Page 359 - Lonely Planet France’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

Eating & Sleeping

Bayonne 1 St-Jean de Luz 5
5 Table de Pottoka Gastronomy €€ 5 Buvette des Halles Seafood €
(%05 59 46 14 94; www.pottoka.fr; 21 quai Amiral (%05 59 26 73 59; bd Victor Hugo; dishes €7-14;
Dubourdieu; lunch menu €15, dinner menu €35, à h6am-2pm & dinner, closed Tue Sep-Jun) For
la carte mains €20; hnoon-2pm & 7-10pm Mon- the full-blown French market experience, this
Tue & Thu-Sat) Run by renowned chef Sebastien tiny corner restaurant hidden away in Les Halles
Gravé (who also runs a place in Paris), this is is a must. Pull up a stool at the counter under
Bayonne’s hottest new table. It’s committed its collection of vintage tea-pots, and tuck
to big Basque flavours, but explores them in into plates of Bayonne ham, grilled sardines,
all kinds of innovative ways. Inside things are mussels, fish soup and local cheeses. In
sleek and minimal, with plain wooden tables and summer there are tables outside.
pop-art prints on the walls, and there are dreamy ATLANTIC COAST 32 BASqUE COUNTRY
river views through the plate-glass windows. 4 Les Almadiès Hotel €€
(%05 59 85 34 48; www.hotel-les-almadies.
com; 58 rue Gambetta; d €100-135; W) Summer
Biarritz 2 bargains are hard to come by in St-Jean de Luz,
but this pretty little streetside hotel definitely
5 Le Clos Basque Basque €€ ranks as one. It’s in a great location on the lively
(%05 59 24 24 96; 12 rue Louis Barthou; menus thoroughfare of rue Gambetta, overlooking a
€26, mains €14.50; hnoon-1.30pm & 7.45-9.30 little square, and though the rooms are a bit
Tue-Sat, noon-1.30pm Sun) One of Biarritz’s generic – beige carpets, white bathrooms,
more traditional tables, with a sweet front patio identikit furniture – there’s no doubting the
sheltered by climbing plants and an awning. deal here.
The menu is proudly Basque, so expect classic
dishes such as axoa (mashed veal, onions and
tomatoes spiced with red Espelette chilli). It St-Jean Pied de Port b
gets very busy, so service can be slow.
5 Chez Arrambide Gastronomy €€€
4 Hôtel de (%05 59 37 01 01; www.hotel-les-pyrenees.
Silhouette Boutique Hotel €€€ com; 19 place Charles de Gaulle; menus €42-110,
(%05 59 24 93 82; www.hotel-silhouette-biarritz. mains €34-52; h12.15-1.45pm & 7.45-9pm Jul
com; 30 rue Gambetta; d from €200; aW) The & Aug, Wed-Mon Sep-Jun) This twin Michelin-
address if you want to splash in Biarritz, just starred restaurant at the Hôtel des Pyrénées is
steps from the covered market, but surprisingly renowned for miles around, and is where chef
secluded thanks to its set-back-from-the-street Firmin Arrambide works wonders with market
setting. It’s full of fun, from the weird faces on produce. It’s a high-class treat, where dishes
the wallpaper to the odd sculptures of bears are as arty as they are edible. Pricey rooms (r
and sheep dotted round, and there’s a gorgeous €105 to €225) are available upstairs.
garden. The building dates from 1610, but it’s
metropolitan modern in style.

357