We were in Pontorson on a Sunday evening. To be fair, there are not many restaurants open for Sunday dinner, but the Relais Montais was so we looked at the menu which was in the window. Among the pizzas and tagines, I was pleased to see "Sea Bass with Scallops" which I liked the sound off, and my wife fancied a steak, so in we went.I have spent a lot of time and France, and I speak the language fairly well. I ordered Fois Gras as a starter for both of us, and the Sea Bass for me, and a steak with chips and french beans for my wife. So far, so good.About 15 minutes later the waiter brought the starters and put them in front of us. As he placed them, he told me that there was no sea bass, so I would have to choose something else. He didn't bring the menu back, presumably he expected me to choose from memory. Eventually he did bring a menu and reluctantly I chose seafood tagliatelle. We ate the starters (which were ok), and waited for the mains. When the mains arrived, it was the seafood tagliatelle as ordered for me, and steak chips and an oil-covered salad for my wife. He tried to dump the plates and get away, but I called him back and asked why this was not as we ordered. He replied that they had no more french beans so had given my wife salad instead. They apparently did not think it necessary to mention this to us before delivering it to the table.The lady who I believe to be the owner came eventually to clear our plates, and asked if we wanted desserts. In an effort to salvage something from the meal we said that we would both have the crème brûlée, to which she replied that they had none. Did we want ice-cream? I asked to see the menu, which I remembered listed quite a few interesting desserts, but all she would offer us was ice-cream.I believe that this was a glaring example of the sort of food snobbery which I thought had died out in France 40 years ago. The attitude of "don't give them anything decent - they're British and won't appreciate it". Their loss, I'm afraid. There are a lot of good places to eat in Pontorson - places that do appreciate our custom. We know where to go to eat in future.
