As regular visitors to the Chateaubriant area my wife and myself love exploring the local countryside and that usually entails searching for somewhere suitable to eat!
On a very wet and overcast Sunday in late October we had thought to visit a restaurant in the village of Villepot but opted at the last moment to travel further on up the D775 towards the town of Pouance. Driving down into the town we spotted Le Vieux Logis Restaurant - Bar.
After passing through the centre and identifying a couple of possible eateries we decided to return to the Le Vieux Logis. With ample designated free off-road parking we were able to leave the car within a few yards of the restaurant entrance.
Upon entering we were welcomed and shown to a nice table for two, where once seated, we were able to survey our surroundings. With its attractive wallpaper and beamed ceiling it provided a degree of welcoming ambience and comfort within its period environs. A long table of perhaps 15-20 diners who all seemed to be fully engaged in their meal time conversations were the only guests. However, after ourselves being seated some 6 further diners - singly and couples gradually arrived. Our estimation would be a maximum seating seating capacity to be in the region of 40-50 covers. Service was provided single handedly by a mature lady whom we found to be efficient and friendly and there were no noticeable waiting gaps as can so often happen in restaurants.
A range of choices were available with a la carte and fixed price menus. We eventually chose a 3 course menu at 15.50 euros per head. With a good selection of perhaps 5 dishes for each course we finally decided, after some deliberation, on starters of assiette de crudities and salade aux lardons chauds to be followed by main courses of faux-filet grille and cotes d`agneaux grillees. Each main course being served with an assortment of seasonal vegetables. We thought the portions to be of a generous size and the main dishes were reassuringly hot as indeed were the plates. All of the food was full of flavour and I only encountered one very small piece of gristle in my steak, which was otherwise cooked `a point' as per my request.
The desserts of creme brulee were just right and the meal ended with an expresso coffee.
Having recently encountered a couple of Police road blocks we decided to exercise a degree of caution and chose only a half bottle of St. Nicholas Bourgueil Rose wine to accompany our lunch and this adequately served its purpose.
Including a gratuity the whole meal cost less than 50 euros and this we thought represented excellent value for money.
In conclusion, a worthwhile choice of venue and a restaurant that we plan to revisit in the months ahead.