Le Routard - Les Andelys

Very popular with truck drivers, this hidden gem offers a 3 course lunch for 13 Euro, including beer or wine and coffee. The appetiser is a very decent salad bar, just load up! For the main course you choose among 6 dishes. Le routard is situated below the rock on which the Chateau Gaillard overlooks the valley. (See picture). Not a fancy place, but packed with guest (both locals and truck drivers) as from 12h00 !!

We always eat here when we are at the camping opposite. No, it's not the best food in France but it's a Routiers designed for hungry truckers!!!! 12.50 euros for buffet, choice of main, choice of dessert and some wine. In France that's good value. The buffet is always well stocked we had the sauted dinde and the moules both of which were absolutely fine. Deserts tend to be fine as well. We like the owner as well who always makes us smile. All the campers we see there seem more than happy. We will go back next year as always.

We've ate in some of the more pretentious eateries in Les Andeleys and been consistently disappointed all of which have been over priced and small portions. We kept meaning to come here and made it this time. It's a routier stopping point so the main clients are lorry drivers but there's nothing wrong with that.Plus a lot of campers (like us) eat there as well. Excellent starter buffet all fresh and not drowned in mayo. Good choice of mains plus a choice of chips boiled potatoes pate or rice! Then a nice bit of cheese and a large dessert choice. Something for and wine of included at 12.50 euros. Know where we will be eating in future. All round a nice experience which I look forward to repeating.

The restaurant/hotel is called Auberge du Pont, who's website is hotel-restaurant-27.com was only one of four establishments open on a Tuesday evening in either Petit or Grand Andelys in October. Though described as cheap and rustic, it became our preferred choice as it was in walking distance and was described as Cuisine Traditionnelle within the town's fact sheet. The other establishments required using the car and offered Pizza, couscous or a curry. So we arrived at 7pm to discover that service was about to start and the bar/restaurant was surprisingly busy with ten additional covers all middle aged single men, some wearing their slippers, apart from a mother and daughter occupying one table. The most significant observation that I have not observed before in any restaurant anywhere was that no one spoke to each other at any point in time apart from giving their order or when two went outside, carafe in hand to smoke a cigarette during the meal. The only available meal was 12 euros and consisted of a selection of mixed starters including eggs, tomato and mayonnaise based mixed salads. Mains consisted of a large Andouille type sausage which contained much liver and some toughest chitterling I have ever experienced with fine frites, which whilst frozen were good. Otherwise a ducks leg was available with plain macaroni with the addition of a little butter. Service was excellent, but none were able to speak a word of English, which I did not expect, but our rather poor french was appreciated with a smile. In truth an experience.

We were looking for a place to have dinner on the last day of our vacation in France but most restaurants were closed, it being a tuesday. This restaurant is just outside the Ile de Trois Rois camping, opposite the bridge. The kind waitress explained the dishes. The adults took the 13 euro formula, which includes a starter from the salad bar, main dish (we had nice pork roast with chips), cheese and a desert. The kids just had a main dish and desert. Lots of choice and good food for amazing little money.