In season, Biarritz is one of the buzziest bourgeois coastal resorts in France. Out of season, though, it's a sleepy, wind-whipped place that feels like it's dreaming of better times — or at least of summer.
The casino is open (just about), and so is the grand hotel on its bluff overlooking the ocean. You can still spot coutured ladies of a certain age walking the promenade with chihuahuas and older men in blazers and permatans. And down on the beach, a few hardy beach boys brave the waves with their surfboards. But there are not a lot of options for eating.
So we felt ourselves lucky to stumble on a little oyster bar that was also serving a few other local dishes.
Half a dozen on the half shell...
A platter of excellent jambon de Bayonne: Ibaiona, considered the best in the French part of Basque Country...
...and a hearty, warming seafood bisque with aioli, shredded cheese and croutons.
Followed by a plate of good local ewes milk cheese; and nicely finished off by tarta whisky de San Sebastian (the custard and whisky served on the side).
We did well.
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