Le Verdiere - La Rochelle

Found this place by accident whilst choosing our dinner venue, and couldn't have asked for a more pleasant evening. The food was very good value, excellent quality and sufficient quantity; 3 courses for 18€, with enough choice to satisfy all of our party even my old man who is a fussy git!! Great wine, and service; also the small touches of a mis en bouche and limoncello were not anticipated but added to our lovely experience. A short walk from the Old Port, so nicely chilled and relaxing after the chaos of the main drag! Will definitely return ASAP. Highly recommended worth booking to ensure you get in!!

We selected this restaurant during our stay in La Rochelle because we considered the menu to be interesting and the dishes in the photos on their web site looked appetising. In reality, the food didn't live up to our expectations. We were welcomed very warmly by a young lady who was charming and lively with a pleasing sense of humour. She was a real asset to the establishment. She explained several of the dishes on the menu and served each course fairly rapidly. The décor of the restaurant was far too traditional for my tastes, though they had tried to liven it up with some contemporary abstract paintings. I was seated facing the open kitchen, where one could see two chefs working. I was surprised that they were not attired in white chefs’ jackets as it was an open kitchen. They were dressed in casual T-shirts, which in my opinion didn't look very professional. We chose the menu at 30 euros. It was very good value for money if all you want is quantity. As well as the usual three courses, we had a ‘mise en bouche’, a sorbet with alcohol, a liqueur and a drink of wine to finish the meal. Personally, I would always prefer quality to quantity. My entrée was foie gras and large prawns. I chose it as I thought it was a rather unusual combination. The presentation of the plate was not good and though I found no real problem with the main ingredients, the entrée didn't work. It needed an accompaniment to link the two tastes together – a sweet chutney or seasoned vinaigrette for example. For the main course, my husband chose fillet of lamb and I had a parcel of a mixture of fish. Both main ingredients were well cooked, but unfortunately we both agreed that the course was very bland. My selection of fish needed some sort of seasoning to lift it out of being fairly tasteless. The fish and the vegetables were not over-cooked, just bland with a capital B. The parcel was accompanied by a dish of lentils, which added nothing to improve the flavour, as they were bland as well. My husband and I agreed that the meal wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. We certainly wouldn't return to the restaurant, neither could we recommend it.

What a find! Lovely food, friendly and efficient service and all at reasonable prices. A breath of fresh air after our experience at the waterfront tourist restaurants.

Excellent rapport qualité/prix pour cet établissement situé un peu à l'écart des circuits touristiques traditionnels du centre de La Rochelle. Bons produits biens préparés, service efficace et aimable. Une réussite, notamment pour les desserts, la crème brûlée était véritablement délicieuse.Je recommande tout à fait. Une cuisine digne d'une étoile dans ce restaurant familial.

En effet restaurant en dehors du vieux port, calme, mais trop d'attente entre chaque plat,et la cuisine vraiment pas exceptionnelle,