Mont Saint Michel Restaurants

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La Cave restaurant was the little restaurant connected to our hotel in Pontorson, Hotel La Cave. We had dinner and breakfast here during our one night stay.

The restaurant is located at the front of the hotel, and has an attractive frontage with some bright flower boxes. Inside it has been fitted out to have a bit of a 'cave' feel, with bumpy walls and a low ceiling.

There was only a few tables of diners the night we were there (it was a Monday night), all patrons of the hotel, but it is open to the public as well. The friendly hotel owner was also our waiter and barman for the evening.

Favorite Dish: The food was tasty! Alex & I had the lamb cooked in herbs which had an amazing flavour. Chris had the ham cooked in cider which she also enjoyed.

Dessert for Chris was a selection of cheeses that she deemed excellent, I had the Crème Brulee and Alex had the Apple tart.

We also managed to polish off a nice bottle of wine and coffee afterwards.

By far the most flexible and cost effective eating option is to have a picnic, especially if you're travelling with children. However, be warned that there are no takeaway options on the Mont - except for ice cream - so if you want to avail yourself of this option, then you'll need to plan ahead and bring the picnic with you.

The most convenient place to do your shopping is the supermarket a couple of hundred metres from the navette (shuttle bus) station on the mainland. It isn't the best or cheapest supermarket you'll encounter on your travels, but it is conveniently located, and offers the basics that you'll need to put together a basic picnic.

Better still, do your shopping on the way to the Mont: our picnic this day was snaffled from a tiny village en route whose name I have forgotten, where we visited the boulangerie, the patisserie and the charcuterie in swift succession. We ended up wolfing down a delicious picnic of crusty ham and tomato baguettes, bread smeared generously with Boursin and scrumptious crevettes (local shrimp) followed by glazed apple pastries and washed down with a bottle of sparkling cidre doux: now that's what lunch should look like!

The only downside of this plan is that the Mont is so crowded that there are limited picnic sites available. This spot is located just above the shops, where the road forks left towards the entrance to the monastery. Things are a lot less crowded inside the monastery itself, where the terrace overlooking the bay would be a splendid picnic spot, but I am not sure whether you are permitted to picnic here (or indeed, bring food in with you). Alternatively, have your picnic on the beach at the foot of the Mont: just make sure that you don't get caught by the galloping tide!

If the picnicking option appeals, then just remember that in this post 9/11 reality, you'll need to be organised enough to retrieve your Swiss Army knife from your hold luggage before you venture out. Over a decade on, I still resent the fact that this can no longer be a fixture in my hand luggage, and however organised I try to be with my packing, it still seems to take me days to find it in my case!

Great staff, very welcoming and spoke great English to help us with our horrible French. The salads, crepes and gallettes were amazing! Best price for the money.
They also have rooms available for the night at a great price.

Favorite Dish: We enjoyed the warm goat cheese on a salad and the gallettes with onion, ham, and creme

Near the entrance, at the right side they have an open fast-food restaurant. At your left a normal restaurant and on the first floor an hotel with a first class resto...
Whatever you like...:)

Favorite Dish: Everything is okay, maybe go for some fish...

Favorite Dish: On of the most celebrated delicacies of France's north west coast is the 'pre sale' (literally 'pre salted') lamb .

These animals graze in the salt marshes along the coast, and this unique diet gives the meat a distinct flavour that is much prized by gourmets (and those of us lesser mortals who are just up for a delicious meal).

Be sure it eat it 'pink' as the French do so that you can best appreciate its tender succulence - lamb of this quality deserves a better fate than to be reduced to leathery greyness!

La Mere Poulard (In Le Mont Saint Michel)

What a terrible restaurant for a terribly high price and a horrible service; a true tourist trap. We had the remarkably stupid idea of having a light dinner on April 14, 2009. An omelet with about 2 tablespoons of lobster meat and 1 tablespoon of dry white rice for 48 EU !!!! 3 omelets with a bottle of wine for 174 EU= 233 $ US. You get a much better tasting omelet at McDonalds for pennies ! The service was even worse; the waiter spilled our bottle of wine and to show his remorse he came back with a glass (yes a single glass) of a miscellaneous red wine ! An overall terrible experience. Do yourselves a favor; stay out of it. They deserve to go out of business.

Everything in Mont Saint Michel feels like a tourist trap. Except, of course for the beautiful abbey. Enjoy a half day at the mount and then head to another town to stay and for dinner. I suggest Saint Malo, we had a wonderful time there our first night and then headed to MSM for the 2nd and wished we had stayed in Saint Malo. ALL the Food in MSM is OVERPRICED AND BAD - right down to the coffee at the only outdoor cafe (4.50 Euro - for a cup of black coffee, which was bad). Please take the advice of a well traveled and very optomistic traveler - spend your money else where.

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To spend a day at the Mont and not eat at La Mere Poulard (and possibly stay at its Inn) is a terrible mistake. We have eaten there twice. Make a reservation as soon as you enter the gates (it is on the left-See our Travelog). The omelette is a plain one with lots of local eggs and butter beaten madly in a long-handled special pan and cooked over a wood fire. (The man on the left is heating one in the picture). The omelette is cited in the Larousse Gastronomique and the restaurant gets a rosette in the Michelin. We had the omelette for dessert and local seafood first (we were having salt-marsh grazed lamb in the evening-See our Hotel Tip).

Favorite Dish: The omelette flambee is large enough to be a dessert for more than two. (We found our 10 yr old grandson did not knowingly eat eggs and so we had too much after our main course).

La Cloche Creperie is situated along the main street (le Grande Rue) on Le Mont St Michel. We browsed many cafes along this route before settling (quitem comfortably) in this homey establishment. Nothing fancy, but the food is divine and you can watch the cooks prepare every dish in front of you if you sit in the main area. There is also a loft with extra seating and toilets. What I liked about this place is that it was simple, the food was tasty and great for the pocketbook! They also served ice cream and galettes (my new personal favorite) including ones with cheese, potatoes, and bacon. Mmmmmm! The staff, although not terribly jolly, were cordial enough for the fast-pace atmosphere they were conducting (and 100% better than others we browsed previously!).

Favorite Dish: The Sayonard Galette! Savory potato and cheese and bacon in a buckwheat pancake! Simple yet filling!

OK, you are in France. Supposed to be a country where we eat well. OK. OK, omelette is good. OK. La Mère Poulard is supposed to make a very famous omelette. One of the best in the country. OK. The place looks really nice inside.

Not OK. The price. Not OK. To take people for dumbs.

Favorite Dish: Omelette might be good... well, hope so...