Au Coeur de Meaulne -
20/22 Place de L'église
03360 Meaulne
Tel: 04 70 06 20 30
Website:

This is small family run hotel restaurant on the edge of the Troncas forest. The village is quiet and the location ideal for a peaceful stop. I dined in the back garden under a spreading chestnut tree. There were several Brits trekking from north to south and vice versa and this seems a good stop being about 5 hours from Calais. It took me 3 hours from CDG.
I arrived here after a fast drive from CDG in order to watch the Grand Prix; my plane had been delayed so I was marginally stressed. I admittedly arrived in the middle of a busy lunch service and madame boss curtly informed me the check in was 3pm. But she relented and saw I got a room immediately.
The rooms are adequate rather than luxury but at Euros 51 that is what one expects: clean and bright with an adequate bathroom.
The dinner in its idyllic location left me with mixed emotions. After 14 hours in an aluminium tube from South East Asia it was great to sit outside and enjoy the green and the birds, but the food itself whilst inventive did not quite reach my expectations.
I opted for the Euros 50 menu and started with rilletes de saumon aux écrevisses et salade d'asperges à l' orange at au poivre vert. This was a good dish well presented with plenty of inventive decoration as well a good dollop of mousse served on asparagus with a fresh water crayfish decorating the plate. That I understood and it looked good, so I was less certain what the salami slices were doing. It may have appeared impressive but was in my mind a little OTT.
For mains Filet mignon de porc et ses escalopes de foie gras de canard et ris de veau poelées was also an immensely complex dish with lots of detail including the carefully stuffed potatoes that were scooped out and then filled with potatoes à la crème. The meat mix of well cooked pork fillet, duck foie gras (over cooked to my mind) and sweet breads really did not work for me. I dislike criticising because I appreciate a great deal of work and thought had gone into the first two courses but I sort of felt Patrick was trying to re-invent the wheel. The final two courses were a good cheese board and crème brulée.
Karin, Patrick's wife, did the waiting and flitted around seeing all was right; she seemed to have forgiven me for my early arrival. And as the sun went down we chatted and relaxed.
This is a young couple trying hard to make living in a hard business. There is no doubt they both work hard and they have considerable talent.
Au Coeur de Meaulne is certainly worth a visit but maybe stay with the tried and trusted dishes if you want to avoid any bumps!

Au Coeur de Meaulne -
20/22 Place de L'église
03360 Meaulne
Tel: 04 70 06 20 30
Website:

This is small family run hotel restaurant on the edge of the Troncas forest. The village is quiet and the location ideal for a peaceful stop. I dined in the back garden under a spreading chestnut tree. There were several Brits trekking from north to south and vice versa and this seems a good stop being about 5 hours from Calais. It took me 3 hours from CDG.
I arrived here after a fast drive from CDG in order to watch the Grand Prix; my plane had been delayed so I was marginally stressed. I admittedly arrived in the middle of a busy lunch service and madame boss curtly informed me the check in was 3pm. But she relented and saw I got a room immediately.
The rooms are adequate rather than luxury but at Euros 51 that is what one expects: clean and bright with an adequate bathroom.
The dinner in its idyllic location left me with mixed emotions. After 14 hours in an aluminium tube from South East Asia it was great to sit outside and enjoy the green and the birds, but the food itself whilst inventive did not quite reach my expectations.
I opted for the Euros 50 menu and started with rilletes de saumon aux écrevisses et salade d'asperges à l' orange at au poivre vert. This was a good dish well presented with plenty of inventive decoration as well a good dollop of mousse served on asparagus with a fresh water crayfish decorating the plate. That I understood and it looked good, so I was less certain what the salami slices were doing. It may have appeared impressive but was in my mind a little OTT.
For mains Filet mignon de porc et ses escalopes de foie gras de canard et ris de veau poelées was also an immensely complex dish with lots of detail including the carefully stuffed potatoes that were scooped out and then filled with potatoes à la crème. The meat mix of well cooked pork fillet, duck foie gras (over cooked to my mind) and sweet breads really did not work for me. I dislike criticising because I appreciate a great deal of work and thought had gone into the first two courses but I sort of felt Patrick was trying to re-invent the wheel. The final two courses were a good cheese board and crème brulée.
Karin, Patrick's wife, did the waiting and flitted around seeing all was right; she seemed to have forgiven me for my early arrival. And as the sun went down we chatted and relaxed.
This is a young couple trying hard to make living in a hard business. There is no doubt they both work hard and they have considerable talent.
Au Coeur de Meaulne is certainly worth a visit but maybe stay with the tried and trusted dishes if you want to avoid any bumps!