It almost goes without saying that one of the attractions of coming on holiday to France is the food. So you will be relieved to read that the long French Atlantic coastline and its resorts, towns and cities have more than their fair share of good restaurants. It’s a large region stretching from Le Croisic and La Baule in the north to Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the south in which you can find just about all kinds of eating place, from the most simple rustic auberge to Michelin-starred restaurants and some of the most stylish eateries in France.

Many of the best restaurants are, naturally, to be found in the larger towns which also boast a wide range of cuisines. Take La Rochelle where in addition to French cooking you will also find more international dishes – for example a number of Asian restaurants near the harbour offer a blend of Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai cooking. You will also find Indian and Chinese restaurants in such towns as Angoulême, Cognac and Poitiers, as well as Biarritz, Nantes and, of course, Bordeaux.

However, please note that you may be disappointed if you are expecting Madras or Thai chilli heat. In general the French don’t go for hot, spicy food, so dishes in such restaurants tend to be much less hot than you might find in, say, Britain.

There are few if any countries where eating out remains such a key part of the culture as it does in France. Here the lost art of long leisurely family lunches or timeless dinners with friends is not yet lost. In most – not all – restaurants you are not just allowed but expected to take your time over your meal.

Regional Food and Drink

As for the types of food and cuisine on offer, well there is a wide range of both classical and contemporary French cuisine to try. But in recent years in France there has been a very strong emphasis not just on fresh produce but on local produce, and the dishes at restaurants in the French Atlantic coast region often reflect local geography and farming and food culture. Seafood of all types is very popular – oysters from the Marennes area between La Rochelle and Royan are highly prized for example. And mussels and chips – moules frites – is a very common item on the menu.

In the same way you will find dishes influenced by cognac, by goats’ cheese from producers based between Niort and Angoulême, chorizo and other charcuterie in the Basques area around Biarritz, and crepes and cider along the Loire coast close to Brittany.

And down in Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz the influence on the cuisine is not just French but also Basque and Spanish, making this area full of mouth-watering choices when it comes to lunching and dining out on holiday.

Good restaurants in France’s Atlantic region are not, however, only confined to the bigger towns. All small towns and many villages have their own restaurant, many of them unsung centres of cooking excellence. You’ll also find some top class restaurants in the countryside attached to châteaux or country hotels.

When it comes to something to drink with your meal you can certainly stay local. The French Atlantic region includes the Bordeaux vineyard, arguably the greatest wine-producing area in the world. A little further to the north is another great wine area, the Loire Valley – the Loire coastal area is home to the famous white wine Muscadet. But you can be even more adventurous and explore wines from other regions along the coast, for example the Charente, the Vendée, Haut-Poitou (just north of Poitiers), the Landes department and Basque country.

Time to eat

Another key thing for newcomers to be aware of is that, when eating out in French restaurants, the hour at which you sit down to a meal is everything. Lunchtime is still a big thing in the French workplace, even though it’s practically vanished from the Anglo-Saxon world. As a result expect to find lots of places packed at lunchtime between midday and up to 2pm. This is the time when you’ll find some excellent value for money menus, called the menu du jour.

This can cost as little as €6 or €7 for a three-course meal in a simple café (though increasingly rarely), rising to €15-€19 or more in posher restaurants. It may even include some wine.
Bear in mind, too, that many, if not most, restaurants close for the afternoon – so if you leave it too late for lunch, you may be pushed to find somewhere open. In the evenings, dining is likely to be a lengthier and more expensive affair, as the simple menu du jour isn’t always available then. This applies just as much to restaurants on the French Atlantic coast as elsewhere.

Service

Finally a word about the service. You may be used to waiters in Paris who don’t exactly have the best reputation in the world when it comes to politeness. But the provinces are different, and in restaurants along the French Atlantic you will generally find a friendly and efficient service, and many younger waiting staff in particular will speak English. You’ll also often likely to find menus in English to help you decipher some of the more unusual dishes. This is very useful if there are certain things you want to avoid – for example a kind of sausage packed with tripe and known as an andouillette is very popular here!

Tipping is not a common practice in the region and is not expected in the majority of restaurants and cafés. The service charge is considered included even when it says ‘service non compris’. In upmarket hotels and restaurants, however, tipping is more commonplace and here 10% of the bill is enough.

Bon appetit!