Auberge du Colombier

Tucked away in the lush green countryside, this 19C former farm is now an exquisite gourmet establishment. A huge, paved courtyard is framed by historic stone buildings dripping in character, the outhouses of which have been converted into cosy guestrooms. The inviting, airy dining room sports a glazed façade and a warm vibe courtesy of a log-burning fireplace. The establishment’s sensibly priced food is indulgent, wholesome and deftly crafted with local produce and showcased in a well-balanced, authentic menu.

Isma'il and Inès Guerre-Genton now run their own restaurant on the village square in Ardres. Behind a spruce white façade, the elegantly understated interior is done out in a palette of cream tones. The chef's cuisine is creative and uninhibited, combining land lettuce and sea lettuce with citrus fruit, for example. With an accomplished dish of matured pollock, wild garlic and asparagus, which reveals the meticulous work behind the scenes, he takes things up a notch. Personal and sincere cuisine with excellent local ingredients at its heart.

This small hotel-restaurant in a coastal village between Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez hits all the buttons for a meal on the Opal Coast. Young chef Solène Elliott, whose partner provides friendly service, concocts a tempting seafood-centric menu (sea bream, mackerel, pollack), but not only. Among her delicious and beautifully plated dishes, you may find a velvety soup of white asparagus, caramelised onions, black garlic and fried bread; Licques poultry, mashed potato with cancoillotte cheese, Morteau sausage and braised endive…

The chef, Matthieu Colin, puts the experience he gained in Michelin-starred establishments to good use. In a lovely contemporary interior, he continues to pay tribute to local fishing, but also brings local produce into creative dishes that thrive on originality: cod with seafood condiments, grapefruit, crozets, spiced fennel. Friendly and efficient service.

This pleasant top-floor restaurant boasts a peerless panoramic view over the Strait of Dover and the English coast… it is like something you would expect to see in a painting! The food showcases locally caught fish: lobster casserole, sea bass in a salt crust, sole meunière. To be washed down with a good wine chosen from a list carefully curated by the proprietor.