La Belle Epoque - Romorantin-Lanthenay

Very busy, but only stopped for a short coffee break, maybe come back to lunch if nothing better in the city.

Meandered in romorantin looking for a habrdashery we went past la belle époque after not one, but two habrdasheries and see how it seemed rude at midday, not to dive! I had the most amazing salat and the young enjoyed...they eat too little it seems to be the most popular esserei in the city so that the service was terrible slow

Pleasant restaurant to spend an evening. location ok. service well. omelettes were excellent. imaginative variety of omelettes, beautifully cooked and well presented. comes with chips in a wire basket and a very nice salat.

I have the chicks and pasta bolognese. as expected, snails was good, but the pasta was tasteless. my daughter had pasta carbonara; that is also tasteless. I guess we should stick to French kitchen and not dare to go to something else.

Le Belle Époque is not the jewel in the crown of the town of Romorantin, unlike the Hotel du Lion d'or, it does not drape itself in swathes of pretension. It is however the understated centre of social life in the town. Here you will...find Pascal, the allegedly humorous waiter who could easily double as Salvador Dali. He whizzes around the tables that nestle in the basin of a sunken terrace, and as you sit amongst the natives, he will dutifully refill your Riccard without spoiling your view of the passing Romaranians. The best time to visit is at dusk. Youngsters on motorcycles stop in the square to strut like peacocks in rainbow leather suits, and skipping children wander home with their parents after soccer or music lessons. This is the real France, the Youthful France that tugs at the umbilical ties of traditionalism, and the old, that wave’s modernism away, as if it were un unwanted side dish. If you want the facade of French life, then look elsewhere, you will find it in the Michelin star restaurants, in polite conversations, or in Le Figaro. But if you seek out the Jean-luc Goddard, Chabrol or Rohmer in French society, a brief bivouac at the Belle Époque will allow you to peek into that world. All you have to do is sit, look and listen.