Restaurant Le Neoulous - Le Boulou

Some years ago my wife and I stumbled across a restaurant on the outskirts of Le Boulou, France while on our way to the Spanish Costa Brava. It was memorable for a few reasons: the pleasantly rustic ambience, a free (although not very tasty) vegetable soup to start the meal and an excellent chocolate moelleux for dessert. We also recall having had fish that matched the soup in terms of taste. Nevertheless, on our way to the Spanish Costa Brava on 1 May 2019 we decided we wanted to try the restaurant again. Unfortunately, we could not recall either the restaurant's name or precise location. We drove around for a while in vain trying to find it and had less than an hour remaining in the French lunch period that many French restaurants abide by quite strictly. Next to a roundabout just before entering/after exiting Le Boulou is the Hotel/Restaurant Le Néoulous. A quick check of reviews on Tripadvisor did not provide much promise of a good meal, but given the hour, we needed to decide to take our chances or continue into Spain, where the lunch period runs to 4 pm and, in some restaurants, even later. We knew of one restaurant, in particular, not far from our destination that is a favorite of ours for grilled ribs (see my review of Can Dolc (in San Feliu de Boada) on Tripadvisor). However, it was Wednesday when that restaurant is closed. So, we decided to take our chances at Le Néoulous. While Le Néoulous' location next to a roundabout between the autoroute exit and Le Boulou proper is neither seaside nor bucolic, Le Néoulous has the ambience of a seaside or countryside pension, with a décor that does not seem to have changed for decades. There was a set lunch consisting of salad bar, main dish, dessert and wine for less than 14 Euros. However, the basic descriptions of the fish and meat main dishes provided by the waitress were not inspiring. Also, a speciality of grilled seafood (according to the a la carte menu) was visible on another table and looked promising. So, we declined the set menu and opted to share a salad to start and the seafood platter. I had checked out the salad bar and the greens selection was not in the same time warp as the restaurant's décor. However, the base of the a la carte salad served to us was iceberg lettuce, a not fond memory from my distant youth. The few accompanying items included some sardines and small pieces of boiled potato with skin still on. Drizzled over everthing were a brownish goo of unknown origin and balsamic vinegar, a favorite of chefs, but not of mine. Overall, if not the worst salad we have ever had, it was certainly in the running. Oh, how pleased we were when the seafood platter arrived. It looked great (see photo) and had a matching taste deriving from the freshness of the seafood and the garlic and olive oil in which it had been cooked. Some of the shellfish had already cooled down and I thought the squid was a bit over done (although my wife liked it). However, notwithstanding its minor flaws, the platter more than made up for the disappointing salad. We were too full to choose from the large selection of desserts so I canot report on that course. As we departed Le Boulou, my wife and I agreed that overall our decision to stop for lunch at Le Néoulous was a good one.

Ratio quality price everything is said impeccable one can eat at the edge of the pool or outdoor terrace overlooking the mountain pleasant setting to eat

The best of surprises_Sunday, May 31 is Mother's Day in France.

Thank you for having a feast I like the good food and I enjoyed it very much thanks to the chef cuisto lamb mouse and the couscous jai believed to be at mom's house so the couscous was good

Feta salad , tab, nougat ice, a quarter rose for 13 euros the noon c is super, staff well present and professional