la Romantica - Villeneuve

Uns beiden war nach unserem Besuch hier nicht mehr sehr wohl... der Service war zwar schnell, das lag aber wohl an Dingen wie Pilze aus der Büchse. Pizzateig war eher ein Flammenkuchenteig. Alles in allem nicht sehr romantisch.

Keine tolle Pizza, entweder verkocht oder nicht genug, es fehlten viele Dinge, wir mussten sie dreimal empfehlen. Die Zutaten fehlten, also gingen wir zum Laden auf der anderen Straßenseite, um sie zu holen. Die Toiletten wurden nicht einmal gereinigt! Mit 3 Spinnen in der Nähe des Waschbeckens!

Unfreundliche, unangenehme Kunden, langes Warten und Geruch nach Toilettenartikeln, die Terrasse ist ein echtes Raucherzimmer. Ich werde nicht in diese Einrichtung zurückkehren, die der Treffpunkt für soziale Angelegenheiten in der Stadt sein muss

We ate here by mistake. I had intended to revisit L 'Etoile where we had eaten more than once before: see my review. I expected this review to be an update, but halfway through our meal my wife pointed out that we were in La Romantica. The two places look very alike as you would agree if you saw them, and the 'Soleil ' is similar again! All three have pavement 'terrasses ' with similar furniture. That 's my excuse anyway. The mistake turned out to be fortuitous, as we both were very happy with our meal and the service we received. From their list of rosti dishes I chose the one with fried eggs topping and it was perfect. My wife 's omelette with cheese and ham matched the quality of the ones she used to have at a pub in Findon, Sussex. Since that place changed hands and its menu she has mourned the fact that her supply has dried up, and now here was its equal! Its price was SFR17 and the rosti was SFR18. 3.40 francs each for 2dl of red and white wine. Pudding: One 'boule ' of caramel ice for my wife and for me the best tarte tatin I ever had, home made. Total bill SFR 63.20. Less than £50 at today 's rate. Every Friday lunchtime they do fillets of perch and salad for 21 francs. Also available fondues of various types, pizzas and pasta dishes. The place has an extra name: 'Chez Maria ', Could Maria be the lady who does the cooking? Her daughter serves at table. As they and the other staff were African looking, I asked about their origin, expecting her to say Senegal or Martinique, but was surprised to hear the answer Cape Verde, so their first 'official ' tongue would be Portuguese rather than French., The daughter/waitress spoke fluent English too. Some interesting characters come and go, have a beer, shake hands, engage in banter as in lots of places along this pleasant street. One chap sat smoking near us chatted to two ladies about house and food prices rising. He looked just like Sir Michael Gambon, and his voice sounded like him too, but in French of course. His wife stopped to pick him up in a big car. Later, as we drove away, we saw him with his wife at a table outside the Etoile, our original intended destination, all of fifty yards further down the same street!

I went in here based on peering through the windows of all the restaurants on the main street. I had eaten at Cafe L'etoile the night before so wanted to try somewhere else. The other reviews reference poor service but I didn't find that and was well looked after without being smothered. I had the spaghetti carbonara and it was excellent. The most exciting part of the evening was a minor punch-up between 2 of the locals which was unexpected and not at all in the spirit of the place which felt somewhat classier than that. The staff did a decent job of calming it down without making a meal out of it All in all, a good choice