Boutique hotels
-
Château de Saint Paterne
- Style
- Fine food, fresh heir
- Setting
- Cusp of the Loire
Normandy Eating, drinking and dancing
Restaurants
(+33 (0)2 33 73 18 41)
La Maison d’Horbe
Billed as a lowly tearoom in this arty village that’s creating a buzz with weekending Parisians, this shrub-clad stone property is also a trove of antiques and brocante – its small plates ample for brunch or lunch.
La Grande Place, 61360 La Perriere
(+33 (0)2 32 54 00 33)
Le Castelet
Behind the unprepossessing façade of the Hôtel de Paris, chef Jacques Thierry concocts a tastily earthy menu of duck with ivy sauce, nettle soup with nasturtiums and dandelion fritters at back-to-nature Le Castelet.
10 avenue de la République 27700 Les Andelys
(+33 (0)2 35 71 16 14)
Le Gill
Clean lines and plain colours furnish a dining room with subtle elegance at this bistro in the centre of town. Le Gill would definitely play its joker on the fish and seafood round – its langoustine skewers, for example, are aesthetically right on and succulent.
8–9 quai de la Bourse, 76000 Rouen
(+33 (0)2 33 45 86 09)
Le Mascaret
On the Cherbourg peninsula, this Michelin-starred restaurant is a study in Norman cuisine. It has a courtyard and herb garden, and serves precise, creative dishes – try the superlative sea bass and devilishly good oysters.
1 rue de Bas, Blainville sur Mer
(+33 (0)2 43 97 74 19)
Ma Maison
Ornate dishes such as turbot with tarragon and white truffles, and moreish puds such as triple chocolate mousse typify the menu at this timbered chambres d’hôtes not far from Alençon. Walk your dinner down in the lush, statue-dotted gardens.
111 rue Guillaume Trois Talvas, Neufchâtel-en-Saosnois
Cafés
Le Comptoir du Porche
This charming salon du thé in the old town has a broad choice of brews and a quaint garden, adjoining a boutique that you may want to browse for textiles and pottery.
Rue d’Alençon, 61130 Bellême
+33 (0)2 33 26 49 18
L’Auberge des Peintres
The beauty is in the simplicity at this bijou café. Its small menu of healthy options is ideal light-lunch fodder. And its village setting, south-west of Alençon, is gorgeous, too.
61250 Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei
