Having only one meal set for the walled city of St. Malo proved difficult. There's many restaurants within town and likely mostly catered toward the tourists that land during the warmer months. Most places have a mixture of reviews which makes things difficult. But a few places had interesting sounding menus with local ingredients and seafood. L'Entre deux Verres was one of only very few places in Brittany that had cotriade on the menu and I really wanted to try this local seafood stew. Also L'Absinthe Cafe had a seafood locavore menu. But unfortunately they were both closed in this Wednesday in June. As was the butter store and restaurant Bistro Autour du Beurre Bordier and even the places I found on Tripadvisor while walking around looking for something good such as Le Tourne Pierre. Au Coin Malouin looked very popular and busy but only seems to specialist in burgers.
Lion D'Or had very mixed reviews being very popular and the first place you come across as you walk through the walls. It had a reasonable menu and a large outdoor seated area being enjoyed by many. There was a well priced 2-course menu price of €25 (I think). Although given the size of the meals I think just one course would be enough next time (although adding an entree for a few € is hard to resist).
A complimentary starter of fish paste with some stale/hard-ish bread came first.
Entrees
- Organic stirred egg with Gorgonzola from Bordeaux and black truffle - a warm poached egg in cheese and butter with minimal truffle taste. It was good but the roasted cherry tomatoes were better;
- 6 oysters from Cancale #4 - nice oysters as expected although given the next day's plan was to go to the oyster traders in Cancale perhaps should have opted for a different course.
Cuisine traditionnelle Francaise
- Traditional salt cod gratin - a very salty fish protected by a large amount of sliced potatoes. The highlight was once again the delicious vine of cherry tomatoes;
- Half-roasted chicken with gravy - nicely flavoured skin with the meat itself being a little tough (but not dry). The fries were a bit average with a chewy texture. I'll be repeating myself in saying the cherry tomatoes were excellent.
The beef bourguignon looked excellent on the table next to me but the lady complained that the inside of the beef was cold/frozen which put me off a bit. However she did admit the taste was good.
The food was more general French than Breton but satisfying enough. Next time I'd see if any of the above places were open for a more local dining experience.