Cheese plate served with wine, jam and honey close-up
Normandy’s culinary heritage is one that’s well worth exploring, not least because of the huge range of fantastic ingredients produced in the region. Here you’ll find succulent seafood, robust duck and game dishes and the region’s famous apples that are turned into a whole range of tasty stuff from cider to tarts. There’s a huge range of experiences in Normandy that’ll have any foodie salivating, so to make sure you’ve got the heads up on some of the best places to go, we’ve put together some of the best foodie experiences in Normandy for you below. Looking for somewhere great to stay while you’re chomping your way through some of Normandy’s tastiest bits? Our luxury chateaux and villas in Normandy make the ideal base for you, your friends and family, and many come with inspiring kitchens so you can whip up a French feast of your own!
Sitting on the banks of the Seine, in the heart of Rouen, Restaurant Gill is one of Normandy’s finest gastronomic options. Run by restaurant team (and power couple!) Sylvie and Gilles Tournadre, Gill serves seasonal French cuisine, varying from delicious meat dishes like roasted pigeon with foie gras and veal sweetbread medallions to seafood specialities like pan-fried sea bass and roasted Brittany lobster. We heartily recommend the tasting menu, which features seven ‘surprise’ taster courses of chef Gilles’ latest creations, paired with wines. Even regular visitors never have the same meal twice.
Price: ££
Location: 8 et 9, Quai de la Bourse – 76000 Rouen
Book: Online at Gill
Calvados is one of Normandy’s greatest creations. It’s an apple brandy made by pressing apples into juice, fermenting them into cider, distilling this in eau de vie and then ageing the spirit in oak casks. Christian Drouin is a distillery near to Pont-l’Évêque with a strong reputation for producing superb calvados, and it’s open to the public. Free, informative one-hour tours are available throughout the year, concluding with a tasting session and a chance to buy bottles of the finished product. Even if you’re off the booze, the beautiful 17th century half-timbered buildings make it a worthwhile visit.
Price: ££
Location: Route de Trouville, 14130 Coudray-Rabut, France
Book: No need to book just show up!
An intimate and endearing little restaurant in Cherbourg’s city centre, Le Pily exclusively specialises in fresh, seasonal and local produce. That means it provides no fixed menu; the dishes change every month depending on what’s in season. Yet the chef’s mastery of regional delicacies, such as locally-caught fish, pigeons, crustaceans, farmhouse cheese and vegetables, guarantees each meal will be a memorable one. There’s a reason it’s held a Michelin star (and countless other awards) since 2010.
Price: ££
Location: 39 Rue Grande Rue 50100, Cherbourg-Octeville
Book: Call 02 33 10 19 29 or email le-pily@orange.fr
– Normandy
If you really want to get under the skin of Normandy, you’ll need to understand its culinary culture. Fortunately, that is just what Wilde Kitchen offers. This popular cookery school in Benoîtville, run by Irish expat Sinéad Allart (née Wilde), provides small-group gourmet escapes that comprise classes in cooking traditional Norman dishes such as poulet Vallée d’Auge (chicken with cream and apples) and teurgoule (rice pudding), plus trips to local markets, farms and cider producers. One-day courses are available, but we heartily recommend the three-day or six-day options – accommodation included.
Price: £££
Location: La Blonderie, 50340 Benoistville, Normandy
Book: Online at Wildekitchen
Jean-Luc Tartarin is, without doubt, one of Normandy’s plushest fine dining options. A holder of two prestigious Michelin stars, the Le Havre establishment proudly upholds French culinary traditions but with a changing monthly menu of seasonal dishes. The dégustation menu is the way to try a little bit of everything the restaurant has to offer, though less elaborate set menus are also available. Looking for the fine dining experience on a tighter budget? Consider booking Jean-Luc Tartarin for breakfast.
Price: ££
Location: 73, Avenue Foch 76600, Le Havre
Book: Online at jeanluc-tartarin
If you have a sweet tooth, Yver is the ultimate treat. The region’s most mouthwatering chocolatier, it has been hand-crafting extraordinary, quality chocolates since 1946. It offers a truly dazzling array of chocolate products – slabs, truffles, pastilles, dipped fruits and nuts, hot drinks and more besides – which are wonderfully presented. Yver is also an accomplished patisserie, offering delicious pastries, cakes and melt-in-the-mouth macaroons, so prepare to blow your entire souvenir budget in the shop.
Price: ££
Location: 26 rue Lecampion 50400 Granville
Book: No need to book just show up.
This family-run tea shop and restaurant is a Granville institution. The tea menu is one of the largest and most varied you will ever see, with each brew served in Chinese cast iron teapots, and any teas you enjoy can be bought from the shop next door after (with advice on leaves, flavours and brewing temperatures from the knowledgeable owners). The restaurant has a small, simple, seasonal menu but every dish is cooked to perfection, whether it is fresh fish, quiche, croquets or cakes and pastries.
Price: ££
Location: 22-24, Rue Saint Sauveur 50400 Granville.
Book: No need to book just show up.
Normandy is full of chocolateries and pâtisseries, but this place near Lonlay l’Abbaye stands alone in the region as a biscuiterie (biscuit maker). We’d recommend visiting the factory itself to witness the production process (from kneading and shaping doughs to cooking and packaging) and pick up some biscuits hot off the production line – including perhaps some discounted mis-shaped ones. But if you are only interested in the final product, you will find their shops in Bagnoles de L’Orne and Granville.
Price: ££
Location: Route du Val 61700, Lonlay l’Abbaye
Book: No need to book just show up!
The restaurant may sit in the shadow of William the Conqueror’s castle, but when it comes to dining experiences in Caen, L’Accolade is the one casting the shadows. Run by Pierre Lefebvre, a self-taught chef who won France’s edition of Masterchef, this stylish bistro restaurant serves extraordinary but unpretentious food, using seasonal local produce. L’Accolade is a particular treat for carnivores, with delectable dishes made from the finest cuts of meat, while the wine list will keep oenophiles happy.
Price: ££
Location: 18, rue Porte au Berger – 14000 Caen
Book: Online at laccolade
No trip to Normandy is complete without a fromagerie visit, and this is one of the very best cheese makers in the region. Graindorge cheese company upholds traditional local cheesemaking methods to produce some of the region’s most famous cheeses. This includes Camembert, as well as its close cousins Livarot (a soft, pungent cow’s milk cheese), pavé d’Auge (a semi-soft variation of Livarot) and Coulommiers (a soft, ripened cow’s cheese), plus the smooth-as-silk cream cheese La Crème Fraîche Vallée d’Auge. It’s free to visit the fromagerie, including complementary cheese tasting, so why not?
Price: £
Location: 42, rue Général-Leclerc 14140, Livarot
Book: No need to book just show up!
If you’re hungry for more travel inspiration, why not check some other blogs about Normandy or discover more foodie experiences? You can also find out where to find the best cider tasting in Normandy or check out our coverage of the best festivals and events in Europe throughout the year. Already convinced that Normandy is your next dream destination? Talk to our concierge team! They can help you find the perfect holiday home (just ask and they’ll do the legwork for you) or are on hand to help you book if you’ve already chosen the villa of your dreams.
Looking for a full list of villas to rent this year? Check out our villa holidays page here.
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