To complement my first article about the lovely seaside resort of Saint Jean de Monts, here is an article focused more on local gastronomy and the Cuisine Montoise, along with a small selection of great places to go. You know how much I love the pleasures of the table and how much I enjoy eating well! In fact, when I visit a region or a country, I am just as eager to discover its cultural riches as I am its gastronomic riches. I think it’s part of the true joy of discovering a territory.
And I was not disappointed by Saint Jean de Monts, because this region of Vendée (like most of our beautiful French regions, actually) is rich in culinary specialties and products to discover, notably with the maraîchine cuisine, featuring flavors that blend the sea and the marshes.
It is in this spirit, and to highlight this culinary heritage, that the town of Saint Jean de Monts has developed the Cuisine Montoise label, a quality initiative that ensures you find short supply chains, quality products, and homemade meals during your stay in Saint Jean de Monts, while promoting products grown in the Vendée and traditional recipes belonging to the intangible heritage of the Pays de Monts.
This label therefore appears to signal certain establishments that adhere to this approach and highlight traditional dishes and local products on their menus (which is a really great idea to help us easily spot regional dishes!).
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Table of Contents
A small selection of local specialties
- Grilled eels, a simple and authentic dish that has its roots in the marshes. According to the original recipe, they are grilled with salt, pepper, and a little alcohol vinegar, that’s it!
- Frogs’ legs (since my parents don’t live far from the Dombes in the Ain, I admit that I already eat plenty of frogs’ legs at home…).
- Margates, that’s what we call cuttlefish around here, and there is a local specialty in the form of a stew made with them, the Rata de margates.
- The bonnotte, an early potato variety, a specialty of the island of Noirmoutier.
- The Challans poultry, which is apparently very famous as far as Paris (notably the duck).
- Seafood products, obviously: mussels, lobster, sea bass, sole, oysters, shellfish, crabs,…
- Mogettes (white beans), but that’s more of a Vendée specialty and not necessarily specific to Saint Jean de Monts.
- Marsh samphire; you can buy it at the market or eat it directly on the foreshore during a walk with Florence (see previous article).
- Troussepinette, a Vendée aperitif made with blackthorn, quite sweet and very good.
- The Vendée brioche (a classic, but it’s so good!) and the gâche.
- The fion or maraîchin flan, a dessert with a very poetic name that you will find in almost all the town’s establishments and most of the surrounding bakeries.
- Strawberries from St Jean, very famous and notably used to make very good jams.
- The fionaïe, a traditional Vendée holiday dessert, somewhere between egg custard and egg cream.
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My favorite gourmet spots in Saint Jean de Monts
To make the most of all these good things, here is my little selection of great addresses in Saint Jean de Monts and the surrounding area.
Le Salon des Desserts
A gourmet address that is both a tea room, pastry shop, and chocolate shop, located right next to the market square and run by two adorable guys.
To try: the Vendée brioche, the fion or maraîchin flan, the gâche, homemade strawberry jam…
Le Salon des Desserts 4 Place Jean Yole 85160 Saint-Jean-de-Monts
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Restaurant l’Espadon
This hotel, which also has a restaurant, offers very good seasonal cuisine featuring seafood and local products, just a stone’s throw from the beach.
To try: the Seafood platter (with oysters, langoustines, and shrimp) €19, the fionaïe for dessert.
Restaurant L’Espadon 8 Avenue de la Forêt 85160 Saint-Jean-de-Monts Price: lunch menu starting at €14.90; dinner menus at €18 and €26
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Restaurant Chez Bastien
Right across from L’Espadon, another good seafood and fish restaurant that prioritizes the freshness and quality of its products. The seafood and fish served at the restaurant come from the local fish auctions of Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, Noirmoutier, or Les Sables d’Olonne.
To try: the duck gizzard confit, the house grilled eel (quite fatty, but I personally liked the sauce and the crispy aspect of the preparation), and the Vendée Millet revisited as a dessert (super good, but quite heavy, so don’t eat too much before trying it).
Chez Bastien 9 Avenue de la Forêt 85160 Saint-Jean-de-Monts Price: menus between €15.90 and €31.90
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Restaurant Le Glajou
This restaurant, hidden away near the marsh, doesn’t look like much, but it offers traditional cuisine that is worth the detour! Its chef, Alexandre Cateano, works with regional products based on maraîchine specialties.
To try: the very melting rata de margattes (a stew with cuttlefish) revisited by the chef, and the grilled eels (another house specialty).
Price: menus from €17.80 to €33 / expect between €15 and €30 for a main dish
Le Glajou 141 Chemin de la Suze, 85300 Perrier Le Open from Tuesday to Sunday
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Le Restaurant Petit St Jean
With this restaurant, we enter the category of gourmet addresses with chef Frédéric Farret, who offers fine cuisine, rewarded for 4 years by the Bib Gourmand in the famous Michelin guide. He also works with local products in an original way and revisits traditional recipes from the region.
To try: the Challans Duck Crispy, the préfou (bread rubbed with garlic) as an amuse-bouche, and the very light Mille-Feuille for dessert.
Le Petit St Jean
128 rte Notre-Dame-de-Monts 85160 Saint-Jean-de-Monts
Price: Lunch set menu at €15 and €19 / main dishes between €18.50 and €29_
Le Restaurant du golf
The restaurant at the Saint Jean de Monts golf course offers very honest cuisine, and I would recommend going there primarily for the magnificent setting and the very pleasant terrace in the middle of the courses. Indeed, this golf course is one of the most beautiful links in France.
To try: for a starter, the mushroom cream soup with poached egg and serrano ham, and for a main dish, the hand-cut tartare with homemade fries or the catch of the day.
Price: lunch set menu at €14.90 and €18
Golf de Saint-Jean-de-Monts Avenue des Pays de la Loire, 85160 Saint-Jean-de-Monts open all year round for lunch only
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The guided tour: The journey of the taste buds: “Tales of Delights”
This walk is part of the Cuisine Montoise project and offers a stroll through the Saint Jean de Monts market, held at the foot of the church, and to be told about the riches of this terroir and the variety of local products, with a free tasting during the visit. The perfect opportunity to discover local products with a qualified guide and get explanations about all the products and dishes I’ve just told you about.
Next dates: Wednesday, May 6th and Wednesday, July 15th from 10 am to 11:30 am, and then from Tuesday, July 21st to Sunday, August 30th, 2015: from 10 am to 11:30 am every Tuesday. To sign up for one of these tours, just register directly on-site at the tourist office.
Price: €6 for adults / €3.5 for children from 10 to 17 years old and €1 for under 10s / family pass at €12 (2 adults + 2 children)
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Another discovery of local products:
The Fromagerie Beillevaire also offers gourmet tours with tastings (€35/person) at their place from 10 am to 4 pm if you want to discover the local cheeses.
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I hope that with all this I have made you want to discover Montoise gastronomy, and if you also have your own favorite spots in Saint Jean de Monts, do not hesitate to share them in the comments!
Find all my articles on the Pays de la Loire region below:
⇒ All my articles on the Vendée
⇒ All my articles on the Pays de la Loire
MY ARTICLES ON SAINT JEAN DE MONTS (2015)
⇒ Getaway in Saint-Jean-de-Monts
⇒ Favorite spots in Saint-Jean-de-Monts
Photo credits: Mademoiselle Bon Plan Photos are not royalty-free, photographer's authorization is mandatory before any use
