Restaurants and brasseries in Calais and other channel ports in France. Information on restaurants inside and outside Calais, local dishes and menu terms.
Restaurants in France 
When visiting France for the day a nice meal in one of the many cafes or restaurants really makes it worthwhile.
Although the VAT rate (TVA in France) was reduced to 5.5% from 19.6% in 2009 for restaurant meals, restaurants and brasseries are closing in France in alarming numbers. There are a lot of restaurant listing web sites, but in my experience the information is often out of date and inaccurate. We suggest you ring before booking and where possible always check the restaurants own website.
In terms of price, the cheapest restaurants are the small family run bistros. Brasseries come next - they offer less regional specific dishes and fewer local specialities, (expect steak frites, fruits de mers etc.). Other good value restaurants to look out for, where you will find home cooked meals, include routiers (roadside cafes) and auberges (inns).
Go for the "prix fixe" lunches - they always represent good value (if you ask for "le menu" you will get the prix fixe menu). Alternatively try the "plat du jour," or daily special. A "Menu Ouvriers" (workers menu) is similar and worth looking out for. They will typically include meat, vegetables and perhaps potatoes, all for one low price.
If money is no problem, you are a fussy eater, or simply see something you like on the main menu, go "a la carte".
If you are in the French countryside, remember that France has about 30 distinct regional cuisines which are worth looking out for.
Top tip. Browse through the menus displayed outside restaurants before making a choice of where to go - make sure you look at all the restaurants in the vicinity. An uninspiring menu usually gives the game away. Cafés list their dishes and price on a "tarif des consommations". "Menu" in French means a fixed price meal or three or four courses. More
French eating habits are different. Fondus, pirades, and raclettes involve everyone for example and are uniquely French. Cheese tends to be served before dessert. You can also expect a green salad with a vinagrette after the main course, before the cheese or dessert are served.
At its simplest, a French meal will involve a starter (expect a soup or paté), main course and cheese or dessert. A three star Michelin restaurant will involve a lot more, including ceromony and the number of dishes served.
Wnat to save money? Look out for the local markets and have a picnic. Lots of cooked food is available (bouillabaisse, roast chicken and rabbit, tielles setoises, coq a vins), as well as cold meats and local cheeses. With fresh bread and fruit, this makes for a great picnic and you enjoy the local cuisine cheaply.
Drinking and driving are not recommended in France, which has lower limits for drivers. However, do try a digestif at the end of the meal, as it apparently aids digestion.
Please don't write off Belgium either, a country apparently with the highest concentration of gourmet restaurants in the world.
August 2011 - Eurostar offer for selected Paris restaurants. Get 50% off your food bill with your Eurostar ticket.
Remember - "Bleu is very rare, saignant is rare, point is medium, and bien cuit is well done".
 Event - Tous au Restaurant. From 19th to 25th September 2011. Described as a "week to discover the best restaurants in France". To encourage visitors to visit participating restaurants, they say "your guest is our guest (buy one get one free)". www.tousaurestaurant.com
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Restaurants in FranceWhen visiting France for the day a nice meal in one of the many cafes or restaurants really makes it worthwhile. Go for the "prix fixe" lunches - they always represent good value. Alternatively try the "plat du jour," or daily special. A "Menu Ouvriers" (workers menu) is similar and worth looking out for. They will typically include meat, vegetables and perhaps potatoes, all for one low price. Browse through the menus displayed outside restaurants - make sure you look at all the restaurants in the vicinity. An uninspiring menu usually gives the game away. Cafés list their dishes and price on a "tarif des consommations". "Menu" in French means a fixed price meal or three or four courses. Lunch is usually served between 12.00 to 2.30pm while dinner commences at 7.00pm. Sunday lunch is one of the most important dining occasions where the entire family often eat out together and it is advisable to book your table in advance at this time. Start with an "entrée" if you prefer to order a full meal from the menu. Again, this doesn't mean the same thing as it does in English; it means "appetizer" in French. Follow the "entrée" with one of the "plats principaux," or main dishes. Eat your veggies by ordering from the "légumes." If you order water, the waiter will usually bring bottled water. Ask for "une carafe d'eau" if you just want tap water. It is customary to tip for a restaurant meal - if not automatically added to the bill, add one yourself of about 15% of the charge. When we asked whether it is automatically added we received differing responses. Lyon Many say the best restaurants in France are in Lyon. If you are there and looking for a good value place to eat out, try the "bouchons". These are small bistro's serving tapas style dishes. Try this one for starters. www.la-meuniere.fr |
The page for information and links about and to restaurants in Calais. Feedback is always welcome. Outside Calais - The page for restaurants outside Calais, it's well worth making a slightly longer journey to areas outside Calais. Local Dishes - Regional dishes and foods explained. Menu Terms - A dictionary of menu and food terms. |
French restaurant guides and awardsLook in any French restaurant and the better ones will have stickers showing who recommends them. These are few we have found.  - Bottin Gourmande, a French restaurant guide. www.bottingourmand.com
 - Guide Champerard. www.guidechamperard.com
 - Gault Millau, a French restaurant guide. www.gaultmillau.fr
 - Le Guide Gantie, a French restaurant guide. www.guidegantie.com
 - Guide Pudlo (Paris and France). www.lesrestos.com
 - Tables & Auberges. www.tables-auberges.com
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Michelin restaurant guideEvery year Michelin produce a guide book with it recommendations. The Michelin France 2010 Red Guide of recommended French hotels and restaurants reviewed over 8,000 establishments. There are very few three star restaurants - in 2010 only twenty six achieved this mark.  - La Radio du Gout, interesting French website with useful food dictionary. Michelin news and awards (French). www.laradiodugout.fr
2011 - NORD / Pas de Calais, New Michelin star awarded to the restaurant "La table des Jardins" in Bois-Grenier (just off the A25 near Lille). www.latabledesjardins.fr If you want value for money look out for the Michelin "Bib Gourmand" recommendations. These are awarded to restaurants serving excellent food but with a three-course menu costing less than 29 euro (35 euro or less in Paris). 555 Bib Gourmand restaurants are listed for France in 2010, many for the first time. The Michelin France Red Guide is available as a set of six regional books, but only the Michelin Guide Paris 2010 can currently be bought independently. Although famous for its restaurant recommendations, hotels and Guest houses also get awarded "stars" and "Bib's". France 2010 Annual Guide (Michelin Guides) |
Blogs I likeMy French Cuisine. myfrenchcuisine.blogspot.com La Tartine Gourmande. mwww.latartinegourmande.com La France Profond. franceprofonde.blogspot.com Other French food blogs; 101 Cookbooks Baking Sheet Becks and Posh Berry Simple Beyond Salmon Bron Marshall Chez Pim Chocolate and Zucchini Chocolocateria Chubby Hubby Cook and Eat Cookbook Catchall Cooking with Amy Cream Puffs in Venice David Lebovitz Dessert First Eating Asia Eatzy Bitzy Fiordizucca Food Beam For the love of baking Fresh Approach Cooking Garlic Breath Gluten Free Goddess Hungry in Hogtown In Praise of Sardines Kuidaore L’atelier des chefs Laughing Gastronome Lobstersquad Lucullian delights Lucy’s Kitchen Notebook Matt Bites Milk and Cookies Movable Feast Ms Glaze’s Pommes d’amour My Madeleine Nordljus Our Adventures in Japan Paris Breakfasts Pictures and Pancakes Rasa Malaysia Rice and Noddles Rise Book Rubber Slippers in Italy Running with Tweezers Seven Spoons She who Eats Simply Breaskfast Simply Recipes Smitten Kitchen Spittoon Stephencooks Tea and Cookies The Food Palate The Passionate Cook The Scent of Green Bananas The Stone Soup The Traveler’s Lunchbox These Days in French Life To Short Term Memories Ulterior Epicure Wanderlust |
Restaurant and Bar Chains in France - AC Restaurants (Belgium). www.acrestaurants.be
 - Authentic Cafés. www.authentic-cafes.com
 - Belgian Beer. www.bars-and-co.fr
 - Bert's. www.berts.com
 - Bistro du Boucher. www.bistrotduboucher.fr
 - Bistro Romain. www.bistroromain.fr
 - La Boucherie. www.la-boucherie.fr
 - Buffalo Grill. www.buffalo-grill.com
 - Au Bureau Pub. www.bars-and-co.fr
 - Cafeteria E. Leclerc. www.e-leclerc.com
 - Cafe Leff.
 - Campanille restaurants.
 - Casino Cafétéria. www.casino-cafeteria.fr
 - Chez Clément. www.chezclement.com
 - Class Croute. www.classcroute.com
 - Courte Paille. www.courtepaille.com
- Croq'O'Pain -  - El Rancho. www.elrancho.fr
 - Flunch. www.flunch.fr
A great chain offering good value lunches and meals. Check out the web iste before you go!  - Hard Rock Café (Paris). www.hardrock.com
 - Hippopotamus. www.hippopotamus.fr
 - La Criée (fish). www.lacriee.com
- L'Arche. - Le Bodégon Colonial.  - Léon de Bruxelles (mostly Paris). www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr
 - Les trois brasseurs (beer). www.les3brasseurs.com
- Planet Hollywood. www.planethollywood.com  - Poivre-Rouge. www.poivre-rouge.com
 - Quick. www.quick.fr
 - Restaumarché. www.restaumarche.com
 - Speedburger. www.speed-burger.com
 - Subway. www.subwayfrance.fr
 - Taverne de Maître Kanter. www.tavernekanter.com
 - Toastissimo.
 - Tradition Bretange. www.tradition-bretagne.com
Group Leduff. www.groupeleduff.com  - Pizza Del Arte. www.delarte.fr
 - Bridor (croissants etc.). www.groupeleduff.fr
 - Brioche Dorée. www.briochedoree.com
 - Le Fournil de Pierre (bread maker). www.lefournildepierre.com
Pizza Chains  - La Boîte à Pizza. www.laboiteapizza.fr
 - Casa Pizza. www.casapizza.com
 - Domino's Pizza. www.dominos.fr
 - Pizza France. www.pizza.fr
 - Mezzo di Pasta. www.mezzodipasta.fr
 - Pizza Paï. www.pizzapai.com
 - Speed Rabbit. www.mezzodipasta.fr
 - Sprint. www.pizzasprint.com
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The Mobile Food Guide is a groundbreaking up-to-the-minute interactive restaurant guide. While it remains an invaluable reference on your desktop computer, it is primarily designed for the PDA mobile phone. At last you can have a restaurant guide, in your pocket, right up-to-date and FREE* to use. |
Restaurants in BelgiumPlease don't write off Belgium restaurant wise, especially in the South, as this country apparently has the highest concentration of gourmet restaurants in the world.  - Resto Belgium. Useful site to find a restaurant in Belgium. www.resto.be
- You can now make a restaurant booking via this link. www.restobookings.be  - Restopages Belgium. www.restopages.be
 - Restaurants Belgium. www.restaurants.be
 - Visit Belgium restaurants page. www.visitbelgium.com
 - Belgo, a U.K. restaurant chain. The web site is worth browsing as it shows many of the dishes you might expect to find when visiting Belgium. www.belgo-restaurants.co.uk
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Useful Outside links - Local group of restaurants in Pas de Calais agreeing to set certain standards. www.toquesdopale.com
 - Eurotoques, a group created in 1986 to safeguard quality and food standards (4,000 members in Europe, 500 in France). www.eurotoques-france.fr
- Nord / Pas de Calais restaurants. www.eurotoques-france.fr  - Saveurs NPDC, useful resources - many useful links (also in Auvergne, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté, Nord-Pas de Calais, Picardie). www.saveurs-npdc.com
 - Pages Restos. www.pagesrestos.com
 - Auberges et Bistrots de France. www.aubergesbistrots.com
 - Au Restaurant, a very comprehsive guide. Booking option. www.aurestaurant.com
 - Restauranteurs de France. Patchy but good in places. www.restaurateursdefrance.com
 - Café Brasseries de Qualité. www.qualite-tourisme.gouv.fr
 - Le Gout, France's annual food tasting week. www.legout.com
- Radio du Gout, interesting French website with recipes and news. www.laradiodugout.fr  - Table Auberges. www.tables-auberges.com
Interesting link about Flemmish food. www.theotherside.co.uk  - La Bonne Cuisine, very comprehensive site with recipes for Belgian dishes (in French). www.labonnecuisine.be
 - La Bonne Table, find a restaurant in Belgium. www.labonnetable.be
 - La Fourchetter, you can book a restaurant meal via this site. www.lafourchette.com
 - Cuisine Francaise, comprehensive restaurant listings. www.cuisine-francaise.com
For restaurants in Paris, with some useful tips. www.paris-anglo.com  - Lets cook French. Lovely site with lots useful information. www.letscookfrench.com
Good background information for French food lovers. www.traditionalfrenchfood.com  - (French version of above site). www.marmiton.org
 - Slow Food France. www.slowfood.fr
 - Les Routes du Terroir. Worth visiting (French). www.lesroutesduterroir.com
Happy Cow, Vegetarian restaurants Wordwide. www.happycow.net |
- The Mobile Food Guide.