Hôtel Restaurant Anne De Bretagne | Mathieu Guibert

After last year France 3 stars challenge, repeating the Parisian stars, this year was the big 2 stars. I did more than 50% of them, follow me for all the reviews and updates (I’m publishing with a delay) Being a Grande Table du Monde, Relais et Chateaux and a Gault et Millau 4 toques, Anne de Bretagne was obviously on the list. It was not the only reason, I also had some very positive feedbacks from sources I trust. So what’s extraordinary here? The Loire estuary. And the rest. The Loire estuary got me confused and delayed this publication. Yes, sitting there I first got confused, like some other critics. You see the ocean, you focus on the seafood. Well, it’s not an ocean, it’s an estuary. And your gaze sees the arrival after a long journey. A journey that brought you here, so of course the main local ingredients will be from the sea, but you’ll arrive with the taste of the land and the river still in your mind. The eels risotto with a langoustine carpaccio and Parmesan would be the classical demonstration to my point but it’s the Lobster that did it for me. It’s not a lobster like a guy from Brittany would do it (classical or the one who traveled and brought some spices from across the oceans). No a guy from the land, who traveled through, met some people along the way (Alléno, Le Squer) and arrived at this estuary. The one that did it for me is lobster with wild garlic (bear’s garlic), vin jaune, mushrooms and more… it’s not about the ocean, it’s an estuary, it’s the end of a journey through the land with the sea as an ultimate inspiration. The best dish, was the main one, which is the sign of the true master, like the rest. The rest is everything. The chef himself, genuinely touching, gastronomically and humanly. The service with different voices, different telling of the dishes. The wine list with its gems at an unbeatable price for a two stars (even compared to some one star). Definitely, lately, it worths the travel to take the A11 or A10 and go down to the Pays de la Loire (Loire’s countries), with Fleur de Loire, Bagatelle, La bergerie, all the Vendée stars and a this one (to name the one that I reviewed). Actually, I would recommend to do this one and finish by La Marine. You would have done the journey, the Estuary and then the Ocean with the intensity of the emotions it can create. It’s a top tiers 2 stars.

It was a great meal, the chef keeps the natural flavors of the extremely fresh seafood as much as possible. The langoustine risotto and the turbot were excellent. Can improve the quality of the wine in the wine pairing, I felt they were all similar young wines without any complexity. Also the cheese could be improved, we had much better, incredible cheese at Le Coquillage.

Among the most memorable and enjoyable meals I’ve ever had. High quality, fresh ingredients prepared in unique ways that inspired and delighted me. The seafood was incredible. Service was spectacular. Worth the trip for anyone visiting France’s West Coast. Beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean and the mouth of the Loire River from the dining area.

We were there last year and since then it's my reference when I am trying to explain what should be an hotel experience. Truly welcoming service, wonderful food and really nice site. The place owner, the two star chef Mathieu made us felling we are his personal guests and the whole staff was always fulfilling our requests. Last and very not least everything we eat was exceptional and was a lesson of gastronomy. I hope to return to this peaceful and welcoming place soon

Looks and sounds like a great establishment, however, we were disappointed with the experience. My partner informed the restaurant that he is vegetarian and asked for a vegetarian menu which turn out to be a very nice one. They find the way to replicate the taste of seafood very impressively. At the end of the meal, we are served with 3 small very delight deserts. After finish them, we found out that one of them has gelatin inside. Gelatin, made from pork bone is clearly not vegetarian. When we inform the staff and the chef, we received “oh I’m sorry for the mistake, it happens.” with such careless attitude. Moreover, there are moments when we had to look around to find staffs when we are the only table in the restaurant. We eventually we had to pure our own wine. The quality of the product is good but with this level of establishment, 2 stars restaurant, I personally expect more care with diet requirement and service. Unfortunately that is not what we experienced and we do not wish to return.