Gite de Peche

This charming, rustic16C presbytery in the heart of a photogenic country village on the road to Mont Saint Michel is home to a restaurant flanked by a cottage garden. The latter provides chef Thomas Benady with plenty of produce (veg, fruit, aromatic herbs, flowers…) and inspiration for his single set surprise menu. Benady also works with small local producers and independent fishermen. You can expect a veggie-led, seafood slant presented and plated in a modern, minimalist manner and steeped in the distinctive personality and character of its author. Examples: roast Jerusalem artichoke served

This restaurant is housed in a 16C building on a cobbled street in the town centre. The decor is chock-a-block with charming details: a large fireplace, stone window frames, exposed beams and colossal wooden branches from which the light fixtures hang. Your discreet hostess (who is also the pastry chef) and the chef, who can be seen fully focused and hard at work in the open kitchen, extend a smiling welcome to their guests. The seasons dictate the menu and the lunchtime lineup is a steal.

This contemporary restaurant serves up a bistronomy menu crafted from fine seasonal produce. The dishes are seamlessly put together and portions are generous – eg trout confit in olive oil, radishes and Breton buttermilk, or pollock with celeriac and hollandaise sauce with salmon roe. The lunch set menu is a real draw.

On the doorstep of Rennes, in Acigné, this granite building on the banks of the River Vilaine is home to Sylvain and Marie-Pierre Guillemot. Sylvain prides himself on his "instinctive, up-to-the-minute cuisine" and aims to showcase the knowhow of cherry-picked local producers and growers. His beautifully plated dishes celebrate first-class ingredients such as pollock, spring asparagus or onion ravioles. The stylish interior leads out onto a sunny terrace overlooking the river, while the pleasant, spot-on service further adds to the pleasure of this gourmet interlude. First class wine cellar.

Formerly the canteen of the local iron ore mine (closed in April 1970), this inn has been the haunt of the same chef for over 40 years. Trained classically, his watchword is simplicity and his cooking is the epitome of straightforward authenticity, albeit with flawless technique and inspired creativity. Examples include calf’s sweetbread flanked by Vire andouille and braised in hay – culinary bliss! This enticing seasonal score is served in two stylishly sleek dining rooms that manage to avoid the starched formality that can be characteristic of such places… What a treat to go down the mine!

Deep in the Normandy countryside, the huge forest of Andaine seems to have put down roots in this wood-rich restaurant as it nurtures and nourishes Franck Quinton’s forest-inspired cooking. His way with mushrooms is second to none: tricholoma, bearded hedgehog, blue foot or grey and yellow oyster mushrooms make guest appearances in his famous “mushroom toastie”. The surrounding woodland plays a prominent role in his cooking, as the Douglas pine used in herbal tea illustrates. A committed champion of local produce, the chef cherry-picks his ducklings, veg from down the road and creamy Gillot AO

At a remove from the village, this lovely country restaurant is housed in a secluded stone building. The bucolic and refined atmosphere calls to mind an old-fashioned inn in which time has stood still: exposed beams and stonework, antique silverware, copper moulds and dried flowers. At the helm, Lénaïck Geffroy in the kitchen and Louise Lefebvre front of house celebrate a simple and authentic way of life, inspired by nature and the seasons. Their single set menu, identical for lunch and dinner and regularly updated, offers a choice between meat and vegetarian. The aromatic cuisine uses plenty