Honfleur: Sa.Qua.Na

Alexandre Bourdas, chef at the restaurant Sa.Qua.Na. in Honfleur, praises the bounty of the Norman larder. “The reason I like cooking in Normandy is that it has superb local produce,” says Bourdas, a native of the Averyron. “My scallops come from the Bay of the Seine, my vegetables from Gérard Legruel in Saint-Germain-sur-Ay on the Cotentin peninsula, my ducks and pigeons are local and so are almost all of the dairy products I use in the kitchen. Norman cider is a terrific ingredient too. Soft or hard, there are many great ways to use it.”

Sa.Qua.Na (the name is short for Saveurs, Qualité et Nature—it’s also the Japanese word for fish) won its second Michelin star last year. As at many of Normandy’s best tables, warm hospitality and informality are the keywords. “The whole solemn, silver-plated cloche style of dining is out of date now,” says Bourdas. “When people go out these days, they want to relax and have a good time.” With this in mind, the ash-gray Zen-influenced dining room is furnished with white Corian-topped wooden tables and linen runners, and the menu, which changes often, is clearly designed to surprise and entertain. A superb recent meal there included foie gras with a “tapenade” of Granny Smith apples, milk, sorrel and mint, followed by roast saddle of lamb with pureed fresh almonds, grilled Treviso radicchio and a réglisse (licorice) and gentian jus.

22 pl Hamelin, Honfleur, 02.31.89.40.80. Menus €65–€95 per person without wine. website

Originally published in the March 2011 issue of France Today