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“Lovely ambiance”

Le Bistro de l'Absynthe
Ranked #7 of 286 Restaurants in Poitiers
Certificate of Excellence
Dining options: After-hours, Reservations
Restaurant details
Dining options: After-hours, Reservations
Reviewed 5 May 2017

We had the most lovely dinner at this small, cosy restaurant. How a very few other tripadvisor contributors could fault anything with the friendliness and customer orientation of the staff, i cannot understand - they are lovely, friendly people. And the food: the most gorgeous escargots as starter for madame (to die for) and a highly appetising sardine for myself (perfect in every respect). We had started with an absynthe, of course, i forgot to mention - my first try of the drink and very enjoyable it is. for mains we both had a fish-and-chips. The fish perfectly battered, moist,lovely and well-cooked and flaky as it should be. Thanks to the tasty crust of batter, the fish stayed hot and moist while we were eating it, well done, chef! The chips are real, fresh made chips (and we are Belgians, we know good chips when we do encounter them). The sauce tartare: heaven. We had not ordered desert, but did so eventually, as the evening was too good to close off early. And i forget yet again: we had an honest, reasonably-priced half-bottle of muscadet sevre et maine.
This is not a starred restaurant, true, but excellent value for money.
Whenever locals are regular clients, you know you're in a good place, and we were sitting between two couples of habituées - and we know why they keep coming back here.
We won't leave it long before returning.

Date of visit: May 2017
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
Thank JanS35
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviews (662)
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27 - 31 of 662 reviews

Reviewed 30 March 2017

Ate here on my wifes birthday. The menu catered for the French palette, perhaps a little too exclusively. Neither of us enjoyed the food, starter or main, but it was presented beautifully. The sweet was very tasty & my wife had a birthday message & sparkler included with hers.

Date of visit: March 2017
Thank Andy N
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 19 February 2017

Very small but very cozy restaurant. Looks very French but unpretentious from the outside. We have been there twice, and we look forward to the next time. Food is really gourmet. Serving looks great. Service is very good and attentive. All in all really enjoyable - wine list also good.

Date of visit: January 2017
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
Thank Viggotje
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 12 January 2017

We stopped in for a salad ... after dining strictly on fromage, wine and regional meat specialties for a few days. They don't do salads. So we were immediately immersed into one of the best dining experiences of our lives. I had the veal, which was to die for: tender, rosé, and accented with an absinthe sauce, and topped by absinthe leaves. My wife went of the Coquille St Jaques and an amazing potato side: what can I say, ... divine! We ordered a half bottle of wine, simply because we'd already had a Christmas drinks earlier. No one tried to up-sell. I asked for a good white wine recommendation given our choice of meals: veal and seafood. And we got a lovely wine from the Loire, reasonably priced. "Reasonably" for this restaurant, which isn't cheap, and I would qualify as "cuisine refinée" ... though I think the restaurant would insists that they are simply doing their ordinary best. Worth every centime. Sadly, we couldn't take advantage of the desert menu, which looked fabulous. The atmosphere is bistro with white table cloths, but the service is La Tour D'argent! ;-) We were the only foreigners ... everyone else seemed local and some regulars. Typical of our dear French people, no one hesitated to stare intently and only just kept themselves from leaning in to ask impertinent questions. But that's France for you: communal, social, convivial, regional, public, la France profonde, la France ouverte, voilà! We shall return someday. On y reviendra!

Date of visit: January 2017
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
Thank i K
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 25 August 2016 via mobile

We found ourselves in Poitiers and, having seen this bistro on several previous visits, decided to lunch there.

The outside tables are naturally in the shade which was necessary on such a hot day. The menu is comprehensive but we opted for the menu du jour which offered two courses for the remarkable value of €9.80/head. With a 50cl carafe of very acceptable vin rouge, water and coffee, we were delighted with the value for money (just over €30 for the two of us.)

The service was very friendly and the food was very good indeed in terms of both quality and quantity. (I had steak and my wife, salmon, both finishing with cheese.)

Will certainly eat there again and am happy to recommend it to readers.

Date of visit: August 2016
2  Thank Ian D
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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