Le Chemin

This restaurant is housed in a contemporary building exuding rustic charm on the banks of the Charente River and opposite the château that houses the Grand Marnier distillery. Both indoors and out on the terrace, modern decor provides the backdrop for the signature cuisine of father-and-son team Thierry and Julien Verrat. Proceedings open with sourdough bread and summer truffle butter, followed by refined bites with Japanese influences: beechwood-smoked oysters, eel chawanmushi, and chicken liver mousse with XO cognac. The mains continue in this delicate vein: foie gras with seaweed and sturge

The restaurant of the Hôtel Chais Monnet is housed in the room where cognac was aged in huge century-old barrels (the salle des foudres)! In the intimate-feeling dining areas with their hushed atmosphere, no detail has been neglected, from the exquisite contemporary silverware to the fine glassware. The cuisine is meticulously crafted in order to showcase local ingredients from the Charente terroir: free-range poultry, fish from the fish market, Île de Ré potatoes etc. The chef sets great store by plating his dishes elegantly and perfecting his concentrated sauces, and enjoys experimenting wit

A little way out of the town centre, this handsome 19C town house is now a luxury hotel, whose first-rate restoration work is particularly visible in the restaurant's swish, elegant dining room. Chef Anthony Carballo devotedly executes two several-course surprise set menus, inspired in part by the estate's vegetable garden. Marbled foie gras dusted in liquorice powder, liquorice reduction and orange-flavoured jelly; medallion of flawlessly cooked croaker, beurre blanc, baby broad beans, green peas and trout roe; poultry incised with foie gras and girolle mushrooms, tartlet of confit poultry le

Ten minutes from Cognac, this stone building houses a contemporary bistro with a large terrace overlooking a small garden. With clear names and distinct flavours, the dishes appeal to the taste buds. The chef cooks with vegetables from a nearby farm, fruit from the orchard, fish from La Cotinière. Fresh ingredients, precise seasoning, good technique: everything is made in-house, from the bread to the ice cream.

The brainchild of Thierry and Julien Verrat, Charentes recipes acquire a distinctly bistronomic edge here in a menu that keeps pace with the seasons. For example, duck terrine dotted with foie gras and dried fruit chutney; soufflé of zander, spinach and crayfish butter; or a lemon meringue pie to die for. On fine days, meals are served alfresco on the patio. A genuinely inviting cocoon devoted to good food and good cheer.

In this contemporary bistro, the chef rolls out a score that is as straightforward and satisfying as the establishment’s name suggests. Bistro classics (think French onion soup, beef tartare, chocolate mousse) rub shoulders with traditional country recipes, on which he puts a savvy new spin. A case in point is the cromesquis of aligot made with fresh Aubrac tome and tarragon-spiked raviole of poultry. The indulgent, beautifully crafted desserts are wickedly enticing, e.g. an apple extravaganza with caramelised apple, granny smith sorbet, apple gel, pastry cream laced with Madagascan vanilla an

Set in a former hardware store, the first-floor dining room, reached by an imposing wooden staircase, sports a retro feel. The ground floor is home to the open kitchen and a wine boutique. The score errs towards traditional French (from pâté en croûte to loin of veal with truffles, without forgetting an île flottante dessert), dotted with a handful of international accents. The seasons are reverently respected in dishes that are packed in flavour.