Les Cuves

A stone’s throw from the Abbaye aux Dames, now a concert venue, this stripped - back restaurant serves fresh, light, spontaneous food with a distinct preference for fine regional produce from the market, to which chef Vincent Coiquaud, basket in hand, goes daily. Plain, pleasant rooms for overnight stays.

(Temporarily closed) This pretty stone house two minutes from the Charente is the gourmet haunt of Pascal Yenk, who rustles up delicate, flavoursome cuisine with distinctive fresh notes and sweet-sour touches. A shell-less soft-boiled egg, sautéed asparagus and morels, or a low-temperature duckling, fragrant pastilla and confit of kumquat: everything is emblematic of the chef’s technique and generous nature. The garden patio offers a more casual experience courtesy of a tempting tapas and cocktail menu, all of which with slick, smiling service.

The handsome exterior of this 18C manor house, set in grounds, belies its 21C interior, visible in the various dining nooks: designer furniture, striking light fixtures, white walls, wine cabinets. A setting designed to inspire chef Jérôme Dallet, who has worked with Emmanuel Renaut (Megève) and Anne-Sophie Pic (Valence). Local produce is given pride of place (mogette beans, snails, Confolens lamb…) in the chef’s wonderfully indulgent gourmet score. Alfresco dining on the leafy terrace in fine weather is bliss.

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

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

Fall under the spell of this restaurant housed in an old farmhouse, where the chef has a penchant for beautiful seasonal ingredients (sourced from local producers or the aromatic plant garden located in the grounds). Drink in the view of the terrace, fountain and small lake through the bay windows, as you savour calf sweetbread, spatchcock, elderberry – the soft juicy meat makes for a taste sensation!

Poulpette definitely ticks all the boxes from its industrial, arty look and buzzy vibe to the plates piled high with enticing victuals. Antoine, after a stint at Lucas Carton and Jadis, conjures up a market-centric score with a preference for local produce served in handmade ceramic tableware. A few examples include semi-cooked foie gras with aubergine pickled in miso; grilled line-caught pollock in haddock stock; dark chocolate, buckwheat and raspberries. Flawless ingredients, forthright flavours, first-class cooking: what’s not to like?