They say first impressions are lasting impressions. This was absolutely right after we visited Le Jardin de l’Echauguette last week, but for all the wrong reasons.
I won’t go into too much detail here as I really don’t want to taint what was the best holiday of my life thus far, but I feel a responsibility to write what was not good (in case you happen to stumble across it!).
Le Jardin de l’Echauguette is a little garden (obviously) restaurant situated in a cliff side town called Sartene on the south westerly coastline of Corsica. Jimmy and I stumbled across this restaurant whilst exploring the town (which only took about 5 minutes as there is absolutely nothing to see) but we were also recommended it by our hotel concierge who must have been drunk at the time.
We sat down at our ‘hillside view’ table as described on their website. We couldn’t have had a better hillside view….of the road. Very scenic. It was like being on a Lorry safari. I realised how many people in Corsica drive Twingos.
I ordered a diet coke. What arrived was a Corsican Cola (no mention of this) which actually wasn’t unpleasant. Jimmy just had a fizzy water.
To start I ordered Courgette Fritters. Courgettes they certainly were. Fritters, they were not. What arrived were thick slices of deep fried courgette rings which were soggy, dripping in oil, cold in the middle a disaster. Jimmy got lucky here and ordered a charcuterie which he said was ‘just about edible’ but really how hard is it to slice some meat and place some pickles on a board from a jar?
For main course (now this is where it becomes a real challenge) I ordered an aubergine melanzane.
What arrived was an oven proof dish that was hotter than hades and straight from the microwave. It was just liquid of nearly evaporated aubergine with cheese on the top which was like eating a mouthful of used chewing gum. Gross. Not only that but the chefs had failed to wipe the sides of the dish on microwave entry so they were congealed and burnt.
Jimmy got the worse deal. He ordered pork in a mustard sauce. However, what arrived was a plate that even a passing stray cat turned it’s nose up to. The pork was easily 2 days old and reheated. The mustard sauce was cold cream with a spoonful of mustard in it. The potatoes were like hockey pucks in texture and shape. On the plus side, Le Jardin are generous with their portion size!
I could also go into the attitude of the waiters when they realised we did not like our food, but I’m not going to. Jimmy and I have already had a confrontational experience at the despicable Hotel de Bastard in Lectoure, but that’s another story.
In short, I urge you not to visit Le Jardin de l’Echauguette in Sartene (unless you have either lost all tastebuds and you are a secret ‘LorrySpotter’).
Rating: (0-5) No stars
Food for Thought 