Le Restaurant Bar Andre is most certainly the most famous restaurant in La Rochelle, France (if you are unfamiliar with La Rochelle, read about it here). Restaurant Andre is located right in the heart of La Rochelle, in its Vieux Port just below La Rochelle’s iconic towers. Restaurant Andre has been open since 1947 and now occupies a web of dining rooms, each with a slightly different sea theme. Restaurant Andre is an excellent place to try some of La Rochelle’s fresh seafood and a place to check off your La Rochelle bucket list!
La Rochelle’s famous towers!
While Restaurant Andre is quite large (much bigger than the average La Rochelle restaurant) and you probably do not need a reservation on week nights, however I made an easy reservation online before I left for La Rochelle. Why not make a reservation since its so easy? We arrived right on time and were promptly seated at a table for two. Our waiter, who spoke limited English but gave it a grand effort when he realized that we were English speakers, assisted us in ordering.
Our meal at Restaurant Andre started with a delicious bread and a seafood spread. The spread was excellent and although I am not quite sure what type of fish it was, it reminded me a bit of tuna salad and a bit like whipped cod. Even Dan liked it. And he doesn’t usually like fish spreads/salads!
Delicious amuse bouche!
We next split a starter – Restaurant Andre’s version of a cheese stick. In true French fashion this was no ordinary cheese stick, but cheese fried in phylo and stuffed with mussels served with an Asian-influenced sauce. This starter was quite delicious!
French “cheese sticks” = )
For mains, Dan went with the Croustille,which is basically a French paella with loads of seafood. The dish was HUGE. He could only finish half. This is certainly a plate for sharing!
Croustille
Not being a huge seafood fan, I went with somewhat boring the fish and chips. Nevertheless, it was excellently prepared and came with a delightful dipping sauce.
Tasty fish and chips!
For dessert, we went with a tradition café, served in these adorable little cups! Unfortunately, there were not for sale!
Possibly the cutest mugs in La Rochelle!
I have to admit that I almost did not visit Restaurant Andre because it seemed so touristy (kind of like I almost did not visit La Tupina in Bordeaux), but I am very glad that I did! The food was high quality, the restaurant was really fun, and I think that I would have felt like i missed something if I had skipped Restaurant Andre! Put it on your La Rochelle list. I would note that the menu, available on Restaurant Andre’s website listed below, is almost exclusively seafood.
STEAL OUR TRIP
Le Restaurant Bar Andre:5, rue St-Jean du Pérot, 17000 La Rochelle – France. Tél. 05 46 41 28 24. Fax. 05 46 41 64 22. E. barandre@blanc.net. Open 8:00 a.m. – midnight daily. Closed on Christmas. Reservations probably not required but can be easily made online here.