Ministry of Foodies Review
Cuisine: French
Average price per person: 60€
Environment: 6.5/10
Food: 9/10
Service: 5.5/10
Other: Buffet
Website: https://www.lesgrandsbuffets.com/
Through this review, we will move from Madrid to a French town close to the Spanish borders.
Les Grands Buffets is located in a small French town called Narbonne. Despite it being small and not as popular as other bigger cities it has become a popular destination among foodies. The reason – Les Grands Buffets.
Les Grands Buffets has become such a well-known establishment that if you want to plan a visit ahead of time, you will likely need to book at least 6 months prior to your trip. The buffet is a luxurious feast and holds a Guinness World record for the variety of cheeses available, with 111 different options.
My friends and I decided to organize a trip in the South part of France with the main purpose, a visit to the buffet.
Les Grands Buffets – Location/Environment
Les Grands Buffets is located right outside Narbonne in a large complex that includes some sport facilities and swimming pools (unrelated to the buffet). On the outside it is almost as you are visiting a mall.
The internal is very posh almost reminds you the internal of a palace with high ceilings, formal tables and the staff dressed in suits. There are 3 different rooms all of them slightly different but with a similar design.
Nevertheless, this advertised luxury and exlusivity that is underlined through a dress code (although basic one) and instructions on how to fully enjoy the experience are completely opposite to some of the elements you actually encounter when you are seated.
We visited at the beginning of August for dinner and the place had a large number of families with little kids which completely contradicts the sense of luxury. Kids are everywhere, standing in the middle of a very busy buffet space obstructing dinners from enjoying the experience. In addition, there is no restriction to the age of children that are admitted. That resulted in a baby crying almost non-stop for an hour at the table right behind us during our dinner.
Unfortunately, you cannot advertise luxury and exclusivity and have a room with kids everywhere and babies crying next to you. To top things off during our visit, the air conditioning seemed to be off or operating at a temperature that made the whole Ann Carrington room where we dined uncomfortably hot.
Les Grands Buffets – Service
Some parts of the service also left a lot to be desired. Both Google and Les Grands Buffets’ website noted that the buffet is open until 21.15. Knowing that there might be a queue we arrived a little earlier and we went through the pub. We grabbed a drink which allowed us to get a pass, skip the queue, and get right to our table.
One of our friends decided to come last minute and was not included in the reservation. Knowing full well that he might not get in since we received multiple emails that the reservation could not be modified, we still asked the person at the entrance. We were told that there was no space and we could wait in case a table opened up. When we noted that the buffet was supposed to close at 21.15 and it was already 20.00, meaning if we waited we could lose our table the person told us there was nothing they could do. Our friend went back to the pub to wait and we were seated.
Since there were a lot of options we wanted to try and plenty of people around, we were really rushing to get our food, bearing in mind that the buffet closes at 21.15. However, we saw people being seated even after 20.30 which clearly made it impossible for the place to close 45 minutes later. A few minutes later one of the waiters told us that there was a table opening up right behind us for our friend. When we enquired about the closing time we were told that the restaurant was actually closing on midnight.
This was not communicated to us properly and made our whole experience rushed and forced so we could finish our meal within the allotted time. I assume that the actual closing time was not communicated because the staff wants guests to finish their meals as soon as possible allowing them to sit those waiting outside without a reservation.
I found this practice misleading and completely untransparent. For the record we left around 22.30 and people were still eating and queuing in the buffet to grab food.
On the positive side, both our servers were very pleasant and although their English was limited, they tried to communicate the best way they could.
Les Grands Buffets – Food
The food was the part that everyone in my group liked. Even for mass production, the quality was high, there was a lot of variety, and several stations that prepared dishes upon request.
The highlight that everyone is obviously talking about is the wide variety of cheeses. With 111 varieties, all the cheeses had a small card next to them explaining the characteristics and their names. Very impressive and we all enjoyed trying the different cheese options as well as a wide variety of cold cuts.
Another impressive part of the buffet was the seafood, with crab, lobster, shrimp, caviar, oysters, salmon, and a variety of other dishes. I recomment the delicious aioli that was served by the spoonful. Alternatively try the in-house made mayonnaise with different flavors such as tarragon.
There were also different varieties of stews, potatoes, and vegetables as well as local delicacies such as frog legs. The fois gras station included interesting combinations like crème brûlée fois gras which was delicious.
Among the meat stations, one prepared a wide variety of classic French fish or meat dishes. There was another only serving Canard au Sang (Rouennaise Duckling), and finally one with prime meat cuts.
Finally a large dessert selection with all the French staples, a station that was making Crêpes Suzette upon request, and a small ice cream “shop”.
There was also a wide variety of very good wines you could order with your meal for an additional charge which was great value for money.
Conclusion
Overall the food was worth the visit and it really lived up to the expectations. However, the environment is not exactly what was advertised and in addition, the policies appear to be misleading on purpose. Knowing what I know now, I might visit again but organize differently. Considering their approach to the customer I would not organize a trip just for this purpose again (despite only being a 5-hour train ride from Madrid).
Visit: August 2024