Le Pouilly - Vert-Saint-Denis

The "menu du marché" at lunch time is at a very good price for an excellent meal (without the wine). this was a delicate and delicious experience, from the appetizers to the dessert.

This restaurant is a blend of authenticity and refinement. A beautiful room made of wood and stones invites you to take a sit to enjoy the woodfire smell and get in the mood to eat. You can blindly pick in the menu, the chef is a master but make sure you keep some space for the remarkable cheese set of 3 platters . A great and senses stimulating experience !

Perhaps our hopes were set too high, having read raving reviews about this 1 Michelin Starred restaurant but the food was so disappointing we all left feeling rather deflated.On arrival we could park easily - a good start! You walk down a covered path bursting with colour and flowers. The entrance is lovely, the extensive trolleys of delicous cheeses sit ahead of you to entice a cheeky extra course, you walk round to the left into a lovely dining room area. High ceilings, gothic chandelier and a huge fireplace. The place has a lovely relaxed feel and was quite busy for a Wednesday night.We were served a selection of canapes once we'd sat down and that was where the disappointment started. Each canape was flavoured with strawberry: anchovy with strawberry, a gazpacho with lumpfish and strawberry and radishes with strawberry (yet no explanation from the waiter). The flavours did not work and it seemed the chef was trying too hard to be different. We had planned to have the 85EUR set menu but again, every single dish was strawberry flavoured (there were at least 6, maybe 7). So, we opted for the 48EUR menu instead. A little tantalizer came out - poached mackerel with aubergine puree. This was very good. We all had Terrine of Foie Gras to start, stuffed with Goats Cheese (the other option was tomato & strawberry gazpacho - one of the canapes). It was perfectly okay but the fresh basil chopped around it was far too overpowering. The fish with fennel was, I must say, very good but the other option, guineafowl with olive tapenade and parmesan was terrible and 5 lemon mint leaves. The flavours were far too intense and you couldn't taste the guineafowl at all. Pudding was...interesting. Lots of flourescent colours and a mixture of flavours that just didn't work. My pear ravioli was actually a type of pasta, floating in watery caramel flavoured water with (again) chopped basil all over it. I couldn't have found the pear if I had tried. It was bad, very bad but the plates did look pretty.Although the staff were very nice and amusing, the service was not good. The sommelier hadn't yet arrived when we sat at 8pm, we were midway through our starter when the water was brought to our table and they wrote the main order down incorrectly, producing 3 fish instead of 2. However, they were accommodating about changing our choice of puddings to those off the A La Carte and they were trying to get it right, perhaps they just need better training.If you like trying new flavour combinations then perhaps you will enjoy it, I just happen to think the classic flavours are best, that's why they are classics! Unfortunately, despite it being a new local, we will not be returning.