Auverse is on the main (but not Autoroute) road between Angers and Tours and boasts two restaurants, facing each other across the road. We have already reviewed the Oeil de Boeuf, so this time it was the turn of Le Relais. This is very much a lorry truck stop, and as well as a restaurant, is also a bar and tabac, so you can get ciggies and lottery tickets there too.
We went on August 19th - a hot, sunny day, when the Oeil de Boeuf was closed and it was heaving - I have never seen waiting staff work so hard over a lunch period. We turned up at about 12:45 and were seated in the bar area (as my two lunch companions were large and took up too much standing space in an intimidating fashion as both are over 6 foot tall)). Our unusual placement was a disadvantage in the end, but I will come on to that.
There is was a buffet of starters, and very good they were too - nice eggs, good mayonnaise and a very fine herring salad among other things. The choice was a bit limited due to the number of people who had been through before us. For main, there was a choice of veal with carrots, grilled gammon and steak, and with a choice of side order too. Two of us went for the gammon and one for the steak, all with chips. This took about 40 minutes to arrive (probably due to table placement and the numbers of people, including a party of pensioners), but was good when it all arrived. There was then a small cheese board of well kept cheeses and finally a choice of flavours of cornetto style ice cream cones. There was wine and water with the meal and coffee after, and the waitress did not bat an eyelid about the need for milk with one of the coffees. It was 11,50 Euros all in per head.
The food was good and simple and the staff very pleasant, but note that it gets full quickly (lorries park up from 11:30am). Somewhere we need to try again, when it is not so rushed!
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Posted by: sf food tours | 27 September 2013 at 09:59 AM