Argentan: Hostellerie de la Renaissance

In Argentan, chef Arnaud Viel does delicious riffs on traditional Norman dishes at his restaurant in the Hostellerie de la Renaissance. A starter of oysters from Saint-Vaast with chorizo caramel, sweet onions and artichokes shows off Viel’s deft gastronomic modernity, as does his superb pré-salé lamb (from the salt meadows around the bay of Mont Saint Michel) served with grilled almonds, a garlic croquette, a lamb-navarin ravioli and quinoa with légumes oubliés (forgotten, or old-fashioned, vegetables like parsnips).

Hostellerie de la Renaissance 20 ave de la 2ème D. B., Argentan. 02.33.36.14.20. Menus €18 (lunch), €27–€52 (dinner); à la carte €60. website

Prices are approximate, per person without wine.

Originally published in the March 2011 issue of France Today