La Renaissance - Orléans

We were here for drinks at an outside table, one evening in early July, when it was light till half past ten. It closed at seven! We sat down at 1815h, and were brought our drinks fairly quickly, albeit by an autonomon: but well before seven they were packing up, andwewere made to feel superfluous. A shame, because it has a lovely setting in a pedestrian square, where the children play in the fountains.

Conveniently located in the main central square in Orleans. We were welcomed in by the waiting staff, who were all friendly enough and very patient with our basic French and indecisiveness over lunch choices. The food came in good time and was of an acceptable standard for the price. Fish of the day with a Hollandaise sauce and Julienned vegetables was well cooked and tasty. The Tagliatelle Carbonara chosen by the fussy child was absolutely delicious she said. She particularly liked the egg on top and managed to polish off most of an adult portion almost in unheard of. Tart Tatin with vanilla ice cream was glorious and the coffee was good. Decor inside was slightly quirky, comfortable, with some interestingly anachronistic portrait photos adorning the walls. The Maitre d ' was actually very helpful and patient. All in, a good experience for a family of four.

I know France is not generally known for its excellence in customer service, but this place beats all ! Yesterday my pregnant wife and I wanted to sit down at a table outside but there was only one chair so my wife sat down and I went and borrowed an empty chair from a nearby table. Sounds familiar ? I guess so. Happens all over the world. Nope, not here ! A waitress came running at me and started yelling at me for moving chairs between tables. Apparently this was not allowed for if everyone started doing this .... . For a moment I thought I was part of some tv program where they fool you in the street but nobody came up to me to explain this was some kind of joke. We were told to wait for another table with two empty chairs and, strangely, the waitress was supported by her immediate superior ! In shock, my wife and I decided to walk over to the place next door. My advice to the owner : don 't hire people as waiters/waitresses who are more suited to work in a prison ward. Good luck coming out of the crisis.

The crepe was cold and was made without any effort, the service was fine. You received the bill directly with your meal, which seemed very stressful. All in all, I wouldn't recommend the restaurant because it didn't convince me personally.

Excellent food at a perfect location. The waiter kind of forgot us, but with the view of the square, we didn't mind waiting. The children loved at kids menu which included a dessert.