Cafe Le Metropole - Rouen

I stopped here after arriving at Rouen railway station, intending to order the plat de jour. I waited for a long time and tried to attract the attention of the waiter. He eventually acknowledged me as he was bringing drinks to people who had arrived much later. He looked irritated. The French couple next to me tried to tell him that I had been there too long. He then addressed me and told me to wait and he would be along. I felt humiliated and left. I have no idea why he behaved towards me like this. That restaurant lost business.

We ended up eating having breakfast here, and it was a highlight of our stay in Rouen. You are actually in the cafe that Satre and de Beauvoir frequented during their time in Rouen. The gentleman running the show was a gem. The whole Cafe was buzzing, mainly because of his high spirits. We wondered if he was also an actor. We ordered baguettes, and noticed that he had to go out and but baguettes specially for us. Forget about the cafes closer to the station. Coffee was excellent as were croissants.

While I wouldn 't normally spend a lot of time around the train station, we had to stop in there to confirm a rental car reservation for the following day. And when the rental car agent said, would you mind coming back after lunch? we figured why not have lunch in the area ourselves. What you should know about Rouen 's train station is that there are not currently lots of choices for food in there. They are renovating the station, and presumably that will change some, but with limited space, one wonders whether more restaurants/food counters will be added. In the meantime, if you leave the station, and walk a block or two south, you run into cafes and pubs like Metropole. We had a very decent, and well priced lunch there. I almost wish I had picked the lunch special, a tart with sausage and leeks. But I played it safe and ordered a salmon salad, a bed of greens smothered in strips of smoked salmon. Very good value, and very filling. The place has a very homey feeling too the folks who work there really seem to enjoy each other 's company, and there are regular customers who are friendly. If my French were a little better, I bet they wouldn 't have minded me joining in on the conversation.

While I wouldn't normally spend a lot of time around the train station, we had to stop in there to confirm a rental car reservation for the following day. And when the rental car agent said, "would you mind coming back after lunch?" we figured why not have lunch in the area ourselves.What you should know about Rouen's train station is that there are not currently lots of choices for food in there. They are renovating the station, and presumably that will change some, but with limited space, one wonders whether more restaurants/food counters will be added.In the meantime, if you leave the station, and walk a block or two south, you run into cafes and pubs like Metropole. We had a very decent, and well-priced lunch there. I almost wish I had picked the lunch special, a tart with sausage and leeks. But I played it safe and ordered a salmon salad, a bed of greens smothered in strips of smoked salmon. Very good value, and very filling.The place has a very homey feeling too - the folks who work there really seem to enjoy each other's company, and there are regular customers who are friendly. If my French were a little better, I bet they wouldn't have minded me joining in on the conversation.

Hands down our favorite Mexican restaurant in GRWe make special trips from the NW side to come.