Le Scorlion in Charentes

We arranged to meet our friends in what appeared to be a quaint B&B in Charentes but which turned out to be rather insignificant. While waiting we thought we'd have lunch at Le Scorlion. Who on earth knows what that means?
It turns out that I was so enthralled with the dining experience that I really didn't care what it meant and certainly forgot to ask! The Michelin guide online is worth checking out (www.viamichelin.fr) for any local eateries. It's nowhere near as detailed as the book but it's free and online - what more can I say? This was how we found Le Scorlion in St Jean d'Angely in Brittany.
Now we could've gone the 17 euro lunch menu but we did have a few hours to kill and the fuller menu was only 34 euro so we partook of the latter.
Naturally, coupe de champagne as aperitif - you may as well in France, it is very cheap!! Luckily, it came with a little nibble of a freshly grilled slice of saucisse and a little croute with fresh cheese and herbs. Next, since we didn't do the cheapskate menu, we were offered an amuse-gueule of beetroot mousse - so very deceptively light. It was essentially beetroot puree folded through whipped cream with a few seasonings but mainly snipped chives.
Richard and I then diverged: I ordered lasagne de langoustine et saumon sitting in a light shellfish bisque. Very, very light (interesting isn't it how everything is oh so light?) and delicate. It was an extremely small cirlular portion that appeared to have been steamed rather than baked. Richard had the salade de rouget (red mullet) avec sa bouillabaisse et pomme vapeur. This was delicious but rather too substantial for a starter. It turned out to be a poor choice as R's main course seemed to be similarly constructed. He had the medaillons de lotte (devil fish), crevettes rose (shrimp) et pommes purees and a seafood bisque/bouillabaisse type of sauce! My choice on the other hand was fabulous: quite simply, assiette de lapin. This included a ravioli with rabbit meat flavoured with fennel; roasted loin of rabbit (the tiniest you've ever seen); a braised leg and braised breast. The flavours were sensational and the meet perfectly cooked. I stopped there but Richard had the dessert. His choice, which he had to make at the beginning, was pistacchio souffle. It was served with a small 'quenelle' of pistacchio ice cream. The sweet young waiter served the souffle by spooning out a portion from the centre, filling it with the ice cream and replacing the spooned out portion. The heat of the souffle melting the icecream ever so slowly. It was pretty 'wow'. We accompanied all with a local bottle of Vins des charentes chardonnay. All in all, a very pleasing lunch. In fact, we were so impressed we returned for dinner. This is the typical mistake made by yours truly. Have to go overboard! I was too full from lunch to appreciate it. We therefore had the 17 euro menu which was expertly executed but much simpler and lacking the impact of the other dishes.
On the down side: pommes puree a bit too prevalent; we could've done with a finger bowl for the unshelled crevettes.