L'Evasion Restaurant

Free wifiLack of pillows and no power adaptersRoom had a musty smellRestaurant food not very good but inexpensive, with very slooooow service.

This was probably not a fair test as the visit was lunch for about 50 people. The service was excellent especially considering the size of the group.We had an amuse, a choice of starters, a nice lamb dish for the main & a nice dessert with homemade sorbet. All the dishes were good, but none really stood out.We'll go back with a much smaller party to give Paysanne a fairer test. Its certainly worth a try.

This is a pretty little bistro in a quiet street away from the main tourist area. Its noticeable that this restaurant soon fills up with people at lunchtime whilst the one opposite remains empty, although they have very similar menus and style. My mum, who is normally a fussy eater, thoroughly enjoyed the Tartiflette (a "sheperds pie style" dish of mashed potato, cheese and bacon/ham bits), my wife had a lovely Pounti (pork meatloaf with prunes in middle) and truffade (sauteed potatos mixed with cheese). Whilst I had a superb fillet steak donated by the local prize-winning Salers cows. Don't ask for well done steak as the chef will come and attack you with his meat cleaver - the French think...

Salers is a beautiful, if touristy town. It has many restaurants, but if you are looking for something other than the Auvergne staples of pancakes, truffade and ham the field is a lot narrower. Having checked over the menu, L'Evasion looked like it could offer something different. The set menu was slightly over 20 euros - more expensive than the competition, but more interesting. The trouble was, the starter (falafel) did not appeal to me. I asked if I could change that for one of the other starters on offer but was told very firmly that I could not mix menus. Why? If that is what makes the customer happy, then why not let them. I fully accept that I would pay more, but the waiter was not to...