L'arlatan - Arles

This restaurant is part of a hotel in a very impressive 16th century building. It looks very classy. However, the night we were there, there must have been some... read more This restaurant is part of a hotel in a very impressive 16th century building. It looks very classy. However, the night we were there, there must have been some serious problems in the kitchen (or maybe it is always like that . We started with a shared plate of charcuterie which took a long time to arrive – how long does it take to arrange the cold meats on a plate? We then waited a very, very long time for our main courses. While waiting, we saw a dispute at another table involving the maître d’ and resulting in plates going back to the kitchen. We had both ordered duck à l’orange which came with Camargue rice. The rice appeared to have been baked in the oven and was so crisp and dry that it resembled a cereal bar. The ‘orange’ was not the usual sauce, but instead was four cubes of orange that appeared to have been scorched on a grill. They added nothing to the dish. It had been suggested that we should share a side of seasonal vegetables. These turned out to be big chunks of boiled potatoes (with rice! , a boiled root vegetable and a couple of dry artichokes. We had interchanges with two servers and the maître d – all were cold and brusque. We lived in France for more than 20 years and appreciate the fact that the French like to take their time with meals, but there is a big difference between leisurely and glacially slow. Perhaps we were there on a bad night, others seem to have had a better experience.

The looks of this restaurant are quite unique a total design, also of the hotel, by the Mexican artist Jorge Pardo. Mixed feelings about that great lighting, ve... read more The looks of this restaurant are quite unique a total design, also of the hotel, by the Mexican artist Jorge Pardo. Mixed feelings about that great lighting, very restless ceramic tile floors. Service was faultless. And the food: I had no idea what is Cromesquis (same both in French and English) so I ordered Cromesquies de Taureau. It turned out the be very neat plate with 6 crispy deep fried balls filled with minced bull. Splendid, it really tasted bull. My girlfriend craved melon, so Melon avec Infusion Hibiscus. This too very pretty, a ball of thin slivers of melon sitting a wine red hibiscus gele. Main course, Risoni, Gambas Seiche was sumptuous. The jewel was the desert Soufflé Abricot with Glace Amande. This was a desert I'll remember and cherish.

This hotel is in the heart of the hotel, the reception was the hottest, the staff is in small care. the small personalized word in the room, all the amenities o... read more This hotel is in the heart of the hotel, the reception was the hottest, the staff is in small care. the small personalized word in the room, all the amenities of the room were very pleasant. decoration, furniture, everything is sumptuous, a real journey in design. And then. but what a pleasure to have a shower in this shower room! breakfast was excellent. We look forward to coming back to this hotel!

1. We booked a room in the hotel about 2 months ahead of the visit at a publicly available date 2. The hotel contacted us that they will cancel the booking due... read more 1. We booked a room in the hotel about 2 months ahead of the visit at a publicly available date 2. The hotel contacted us that they will cancel the booking due to “renovation”. But they never did – in the meantime, I cancelled the booking. 3. The hotel proposed us a sister hotel, but they did not even bother to check availability there (it was fully booked) or would have come up with an alternative proposal at a special price (due to inconvenience). 4. And then they contacted us – all of a sudden – with availability in the hotel, however somewhat shorter… (still no mention of any discount due to possible inconvenience) Sorry, not the quality I expect from a hotel.

We had a very good meal there and the decor is magnificent, right down to the toilets. read more We had a very good meal there and the decor is magnificent, right down to the toilets.