Cayola - Château-d’Olonne

Beautiful location and views, but the food was rather uninspired. The service was also not up to Michelin standards. Overall an OK meal, but would not go back. My recommendation would be to forget Cayola and dine at le fatra.

This is the place to go when you want to be spoilt. Fantastic setting great service, wonderful food.

After our experiences elsewhere in Les Sables D'Olonne, expectations were pretty high and they were surpassed. After aperitifs looking out to the sunset over the bay, the Menu Cayola gave the chef an opportunity to show what he could do. Simple and imaginative do not normally go together easily but he resisted the temptation to put too much on the plate - they say that a true master knows when the work is finished and when to stop. Definitely do not forget to go to Cayola if you are in the area.

We visited this restaurant following a review in a Vendee magazine. It was extraordinary.It was raining heavily, with a strong wind. We were seated at a table directly facing the ocean, with waves thundering in onto the rather ominous rocks beneath. A breathtaking sight. Round 1 .. 10 points! The menus .. and there were a number, were reasonably priced, surprisingly so for a Michelin starred restaurant. We chose the middle of the range Euros 65 menu which was very interesting. We were given many little bouchees in between courses which were so delicious. The entree was fois gras, displayed in such an artistic way, it was almost difficult to destroy it by eating it.Round 2 ... 10 points! Little bits in between time, and then a spectacularly tender fillet of veal, with a wonderful reduction and again .. presentation that couldn't be faulted. We would however comment that it would have been very nice to have had some fresh vegetables .. which we often find missing in French establishments. Round 3 ... 10 points. The cheese board was not to the standard of the other courses. It was good, but just good. Round 4 .. 7 points. Desert was an apple based concoction, which I personally did not particularly like, though my husband ate it with relish ... the presentation was again spectacular. Round 5 ... 7 points. We ordered espresso coffee, being somewhat fussy about coffee, and were surprised that it arrived in rather large cups, and was frankly very ordinary indeed. It didn't smell particularly fresh and was not at all what we expected. In fact, I did not drink mine. Round 6 ... 4 pointsThe service was impeccable, though it was nicer when our waiter did eventually smile! The overall experience for this place is incredible. It is a huge restaurant but table spacing allows for privacy, which in an establishment such as this is important.Our congratulations to the chef for a wonderful meal, somewhat spoiled by the final taste of very poor coffee. Not that this would stop us revisiting this beautiful place. The menus are for restaurant of this quality very reasonably priced. Thoroughly recommended!

We've been here before, but this time, the sea was more sparkly, the food more savoury, the cheeses more pungent, the staff warmer and more efficient...it seems impossible. Cayola is without question one of my favourite restaurants in the world. This is not a stuffy fine restaurant, even thought the food is delightful and the rhythm of the service is stately. This Sunday lunchtime on the corniche outside Les Sables d'Olonne: the restaurant was full of families, celebrating special occasions with three generations or more; so there is a warm and happy atmosphere. You start outside with aperitifs overlooking the rocky bay with the smell of the thyme lawn blowing over the wooden terrace. Then you have your menu at tables behind the giant glass windows. Veal with oysters; lotte with caviar; everywhere a mixture of flavours and textures. My favourite is the cheese cart - specialising this year in goats cheese rolled in fresh flowers from the Ferme d'Alizée in Talmont St Hilaire. Expensive, yes. Worth it? Every bit.