Restaurant L'Absinthe - Saint Malo

The restaurant was nice and calm. The waiters were welcoming and accommodating. The price is a little bit expensive for what we experienced but not excessive. The starter was very nice. The fish was good too. The lamb chop dish was not impressive. It was okay but nothing special about it. The worse part was one out of 3 lamp chops was very very very very dry and hard. It seems like it was reheated multiple times. You can see on the photo how it looks very different from the other 2. Worst part of the meal was the dessert. The center was frozen hard rock (frozen cream, it was disgusting in the mouth). Worst than that was the caramel was burnt black and was extremely bitter. 2 stars for the place and the service. It was an okay experience but I don’t think I will come back.

A true french experience if you like fish. The food was excellent with surprising taste and lots of details and the service also made us enjoy our dining more. The presentation was aesthetically pleasing and the portions were perfect if you enjoy a three course meal without feeling too full. I highly recommend the saint pierre fish and the raspberry pavlova.

Amazing experience from the beginning to the end. Service is professional and human. Food was great, an excellent "quasi de veau", everything contains an element of surprise inside a good choice of products and tastes. Wine pairing was not what I expected but still a nice addition to a perfect dinner.

A truly wonderful dining experience A very attractive setting in the first floor and basement of an older building. Walls a mix of beams, columns and arches of wood in a slate grey stain with walls of stacked flat stone. Lighting gave a warm ambiance. Wait staff was attentive, timely and very well versed in the menu and wine selections. We started with a bottle of Bordeaux and the wonderful house baked whole wheat baguette and creamy butter. The appetizers were excellent! Monkfish Gravlax was slightly salty and herby with kaffir line oil and a fresh salad of orange and grapefruit supremes for sweet, acid bite and balance. Beef Tataki was thin, rate strips of seared beef with julienned carrots, zucchini and pickled daikon radish. All in a great teriyaki sauce. Both wonderful mix of flavors. Mains were equally impressive. A saddle of lamb Ballontine style - a stuffing of breadcrumbs, aromatic vegetables with a thyme laced au jus. Sides of carrots and broccoli and sliced potatoes. The lamb was perfectly pink with the moist, flavorful filling. Croaker Rossini Style was a skin-on portion seared crisp with a Rossini sauce (rich deglaze of fish pan juices and Madeira) poured over the fish and a seared slice of foie gras. A flavorful risotto al dente with steamed vegetables. All merged together wonderfully. The dessert was called the Rock - a scoop of praline chocolate mousse with a heart of caramel and peanuts in a dark chocolate ganache shell with fluer de sel ice cream beside. Oh, so decadent! Be warned, you must order before your meal starts as it takes 45 minutes of prepare this masterpiece! A truly wonderful dining experience! Suggest you make reservations.

We spent two weeks in France, one in Paris and one in Normandy and visited many fabulous restaurants (one being a Michelin) and we must admit, our meal at L’Absinthe was our favorite. We chose the wine/meal pairing menu for lunch and every course along with the wine was perfect! The plates were not only beautifully prepared but also delicious. If you’re in Saint Malo we highly recommend that you visit!

Exceptional cuisine and execution. The melon and ham, while simple, introduced a world of complexity when presented with the stone-fruit compote and balsamic reduction. The duck breast was expertly seared and plated with care. The star of the show, however, was the ceremonial service of my glass of absinthe, done in the ancient style, complete with dripping fountain and spoon. I thought such a practice had been abandoned a century ago. It was fun to re-live those times, if not for a night.

Nice designed restaurant and tasty food. There’s no chance if you don’t make reservation. In general good experience but have to point out: - Long waiting time for each course (after 9pm) - Paired wine sometimes forgotten/served late; - My main dish is cold with dry pasta (waiter professionally apologized but instead of serving a new one, they just heated it up - noodle even more dry) We didn’t make a drama because I am really hungry and I don’t want to wait again. - Didn’t receive Amuse-bouche (maybe it’s different in the north) We still give 4 star because food is really tasty and we want to help the restaurant to improve rather than only complaining.

Very disappointed by their 59€ menu. Overpriced for food pairings that weren’t great. For this price we could’ve gotten much better food elsewhere!!! The entrée oyster was marinated and too sour, pairing with sour marinated vegetable was not a good idea. I could only finish 1/4 of the dish. The fish was tender and delicious. The cheese plate was good. The risotto that came with scallops was way too soft and watery. Dessert was just cut up fruit with an overly sweet sauce. Although the service was very friendly, it was very slow. It took us 4+ hours to finish dinner because there was a group of 40 that night.

We spent two weeks in France, one in Paris and one in Normandy and visited many fabulous restaurants (one being a Michelin) and we must admit, our meal at L'Absinthe was our favorite. We chose the wine/meal pairing menu for lunch and every course along with the wine was perfect! The plates were not only beautifully prepared but also delicious. If you're in Saint Malo we highly recommend that you visit!

What a great place to grab a quick drink, bartender was very friendly the bathroom was incredibly clean..

Great menu, super friendly staff and delicious foods off the main drag in St. Malo. Totally worth getting somewhat lost to find it, and like all restaurants that aren't in the main square, they have to work harder at being great ... and they do. Make sure to order dessert!

Terrible aggressive servers/owner. There are a lot of negative reviews that go into detail, you should not ignore them, the service was shockingly bad and the owner doesn't deserve patronage. We dine out a lot and I have never felt compelled to leave a negative review, but this was by far the worst dining experience I have ever had. No amount of good food would have made up for how awful the server and owner were. The best thing we ate were bagel bites with salmon cream cheese... not exactly gastronomic, or worth the price. It's sad because the building is gorgeous and the restaurant could be something special, but I can't and won't support businesses who berate their customers when they point out that their experience isn't going well. There are a lot of really wonderful restaurants in Saint-Malo (there are 2 restaurants just doors down from this one that are fabulous), my recommendation would be to go anywhere but here.

We had such a spectacular meal here! Charmingly decorated, well plated, ample portions, good service...and mind-blowing food! You'll pay well to eat here, but it's worth it.

THe food was fine, but the service was horrific. I've never been treated so badly by anyone. We found a pin in our bread and our main course was incorrect, which meant my husband ate his entire meal while I waited for mine. When we asked to be compensated for the ruined meal, the waiter got physically aggressive with us, shoving my husband against a wall and threatening to call the police. I was completely disgusted by their attitude and would recommend steering clear of the crazy people there.

Absinthe was one of the best restaurants we've been to in France. We were a party of nine w five kids. They sat us early and were very attentive. The wait staff was excellent. The adults had the "menu" of the day (Mille feuille de tomate, merlu, tartine). Kids had a combination. Everything was prepared to the highest standards, and very fresh!!

The food: excellent! We got a salmon rillette which was perfect. Next I had gravlax which was just as good (perfect). The main course was "catch of the day", which was Saint Pierre (John Dory), this was just good, a slightly lower level than the gravlax. Desert: feuille à feuille with banana (very good). This was a €36 menu, and my girlfriend struggled to finish it. I was glad to help ;) The service was a bit too informal for me, it got in the way and made ordering a little bit uneasy. I don't need to hear I made an excellent choice every time I order something. The place was completely filled, so making a reservation is recommended. Highly recommended!