The whole staff here - never mind the ginger lady are mad as a box of frogs !
It’s fantastic
It’s fantastic
La boucle française de 6 jours
- Thread starter JonnyBravo
- Start date
I stopped in that very hotel on my way back from Belgium the other week.Fantastic varied riding and roads today in blazing sunshine the whole day
A high of 28 !!!
Just outstanding for the end of September.
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Arrived at the final hotel and what a place it is
My sincere thanks to Grantmac for the recommendation
Great welcome at reception and the bike parking is second to none.
I’m not saying it’s a big garage but that’s a K1600 hiding in there !
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Looking forward to dinner but for now, having a few cheeky beers in the town square which is really buzzing with locals enjoying the beer, weather and their Sunday.
It’s a nice town
Montreuil sur mer
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The missus is drinking Lupulus (?) with fruit in it !
Food was delicious and the restaurant staff great crack. Watch out for the cheese trolley!
I managed to turn my bike round inside that garage
Gout ?
You need more Port to get rid of that.
I read it in the internet …….
You need more Port to get rid of that.
I read it in the internet …….
Where on earth do we begin……..
The staff are just so exceptional and fun.
Credit where it is due and they switch from French to English and rightly take the piss with a smile when needed.
Taking pictures of food is childish - but I am as bad as most others when what you have been served deserves maximum credit.
Started on veal carpaccio and for the wife - a quite something else of courgette and goats cheese.
Mains were duck cooked two ways () and for the missus a quite amazing pork steak with celeriac
Then the fun began …..
The cheese trolley - there are no words to describe the tastes on offer and it’s all very interactive and fun.
Especially as apparently most reject the Swiss cheese offering out of hand immediately
Then, just as you can’t think it can get any better, you ask for a cognac and the brandy wagon arrives !!!!
Come here, stay and enjoy - bring the missus. Enjoy life
There is no better place I have ever visited for food, fun and France.
The staff are just so exceptional and fun.
Credit where it is due and they switch from French to English and rightly take the piss with a smile when needed.
Taking pictures of food is childish - but I am as bad as most others when what you have been served deserves maximum credit.
Started on veal carpaccio and for the wife - a quite something else of courgette and goats cheese.
Mains were duck cooked two ways (
) and for the missus a quite amazing pork steak with celeriac Then the fun began …..
The cheese trolley - there are no words to describe the tastes on offer and it’s all very interactive and fun.
Especially as apparently most reject the Swiss cheese offering out of hand immediately
Then, just as you can’t think it can get any better, you ask for a cognac and the brandy wagon arrives !!!!
Come here, stay and enjoy - bring the missus. Enjoy life
There is no better place I have ever visited for food, fun and France.
If you get a cheese course in the UK it will invariably contain some Brie, Camembert or other loose French rubbish. But do we ever get a nice bit of Cheddar in France? Never!!
Thank God for Brexit.
As for expensive wine: I made a minor mistake in Arbois (Logis Hotel Les Caudalies) earlier this year of letting the Sommelier (a MOF, no less) choose appropriate glasses of Savagnin and vin jaune to accompany my meal. 50 Euros for two glasses, and vin jaune is not to everyone's taste(!) but the meal was spectacular.
Never trust an amateur sommelier. They will always go for the expensive ones as they think you will appreciate. A top sommelier will ask you about your tastes, they already know what you have ordered, and then they will make a recommendation….
I stopped in that very hotel on my way back from Belgium the other week.
Food was delicious and the restaurant staff great crack. Watch out for the cheese trolley!
I managed to turn my bike round inside that garage
It’s an amazing place. Since I discovered it by accident in May 2025 when I needed to do a weekend trip to France to put miles on my new GSA. We have been back 8 times in 18 months both on the bike and with the Missus. Favourite place
Where on earth do we begin……..
The staff are just so exceptional and fun.
Credit where it is due and they switch from French to English and rightly take the piss with a smile when needed.
Taking pictures of food is childish - but I am as bad as most others when what you have been served deserves maximum credit.
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Started on veal carpaccio and for the wife - a quite something else of courgette and goats cheese.
Mains were duck cooked two ways (
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Then the fun began …..
The cheese trolley - there are no words to describe the tastes on offer and it’s all very interactive and fun.
Especially as apparently most reject the Swiss cheese offering out of hand immediately
View attachment 542225
Then, just as you can’t think it can get any better, you ask for a cognac and the brandy wagon arrives !!!!
View attachment 542226View attachment 542227
Come here, stay and enjoy - bring the missus. Enjoy life
There is no better place I have ever visited for food, fun and France.
Sooo glad you enjoyed. As said we drive 550 km for a weekend to enjoy the food and then stay the night. Excellent service. The tall bloke at reception is brilliant and speaks amazing English. He runs the hotel and the ginger lady the restaurant. Open kitchen so you can see them cooking. Our favourite table is in the corner next to the fireplace. Cheese trolley is amazing and dangerous…. I love their cheese. And as you say all mad especially the short ginger lady. But for us this is our favourite restaurant ….
Back in 3 weeks with the Missus
Great parking as well. Almost as good as the IBIS St Omer
Safe trip home and maybe we meet someday at this same place
We go every 3 months.
“Back” from Belgium??I stopped in that very hotel on my way back from Belgium the other week.
Food was delicious and the restaurant staff great crack. Watch out for the cheese trolley!
I managed to turn my bike round inside that garage
Not trying to be pedantic but back from Belgium is a bit strange unless you were heading south… Belgium is a good bit north from Montreuil sur Mer…
I live in Ireland“Back” from Belgium??
Not trying to be pedantic but back from Belgium is a bit strange unless you were heading south… Belgium is a good bit north from Montreuil sur Mer…
To be fair, Montreuil was 30 minutes past Boulogne, but I’d read good things about the hotel here, and had fond memories of the town from one of my very first independent visits to France.
I’ll be back, even if just for the chariot de fromages
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What an epic tour of France, just as it should be....I used to go over in the early 2000`s regularly, always Logis hotels off the beaten tracks...Food usually top notch and plenty of weirdo`s....Just how I like it.
Thanks for the memories and thanks for the write up, bloody brilliant.
Thanks for the memories and thanks for the write up, bloody brilliant.
Perhaps he was catching the ferry back to Ireland from Cherbourg rather than riding through England and Wales“Back” from Belgium??
Not trying to be pedantic but back from Belgium is a bit strange unless you were heading south… Belgium is a good bit north from Montreuil sur Mer…
Done - home - accompli !
Approx 1600 miles or 2500 km’s done.
One to remember.
Thanks for listening.
Approx 1600 miles or 2500 km’s done.
One to remember.
Thanks for listening.
Routes maybe of use to
Very definitely NOT an amateur sommelier! He did indeed quiz us about our preferences, explained about the wines (esp the vin jaune) at length and knew what we'd ordered. I'd been advised by an experienced and qualified wine taster (Stolzy, for those that remember him) that we needed to try the two types of wine mentioned. The sommelier chose them and while it wasn't cheap, there were far more expensive wines he could have chosen from their wine list, which ran to 40-odd pages.
A MOF Sommelier is a wine expert who holds the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman of France) title in the sommelier category. [1, 2]
About the Title
- The Award: The M.O.F. is a unique and elite competition held in France every few years. It recognizes master craftspeople across various trades, from gastronomy to craftsmanship.
- The Sommelier Category: Testing includes rigorous practical and theoretical exams on wine service, blind tastings, food pairings, geography, and ampelography (grapevine identification). [1, 2, 3]
- Distinction: Winning the title makes a sommelier one of the absolute elite in the profession. For example, Pascaline Lepeltier famously became the first woman to earn the M.O.F. title in the sommelier category
Then the fun began …..
The cheese trolley - there are no words to describe the tastes on offer and it’s all very interactive and fun.
Especially as apparently most reject the Swiss cheese offering out of hand immediately
View attachment 542225
Then, just as you can’t think it can get any better, you ask for a cognac and the brandy wagon arrives !!!!
Come here, stay and enjoy - bring the missus. Enjoy life
There is no better place I have ever visited for food, fun and France.
2026 Spain and France - rotojo
World's biggest cheese trolley. They had Chaource.
rotojo.smugmug.com
2026 Spain and France - rotojo
World's biggest cheese trolley. They had Chaource.
rotojo.smugmug.com
Above link to the cheese trolley in Les Caudalies, Arbois. More cheese than you could shake a stick at, the girl driving it (daughter of the owners, I think) knew everything about every cheese, and you could have a bit of everything if you wanted. If I'd known of the extent of the cheese trolley, I would have ordered less of a meal and filled up on cheese!
I always think cheese on holiday is like wine on holiday; tastes amazing there, but when you buy some to have at home it's never quite the same. But the Chaource we had there was the best cheese I've ever had.
Great write up JonnyBravo 
I particularly like the detail on the hotels & the food. It's hard to beat France for good grub
I particularly like the detail on the hotels & the food. It's hard to beat France for good grub
indeed..... I missed the MOF part....
When were you in Arborfield JonnyAfter a fine breakfast of French bread, brioche, strawberry and apricot jams all made right there in the kitchen with a few eggs off we go in the sunshine
The D roads can be a little straight today initially at least around this area but I don’t mind them - and no sooner had we set off, we passed the small village of Siracourt which has a V1 launch site.
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Bunker
I also saw a sign point north with Hazebrouck on it - flash backs to army basic training a lifetime ago as it was the name of our Barracks in Arborfield.
Onwards past Louverval - with signs for the 7 Victoria crosses awarded near there, the missing 7000+ soldiers never found and the Cambrai memorial.
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The lack of cafes in rural France is quite prevalent and sad but the Arches seem to be everywhere.
At least the coffee is passable and proof in the car park that Clive Sinclair was well ahead of the game.
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Quick shot of the bike - almost 2 years to the day since I was in the exact same spot on my GSA in route to Slovenia.
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It’s baking (again!!) high of 28 today and glorious sunshine.
I am absolutely not complaining !!
Next stop the National Monument - Verdun
missus has never been around here and the scale always makes an impression.
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Then into the hotel - small and tucked out of the way. Hostess is very friendly and speaks great English.
Must be the time of the year but this place is also very quiet.
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Basic rooms but the food is fantastic. Or it was last time I was here !
Looking forward to another terrific meal tonight.
Time for a succulent dusty or two - as my 18yr old lad would say !
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