La Ribaudière

This restaurant is housed in a contemporary building exuding rustic charm on the banks of the Charente River and opposite the château that houses the Grand Marnier distillery. Both indoors and out on the terrace, modern decor provides the backdrop for the signature cuisine of father-and-son team Thierry and Julien Verrat. Proceedings open with sourdough bread and summer truffle butter, followed by refined bites with Japanese influences: beechwood-smoked oysters, eel chawanmushi, and chicken liver mousse with XO cognac. The mains continue in this delicate vein: foie gras with seaweed and sturgeon dashi, John Dory with Bigorre bacon and vegetable civet (stew). Straightforward, vibrant cuisine in which technique is at the service of flavour.