You could spend an entire holiday on Île de Ré simply moving from one good thing to eat to another. This small French Atlantic island is particularly good at the things we love most about eating in France: excellent local produce, bustling markets, unfussy seafood and restaurants where lunch has a habit of taking over the afternoon.
These are my top recommendations for my favourite foods, restaurants, oyster shacks and the markets to seek out again and again.
WHAT TO EAT ON ÎLE DE RÉ
- Oysters: The obvious one. Oyster farming is woven into the landscape, particularly along the northern coast, and eating them at a cabane beside the water is one of those experiences that feels uniquely connected to the place. Even if, like me, oysters aren’t remotely your thing, the oyster-growing areas are still interesting to explore.
- Île de Ré potatoes: The island is known for its small new potatoes, grown in the sandy soil and often appearing on local menus. They are exactly the sort of simple regional food I always like finding when travelling in France.
- Sea salt and fleur de sel: Salt production has shaped this landscape for centuries. You will see salt marshes around the western side of the island, and bags and jars of local fleur de sel make an easy thing to take home.
- Local wine and Pineau des Charentes: look out for locally produced wines as well as Pineau des Charentes, the fortified wine speciality of the wider Charente region.
- Ice cream: Yes, it deserves its own food group here. Particularly when La Martinière is involved.
RESTAURANTS WORTH BOOKING*
*figuratively speaking, as is common across France, not all restaurants take reservations! But it is worth checking in July and August. If possible I’d book the restaurants you particularly care about rather than relying on finding a table that evening.
Le Bistrot Saint Martin – without doubt the best meals we have eaten on Île de Ré was alongside the harbour in Saint-Martin-de-Ré. Actually, it was one of the best lunches we had during an entire month travelling around France. Saint-Martin has no shortage of restaurants, but this one genuinely stood out: the steak frites and razor clams were unbelievably good.
Amuse – for a refined but unpretentious dinner, you can’t beat Amuse in Ars-en-Ré, which serves French-inspired small plates rather than a conventional three-course meal. It’s just the sort of relaxed place that suits a summer evening, and Ars is particularly lovely once the daytime visitors have departed. Opening days can be limited and seasonal, so check ahead before making the journey.
Le Balaou Île de Ré – La Couarde-sur-Mer. This would be high on my list for an easy-going lunch or dinner where the food still matters. The cooking mixes French/Atlantic ingredients with Caribbean influences, and the atmosphere is colourful, convivial and distinctly holiday-like rather than formal. It is particularly good for a group where some people want seafood and others don’t (basically my marriage in a food order).
La Canopée – Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré. My choice for a family meal where the adults don’t have to compromise too much on atmosphere or food. Close to the beach, it has the casual, outdoorsy feel that works particularly well with children—much less stressful than taking them to one of the island’s smarter dining rooms. It’s reasonably priced by Île de Ré standards.
Restaurant Le Grand Large – Rivedoux Plage. This is the one I’d pick when you want somewhere that feels special without being showy. The setting overlooking the sea provides much of the luxury: attractive terrace, excellent views and polished French cooking, but without the ceremony of a gastronomic restaurant. I’d choose it for a long lunch or sunset dinner when you want something a notch above the everyday.
OYSTER SHACKS ON ÎLE DE RÉ
Even if oysters aren’t normally your thing, exploring the Île de Ré oyster coast is one of the best ways to understand the island. Oyster farming is woven into the landscape here: around 62 producers farm some 540 hectares of offshore concessions, producing between 6,000 and 8,000 tonnes of oysters each year, and a typical Ré oyster takes around three years to reach your plate. Cycle the coast and stop at one of the wonderfully informal cabanes ostréicoles, where oysters are served metres from the beds in which they were raised.
I don’t eat oysters, but The Husband pronounced them huge, delicious and astonishingly affordable compared with what we’d expect to pay for oysters of that size and quality at home. Go around low tide and the experience becomes even more picturesque: oyster beds emerge from the water and you can watch tractors heading out across the foreshore. Even non-oyster eaters should consider cycling through the oyster-growing areas. The combination of little seafood cabins, marshes, oyster beds and bikes is one of the island’s defining landscapes. And it made for an absorbing and totally free excursion for our preschooler!
Ré Ostrea – For the quintessential Île de Ré oyster-shack experience, try Ré Ostrea. The pleasure here is eating seafood almost exactly where it was produced, overlooking the landscape that produced it. Tables sit right by the water, alongside the cycle path outside Saint-Martin, making it an excellent stop during a bike ride.
L’Huîtrière de Ré – worth knowing about for sheer novelty value: an oyster vending machine. Only in France. Or perhaps only on Île de Ré. There is also a slightly more substantial restaurant feel than some of the island’s bare-bones cabanes.
La Cabane Oceane: Nº9 Le Bar à Huîtres et La Boutique – La Flotte. Probably the most polished choice of my selection. It has a fantastic waterfront setting overlooking the oyster beds, with consistently excellent very fresh oysters, clams, mussels and other seafood. It is pricier than other picks, but it’s a great choice for a leisurely lunch or late-afternoon oysters and local wine rather than simply a quick tasting.
La Cabane Océane – La Production – a good option if your priority is fresh local oysters and an authentic producer experience, rather than the more restaurant-like atmosphere of Nº9. It’s the one I’d lean toward for a simple, unfussy oyster stop.
Les Huitres De Trousse Chemise – near Les Portes-en-Ré. One of the most rustic and quintessential Île de Ré experiences you can find. It’s tucked away near the marshes at the northwestern end of the island, with a wonderfully relaxed, slightly off-the-beaten-track feel. Excellent oysters, prawns and whelks, beautiful setting and friendly team;
THE BEST MARKETS ON ÎLE DE RÉ
French markets are always one of my favourite parts of a trip, and Île de Ré has some excellent ones. Arrive between 8:30 and 10:00 am for the freshest produce and easier parking. By 11:00 am, especially at Le Bois-Plage, it becomes much busier. In July and August, almost every village hosts a morning market, and some also have evening markets.
Look for local potatoes, tomatoes and other seasonal produce, cheese, charcuterie, bread, seafood and jars of island salt — essentially everything required for an excellent beach picnic.
| Market | Why visit | Typical opening |
| Marché de La Flotte | The island’s prettiest market, with medieval arcades, oysters, cheeses, fresh vegetables, clothing and crafts. | Daily, 8:00 am–1:00 pm year-round. |
| Halle du Marché du Bois-Plage-en-Ré | The largest market on the island, ideal for food lovers and local products. widest choice of fresh produce, oysters, fish, cheeses and charcuterie. Best early before the crowds. | Daily, 8:30 am–1:00 pm (extended daily in season). |
| Marché couvert de Saint-Martin-en-Ré | Great combination of gourmet food, fish, produce and boutiques inside the island’s historic capital. | Generally 8:30 am–1:00 pm daily in season; some summer evening markets. |
| Covered Market Hall (La Couarde-sur-Mer) | Relaxed village market with excellent produce and seafood. | Usually 8:00 am–1:00 pm (daily in summer). |
| Ars-en-Ré Market | Smaller but very charming, especially after cycling through the salt marshes. | Daily in summer; fewer days in winter. |
My two favourite markets are La Flotte and Saint Martin de Re.
La Flotte undoubtedly has the prettiest market. Its courtyard and covered stalls have a wonderfully old-world feel, with arcades, wooden stalls and tiled roofs inspired by medieval market architecture. The present market dates from the early 19thC. Go early, buy something for breakfast or a picnic and then wander through La Flotte’s narrow lanes afterwards. It is one of the most atmospheric morning outings on the island.
Saint-Martin’s market felt more produce and commercially focused, with plenty of food and things to browse. If La Flotte wins for setting, Saint-Martin is useful when you actually want to stock up.
BEST ICE CREAM ON ÎLE DE RÉ
This one’s easy: La Martinière. You’ll find La Martinière around the island, including Saint-Martin-de-Ré, La Flotte, Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré and Saint-Clément-des-Baleines, making it dangerously easy to turn ice cream into a daily ritual.
There are plenty of flavours to work through. My recommendation? Cassis. Thank me later.
FOOD SOUVENIRS TO BRING HOME
If you want a little taste of Île de Ré to survive the journey home, keep it simple: fleur de sel and island sea salt are inexpensive, genuinely local and easy to pack. Île de Ré potatoes are wonderful if you’re travelling home by car and can use them quickly, while bottles of local wine or Pineau des Charentes make rather heavier — but excellent — souvenirs.
And if you’ve rented a house, do yourself a favour before you leave: make one final market trip for bread, cheese, tomatoes, charcuterie and whatever else looks good. Take it to the beach, add a bottle of something cold, and call it lunch. On Île de Ré, that’s about as complicated as eating needs to be.
For everything else you need to know — from getting there and getting around to beaches, markets, restaurants and things to do — read my complete Île de Ré guide.
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