LA MESONNETTA

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.

A butcher's son born on the Île d'Oléron, chef Benjamin Girard has chosen to focus on fish and seafood. In this narrow modern dining space done out in white and blue hues, the delicious dishes with creative touches keep on coming: mackerel half-cooked with a blowtorch, grilled watermelon and tomato water; halibut with a langoustine foam and blackberries; black forest gateau-style "explosive cherry" dessert. Eater-friendly prices and an enticing wine list with plenty of organic options.

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

In Royan, a breath of fresh air is blowing across the restaurant scene, brought not by an up-and-coming young chef, but by a couple in their fifties from Toulouse. Laurence and Philippe left Le Tire Bouchon, their Toulouse wine bar-cum-eatery, to set up shop where she grew up. As they embark on the last decade of their working lives, the exuberant and enthusiastic pair has created a spirit reminiscent of Parisian bistros. Philippe takes care of the restaurant floor and cellar (over 200 natural and biodynamic wines); Laurence crafts fresh, generous dishes that smack of home cooking: puff pastry

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!

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