Dali restaurant, Collioure

Anita & Peter · Post by **Anita & Peter** » Thu 22 Oct 2009 13:22

Having eaten here on Tuesday lunchtime, we would be grateful for any other feedback.

We were taken there by friends who had eaten the lunchtime menu in August. We arrived at 12.45 and opted for the 18€ set menu. We had anchovy salad and a tomato tartare, which were pleasant enough, followed by salmon and magret of duck. The salmon was overcooked and hard as were the two accompanying prawns and two out of the three duck were well over medium at one end. We debated whether or not to say anything but decided as there was only one waiter and the place was busy (the weather had begun to deteriorate) that we would say nothing. Our friend commented to the waiter that it was busy that day. He said it was busy everyday. It felt as though the food had been sitting on the pass for too long.

We then waited and waited for our dessert order to be taken. During this time, now well passed 2.00 people were still coming in and being served.
Eventually we ordered and waited, and waited. In the meantime other customers were served and given their bills having ordered desserts after us. At 2.40 we told the waiter that we had only quarter of an hour left on our parking meter and that we had to leave. We still did not get our bill as
other people were being served meals and coffee was being made. We had now been in the restaurant 2 hours without getting to the pudding. We then had to go and went to the till , to be presented with the bill for the full 18€. When we questioned this we were told in no uncertain terms that "you English are all the same", that it was not a fast food restaurant (too true), and that if we did not pay the bill in full then the police would be called, at which point he picked up the phone. When we suggested that he do just that the chef appeared and after some argy bargy we had 2€ taken off the bill. We left quite upset and with a bad taste in our mouths.

Having returned to England in the gales yesterday, we fould that the Dali is rated number 1 restaurant in Collioure on Trip Advisor. We have every sympathy for waiters, our son was one for a time. We are generous and forgiving when things go wrong. What we felt there was arrogance and distain for being English.

Was it just a bad day all round? Has anyone out there any experience of this place before we add a review on trip advisor?

sue and paul · Post by **sue and paul** » Thu 22 Oct 2009 13:32

Sounds horrific, and we certainly won't be trying it out.

All a bit surreal, you could say.......

Roger O · Post by **Roger O** » Thu 22 Oct 2009 14:33

Kate could check it out and mention it in her Les Templiers speech!!
... il y a un resto anglophobe à Collioure..

thumbelina · Post by **thumbelina** » Thu 22 Oct 2009 14:35

lol - quite right, Rog!

Sounds like a horrible experience!

Poor you!

I'm like Sue - will be giving it a wide berth now!!!

opas · Post by **opas** » Thu 22 Oct 2009 14:35

Could be worth a visit just for the desert menu at 50c per portion, cheaper than a box of ice cream from lidl

So you didn`t leave a tip then

Roger O · Post by **Roger O** » Thu 22 Oct 2009 15:00

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/mba0036l.jpg
course, you could ask him to "sort them out"!!

Anita & Peter · Post by **Anita & Peter** » Thu 22 Oct 2009 21:34

Thanks for the comments. Part of our reason for asking for feedback is that we don't want to be unfair to the establishment if this was just a bad day at the office. Having said that the experience for us was horrendous.

Marguerite & Steve · Post by **Marguerite & Steve** » Thu 22 Oct 2009 22:37

Thanks for sharing that with us...this is what we need to know..

Benoit · Post by **Benoit** » Tue 08 Dec 2009 22:29

I have mixed feelings about the Dali. My daughter and I had a great dining experience when we were there in April -- but when we returned in August my wife had a less than great experience. She believed the waiter had "issues with women" and felt he was rude to her. Quite the opposite when we were there earlier (sans femme). The food was excellent both times, and the service timely both times. I like the Dali (good food, good prices, good location) but will be alert to any perceived snubbing.

Anita & Peter · Post by **Anita & Peter** » Wed 09 Dec 2009 09:30

Then perhaps any English or women should be wary when eating here (from an Englishwoman!)?

john · Post by **john** » Wed 09 Dec 2009 11:08

Anita & Peter wrote:Having returned to England in the gales yesterday, we fould that the Dali is rated number 1 restaurant in Collioure on Trip Advisor. Was it just a bad day all round? Has anyone out there any experience of this place before we add a review on trip advisor?

Anita,I use Trip advisor quite a bit,but only for hotels.

Generally I've found that their ratings for hotels are very fair and pretty much spot -on nearly all the time.

But that doesn't seem to be the case with restaurants. I've been to highly rated TA restaurants and been very disappointed,yet visited ones with very low ranking that have been superb. There seems to be no correlation at all; As you say restaurants can vary from day to day,but ,I suppose,with hotels they stay the same quality(or not!) for longer.

Overall,we very rarely eat in Collioure,as we've yet to find a place there that has tthe same quality /vfm ratio as several in Port Vendres or elsewhere.

Roger O · Post by **Roger O** » Wed 09 Dec 2009 11:54

Normally we don't eat main meals when we visit Collioure.
Though we do regularly take light(ish) snacks at Annaïck's!
http://www.creperiebretonne.com/P_Crepe ... ioure.html
Mostly "complete" or "superiere" avec deux pichons de cidre extra brut.
Once a breton(ne) always a breton(ne)!!

Anita & Peter · Post by **Anita & Peter** » Wed 09 Dec 2009 12:17

Niether do we normally eat in Collioure preferring Port Vendres too, but this was at the recommendation of our now dissillusioned friends.

I agree with Roger about the merits of the creperie for a snack.

BTW, I checked with trip advisor yesterday and found that the rankings for the Dali had slipped, maybe a reflection on the small number of reviews?

CareZer · Post by **CareZer** » Tue 02 Mar 2010 06:41

Thanks for relating us your experience in Dali. I heard a lot about that restaurant but now i know, I will be having two thoughts in going there for some experience or not anymore. How about the other restaurants nearby that one?Anyone who could at least give some over view?. Plainfield Dining

Serge · Post by **Serge** » Tue 02 Mar 2010 08:41

Anita & Peter wrote:"you English are all the same"

That's a bit arrogant from someone in the service industry in a town that is heavily reliant on tourists ..............they won't be benefitting from our Euro either!

Roger O · Post by **Roger O** » Tue 02 Mar 2010 12:41

Load o' differences between a Geordie, a Londoner and a Cornishman... er

Like saying "you French are all the same" incorporating a Chti, a Parisian and a Catalan under the same label!

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