the house wine very drinkable. Thursdays nights don't appear to be the most popular nights to eat out, so the atmosphere was a bit quiet. We will certainly will be eating there again, next time we visit Vendays.

We've been here a couple of times, the last being at the end of September 2013. I was surprised to see some negative views. This is a pleasant little restaurant with old fashioned décor and artefacts and friendly staff. The food is tasty, nicely presented and unpretentious. The cheap lunch menu is good value but if you like oysters it's worth paying a bit more. Decent wines.

The service was poor it was clear that she (who was probably the boss) was annoyed. Maybe because we arrived too late for her taste. I do not know but it was the perfect caricature of what is often depicted as the French service/attitude. She was not nice at all. The lunch menu is a good deal. You eat fresh things at a good price. We took a more expensive menu which was probably a bit too expensive for what it was. Most dishes were good except a couple of them that had too much oil. The terrasse is not great as it is next to the road but if you go for the lunch menu, I guess you cannot complain.