CAMP'HOTEL LE THAO LA ROCHELLE-ILE DE RE

Overlooking the Plage de la Concurrence, the sign on the front of the restaurant says it all: "Christopher Coutanceau, chef and fisherman." Fishing here is a lifelong family passion, and Christopher takes it further by campaigning for sustainable methods and against waste. His sincere and unfussy cuisine, with its bouquet of marine scents, an invigorating ode to the Atlantic Ocean, is an extension of this commitment. The finest fish and seafood - turbot, sole, sea urchin - is prepared with care and imagination, while the modest mackerel or sardine is rendered sublime by the same devotion and t

Jemmy Brouet, formerly of Le Jules Vernes (Alain Ducasse), is behind this chic bistro with red brick features and sunny colours. The "Menu du Marché" is very reasonably priced (and more ambitious in the evening); vegetarian option. Slightly out of the centre, but easy to get to.

In this modern, spruce little restaurant located next to the Comédie La Rochelle theatre, the cuisine is the handiwork of a motivated young couple who met at Alexandre Mazzia. The pair's trademark is creative, colourful cuisine, each dish coming with three satellite-style variations, such as hake with peas and cabbage, accompanied by lentils with a haddock emulsion and a seaweed blini with home-made taramasalata on the side. Bistronomy-style formule menu at lunchtime; for dinner, their fine dining tasting menus, which change every four months or so, comprise different numbers of "sequences".

Beneath the arcades of Rue du Minage, Arco shares a glass façade with the hotel Maison des Ambassadeurs. The menu has two options: an appealing lunch set menu and more elaborate dishes in the evening. The seafood and vegetable-forward cuisine doesn't shy away from original combinations, such as scallops paired with radish, kiwi and pike roe. The terrace extending into the rear courtyard is a charming feature.

Derived from the Hebrew word for "bitter", but also evoking the verb "to love" and the name Marie – a nod to Louis Robergeau and Léa Viano's grandmothers – the name resonates like a declaration. In their intimate bistro in the old Cougnes neighbourhood, the duo welcome their guests as they would friends, as they alternate between roles in the kitchen and front of house. Their network of local producers is a boon: fish and shellfish from nearby fish markets, duck from Vendée, dairy products from Surgères. Set menus – simpler at lunchtime, more ambitious in the evening – showcase the best of eac

Alice Roger and her partner have set up shop just a stone's throw from the market, in a simple, contemporary location inspired by their first meeting in the United Kingdom. The warm, unpretentious welcome reflects the philosophy of the restaurant: getting to the heart of the matter. Organised into market-inspired lunch options and a more ambitious tasting menu featuring premium ingredients, the chef's cuisine exudes well-defined flavours. Dishes such as bluefin tuna with beetroot and sorrel, and a dessert bursting with colour and flavour – coffee, tonka bean, hazelnut and Peruvian chocolate –

An astrolabe is a disc-shaped astronomical instrument that was used to calculate longitudes and latitudes, and this restaurant transports you from one country to another (from Finland to Guatemala) and from one cuisine to another. Each dish is depicted by a fusion of world culinary traditions, as is exemplified by the mohinga of line-caught whiting. A journey to be savoured in a bright, pleasant interior with a buzzy chic bistro vibe.