Auberge A La Bonne Idée

Our meal in this restaurant was exceptional. More than a meal, it felt like a curated journey of cuisine. Each course prepared our palettes for the next. It was creative, thoughtful and delicious. The service (and tableside service) was either silent or purposeful. I can't recommend it highly enough. Top quality. Top class.

We spent a night here on our way back to England. Our room overlooking the courtyard was pleasant, but nothing special. As seems to be the case in all French hotels, the walls are rather thin and we could hear every sound in the corridor and adjoining rooms. The corridors themselves are very dark, with unexpected level changes - so be careful! The hot water took about 5 minutes to reach the bath. Breakfast at €14 was very poor value, being just bread and a croissant. I asked for a boiled egg, which was served at no extra cost, but more (ham, cheese, fruit etc) should have been on offer.||However, the restaurant is something else. This establishment serves cuisine at its very French best. The service is formal, yet friendly: the maitre-d'hotel has a very dry sense of humour. The sommelier knows his stuff and recommended some excellent wine to accompany our meal. Price-wise the establishment is not for the faint-hearted, but it is well worth a visit for a treat.

Our latest dinner and overnight stay at l'Auberge A La Bonne Idee was a potent reminder that sometimes sweet memories are best not revisited. Many years ago, when I was living in Paris, friends and I would make the 1 hour trip from Paris just for the fabulous dinner at La Bonne Idee. And several years later, it was here that my now husband asked me to marry him - after one of the most romantic and delicious dinners we'd ever had. Fast Forward to last week, when we took our teenage kids there for dinner and an overnight, filled with anticipation, and all of us came away sadly disappointed. Where to start?|||| The famous restaurant has lost everything it was famous for - except the lovely location. The food was disappointing from start to finish. Not even the little 'amuses' to start the meal or the cheese course to finish it were up to par. Each dish felt as though it were trying hard but failing and overwrought. The textures were off. Why should fish carpaccio be slimy? Why does each main course try to mix so many discordant ingredients? Why does a cheese course (in France!) need to be turned into a soupy mass, when a few wedges would do? The kids' desserts were so disappointing that a kind waiter swept them away, largely uneaten, to replace them with chocolate crepes - but even those basics turned out to be rubbery and tasteless. To their credit, the wait staff and chef were friendly, service-minded, and trying their best. But no. Was this a Michelin star experience? Or even worth the price? Breakfast the next morning wasn't much better, with the sugary mini fromage blanc & fruit combination and the very basic bread/croissants. At least they left the cheeses alone, though. So much for the food.|||| The rooms, never the high point of this Inn, have been 'refurbished' but were smelly and noisy. Our suite was spacious and bright but smelled of stale cigarettes - and we heard every noise from the nearby guest rooms and outside, from the shower to conversations. Our kids had 2 small single rooms on the ground floor, one of which was unbearably musty and the other smelled like last year's breakfast. They tried to convince us to let them sleep on the couch in our room rather than return to their own stinky rooms. A plus point in suite's (large) bathroom was the large, comfortable bath.||||Most fortunately, the location itself remains as lovely as always, across from a beautiful old abbey and just a few minutes' stroll from the lush green woods - perfect for a morning walk after breakfast. Indeed, the location would be perfect if it weren't on some popular motorcycle rally route, creating the incongruous drone of motorcycles speeding by while one is enjoying a quiet drink at the café terrace on the corner contemplating the woods.||||Last but not least, the staff really did try. They were friendly, chatty, indulgent, and doing their best - especially with our kids' meals. But this once special place that we had so loved many years ago has lost its footing - badly - and needs a reset. Sigh.

This auberge certainly exceeded our expectations. After about three hours drive from Calais, after driving down from Cheshire, UK, we parked the car in the secure car park at the side of the hotel and dumped the bags in the room in order to unwind outside by the pleasant fountain pool. Two Aperol Spritz cocktails just hit the spot and we requested the menu in order to choose our well earned meal.. Quelle grosse surprise !!! the food was Michelin standard and simply scrumptious. The carte du vin was even more of a shock when I saw a bottle of Romanee Conti at €5900 !!! we decided not to to bother this time- maybe next - Ha ha and ordered a bottle of local red. .The room was adequate. All in all a pretty hotel, pleasant and professional staff and one to re-visit on another driving tour of west France.

We stayed as part of a large walking group. I would not recommend this hotel for a group. The bedrooms are of variable quality. There is also an additional 14 Euros charge for continental breakfast - good quality but overpriced.||The service in the restaurant was also poor one evening. We waited one hour for our first course – clearly the hotel kitchen could not cope with a not very full restaurant and front of house appeared understaffed. Wine by the glass is also priced at an exhorbitant level – 10 Euros for a moderate sized glass of house wine - twice the pro rata cost of the normal restaurant bottle so beware. Food was good rather than exceptional.||Overall we found the hotel management haughty and disinterested.||To balance the review, for those travelling individually the Granat room (names not numbers) is a delightful double aspect corner room, more of a junior suite with good sized bedroom, large wet- room type shower/his and hers basins and fine views towards the Abbey. The room also contains an expresso machine with capsules. The Auberge is also attractively set and the function room looks out onto a fine garden which is utilised for dining on warm summer evenings. The village of St Jean aux bois is beautiful.

Great! I have been coming here for about 50 years, then it was a small and very simple inn, and the annexe was the horses stable. We have been coming back every year for many years and it is just wonderful. Beautiful indoors, and the garden is fantastic. Very quiet on the edge of the forest. Great rooms, great service, a place to unwind.

This trip, our fourth or fifth, we were upgraded to Hortensia, a very attractive suite. I personally find the dark walls and plastic flooring in the bedroom corridors unappealing but the bar is cosy, usually with an open fire. The restaurant is smart with the breakfast area differentiated from the dining area. ||||We chose the gastronomic menu but requested one of the main courses to be substituted for the pigeon on the gastronomic menu. This presented no problem. We thoroughly enjoyed the nine courses, including amuse-bouches, pre-desserts etc. All were carefully chosen and presented.

We were thankful to these people to let us use a bedroom at 10 am, just got off the plane at 7 am from the US. The room was functional, not an ounce of charm. On the other hand, the restaurant was spectacular, delicious food, great service, nice setting. We would go back anytime for a meal there. Decent prices.