After a week in Biarritz, I feel it extremely necessary to hit up the gym. I know it’s usually acceptable to indulge when you take a short break, but I may have gone overboard on this last trip!. The main reason being the extensive range of ice creams and sorbets on offer in this Atlantic coast town which edges France’s south-western border with Spain.
Biarritz is a fantastic location for a short summer stint. It’s a short flight from London and we were lucky enough to have 30 degree sunshine everyday for a week. The water was even a pleasant 22 degrees!
I wasn’t expecting gastronomic delights in this seaside town, but I was pleasantly surprised and feel they should be shared!
Firstly, as mentioned before – the ice cream! There are so many ice creameries scattered around town, many of them close to the beaches for that beachside refreshing snack. The big ones are Regaliz and Glacier – which both happened to be on the walk from our flat to the beach every day! See below for the list of flavours available at Glacier on Rue Mazagran. Highlights were the mint (menthe) chocolate which tasted like fresh Moroccan mint with slivers of rich dark chocolate and no artificial mint taste. Praline which was like the middle of a piece of Guylian and framboise with chunks of fresh raspberry were also winners.
Regaliz further up on Rue Port Vieux has additional flavours such as violet, rocher, chilli chocolate, marshmallow and lemon meringue tart which is topped with a layer of whipped meringue – divine! With so many to try, it’s lucky we were there for a week!
A sure fire way to gauge the quality of a restaurant is by how popular it is. An added bonus is if there is a tasty smell in the air! The small Le Glouby pizzeria on Rue Port Vieux always had a crowd of people at their limited pavement and inside tables and had a strong garlic and oregano aroma which makes your tummy rumble. The vegetarian pizza was simply divine with finely sliced aubergines (eggplant), mushrooms, tomatoes, mozzarella and a herb sauce. Bon Appetite!
Other savoury highlights were the crumbed goats cheese salad (which was requested sans serrano of course!) from La Santa Maria on Esplanade du Port Vieux, and the chicken and sundried tomato risotto with fabulous presentation from the Italian restaurant Al Dente on rue Gambetta.
The bar/cafe at the top of the stairs to Cote de Basque beach called Les 100 Marches serves up a range of salads and sandwiches but what impressed me was their range of quiches and tarts. Now they are just a small building overlooking the beach and I think they have done a great job with their menu as it consists of meals that are able to be easily assembled in their small kitchen. I’m assuming they have their quiches and tarts delivered in the morning and once they’re gone, they’re gone. Their spring tart made of layered onion, leeks, courgettes, carrots and broccoli was a sure fire hit. The slices were absolute massive too and accompanied with a simple yet tasty salad.
We stumbled on Le Pim’pi on Avenue Verdun by chance and were hosted by a delightful French lady who spoke to us entirely in French as she knew we wanted learn. I ordered the Pesce St Jean which happened to be Merlu from Saint Jean. It was served grilled with a not-too-creamy sauce, sautéed veggies and a soft, velvety mash. My initial nerves of a menu lacking “no red meat” options were laid to rest, although full vegetarians would have struggled.
Le Pim’pi has one of most refreshing and balanced rosé wines I have ever tasted and have made a note of it in case I see it again – Domaine Montrose which is of course French. Keep your eyes peeled for it!
And it must be mentioned that the Basque region in France has a specialty Basque tart which comes in crème and cherry varieties. The patisseries and bakeries all have a version but it wasn’t until I saw a chocolate version that I thought it would be a good idea to try one. While the edges were crumbly, there was an inner layer of soft, gooey chocolaty goodness that made it all worthwhile.
The absolute gastronomic highlights of Biarritz would have to be Miremont patisserie and Le Clos Basque restaurant. However, I feel they deserve a separate post so stay tuned…
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