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Best Charente/Vendée Restaurants...
Eating out is a part
of the French way of life. Don’t have a holiday in France
without a meal in a French restaurant! Although there are
many unusual French foods (frogs legs, snails, tête de veau etc.) you
will find many foods that are a true delight! The Charente/Vendée have
some fantastic restaurants to choose from.
Which restaurant? Try to find a restaurant that is targeted
at French diners (French menus are a good clue!). Don’t expect to find a fantastic restaurant in
the major tourist destinations - here we would recommend something safe
and straightforward such as pizza, crêpes etc..
Which time? It’s often cheaper to eat at lunchtime and
during the week. Sunday lunch is always busy and it pays to book
ahead. In the evenings, don’t arrive too early - 7.30PM is often the
earliest you can get served.
Which menu? Don’t go for à la carte options. Usually they
have the same options as the menu prix fixe and they cost a lot more!
Avoid Menu Touristique like the plague!
Which wine?
Wine can
be quite expensive if you go for named bottles. But
carafes of house white or red wine have usually been exquisitely
selected by
the restauranteur and are excellent value. Refer to our
wine section
for more advice on wines in France. |
Our favourite
restaurants in the Charente/Vendée:
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Auberge de la Court d'Aron
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Les Chermettes
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L'Essile
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Maison Karina
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Auberge du Moulin
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Hostellerie du Perigord
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Pizza
Rico
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Auberge Pontoise
-
Au Fil des Saisons
-
Les 4 Sergents
Let us have your
feedback on any you can recommend. |
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Les
Chermettes
23 promenade
Clémenceau
85100 Les Sables
d'Olonne
02 51 32 00 42
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Les Chermettes is
situated right bang on the main promenade in Les Sables and frankly in
our opinion has no style when viewed from the outside as it is a purpose
built affair. However, views from the inside are splendid
(overlooking the Atlantic Ocean) and the sea food comes equally highly
recommended. Close your eyes till you're inside and you'll be OK!
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Characteristic
of Charente/Vendée restaurants and food:
Being very much a maritime
region, seafood restaurants proliferate in the Charente/Vendée area, not
only along the coast itself but also on the many islands off to the west
– of which Noirmoutier, Ile de Ré and Ile d’Oléron are the largest. Each
town will have many such restaurants along the sea-front/harbour and if
you are simply after sampling some freshly caught ‘fruits de mer’,
moules-frites, the regional speciality ‘mouclade’ (mussels in white
wine), or oysters from Marennes-Oléron you can’t really go wrong. Over the
years we have enjoyed such meals in the small port of La Cotinière on the
western side of the Ile d’Oleron; overlooking the incredibly beautiful
harbour in St Martin de Ré (on the Ile de Ré); likewise in La Rochelle and
further south at St Georges de Didonne and finally in Talmont. Don’t worry
- if you have non-fish lovers amongst your party most restaurants will
offer a non-fish alternative.
On a more general food note, the marshes in the north of the region
produce many specialities including marsh-reared lamb with its unique
flavour, eels, ‘mojhettes’ which are a type of white haricot beans,
frog’s legs and snails, all of which are worth sampling. Further south the
butter of Echiré and Surgères is worth seeking out, and remembering that
the area has a particularly high sunshine rate the melons are especially
juicy. |
External websites offering
information on Charente/Vendée restaurants:
- Angela Bird's
Vendée pages - not only restaurants, but lots more information
besides. |
A
splendid set of books on eating out in France is written by
Richard Binns. French Leave Encore has travel advice with
details of hotels and restaurant recommendations. French Leave
Finesse contains purely restaurant recommendations. |
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