L'ancien café

This characterful rural establishment overlooking the Somme Valley is in the hands of a local lad in love with his region. He works with a tight network of local producers, who bear witness to his commitment and loyalty. The several-course surprise menu showcases ingredients from sustainable farms and independent fishermen. Legible flavours whose simplicity and elegance set the scene for a slap-up meal. Splendid wine cellar with over 300 references and a lovely terrace on fine days. What’s not to like?

On their premises on the market square, Axel Folastre and Céline Mention have brought their vision to life: a bright space with an arty decor and a delicatessen display case (pâté en croûte, foie gras, pies etc). Together, they cook up personal and precise cuisine, their balanced dishes demonstrating authentic expertise – the beef fillet is cooked to perfection and enhanced by a fine marriage of oysters, lemon and fennel. On the restaurant floor, too, they work as a team. Céline crafts the desserts with equal parts skill and heart.

In this pretty inn, you simply decide how many courses you would like and the chef will do the rest! The young chef is rather bold in his cooking, sometimes dreaming up original combinations of flavours (no bad thing in this region where tradition reigns supreme). Pleasant, efficient service and good value for money. It is worth noting that a new shop adjoining the restaurant has been opened for takeaway dishes, from starter to dessert, concocted by the chef.

This establishment, run by Éric Boutté, rolls out classically themed cuisine with a modern twist that is in tune with the seasons and of local inspiration and origin. Among its emblematic dishes, you will find cabbage, painstakingly stuffed leaf by leaf, the house signature, or confit of rabbit leg flanked by a medley of parsnips. More adventurous diners might like to try marinated scallops on a purée of butternut, paired with smoked herring roe. The interior sports a splendid marriage of “waide” blue (a local pigment) and untreated concrete, in tribute to the region. Eater friendly prices.

This pleasant, trendy restaurant close to the cathedral is run by young chef Stéphane Bruyer. In a renovated dining space decorated in natural tones (with lots of plants), he serves simple, seasonal cuisine, using market produce to devise a single set menu (with a choice of fish or meat). This is a very popular spot in Amiens... and it's easy to see why.

Bang in the middle of town, this restaurant sports a modern, colourful interior, the entrance to which is graced with a fresco by a local artist. Chef Frédéric Barrette unveils his creative talent in dishes that add a delicate spin to Gallic classics: ravioles of haddock with haddock skin powder and Timut pepper, crispy sweetbread with mustard sabayon and a gutsy gravy. A friendly vibe depicts this establishment which blends culinary excellence and a cheerful front-of-house team.

The top floor of this entirely revamped 18C salt barn is home to a fashionable, stripped-back restaurant decked in raw materials that commands a panoramic view over the Somme Bay. According to the dictionary, a schorre (or a salt marsh) refers to an “upper coastal intertidal zone of thick mud, covered by grass and regularly flooded by high tides”. Chef François-Xavier Sailly regularly renews his creative gourmet score with unexpected combinations.