Finding a restaurant with an honest kitchen and a chef that cooks with his heart always makes me happy. Especially when you’re not expecting it. When the family and I were looking for a bite to eat in Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, we entered Restaurant des Potiers by good fortune. The familial ambience immediately made us feel at home.
Creative village
Walking through the streets of Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie will make you understand why it is called France’s ceramic capital. Many potters run their workshops from this creative village. Their shop windows show beautifully handmade art pieces. When passing an open door, I glanced inside to see a statue of a couple waiting to get served with a giant set of cutlery above their table. A window further, a ceramic cat sitting in the window frame drew the kids’ attention. Curiously, we looked inside to see tables dressed in vivid red tablecloths. This wasn’t an artist’s workshop; it was a restaurant!
Ceramic art
The rustic interior of the Restaurant des Potiers, separated into two dining rooms, has ceramic art dotted around. When the weather allows it, you can also sit outside on the terrace in the back. The chef and his team take great care in spoiling their guests with traditional homecooked food. Therefore, the menu only offers two choices per starter and main course and four dessert options. However, the choice is easily made when you know the food you get is freshly prepared. And because the chef cooks with local produce and ingredients he gets from the market, they propose a new menu three times a week.
Plentiful
Chéri and I ordered the full menu, including three courses for 29.50 euros, while the children had only a main course and dessert. Therefore, Chéri and I started (and shared) a simple cauliflower soup and a puff pastry parcel on a bed of salad. Then the main courses arrived: four plates stacked with a very generous portion of veal ribs prepared à la Milanese for Chéri and the kids. I could hardly see them behind their plates! I had a more elegant fillet of a fish called Saint-Pierre (I think it translates as John Dory in English), served on burrata-filled ravioli. Even after the plentiful main dish, Chéri and the kids all wanted dessert, and so did I. As the set menu didn’t include the lemon meringue pie, Chéri and I swapped with the twin’s chocolate fondant that was included, while Oldest enjoyed a nougat glacé. Everyone was happy!
