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Vegetarian or Vegan? But This Is France!
Clare Smith looks at the options for vegetarians and vegans in a culture where, traditionally, a meal must contain meat to be a real meal.
Meat in France is often of such wonderful quality and so well cooked it’s not surprising that, if you turn up at a French restaurant and don’t want to eat meat or animal products, you are met with that Gallic "so what on earth are you doing in my restaurant then?" shrug.
So, if you are vegetarian/vegetarian (no meat) or vegan/végétalien (no animal products
at all) and offers of chicken or fish are no good to you, what are the options? Fortunately,
the availability of non-
To help you find healthy and satisfying food that you like, my recommendations are to:
- try creperies, which have a good range of vegetarian and vegan options. Le Moulin at Maintenay, where you eat on a sunny terrace with the Authie river at your feet, is well known as is the creperie in the Rue Clape en Bas, Montreuil. Others worth trying are at the main crossroads in La Caloterie and Etaples (Les Trois Lanternes) near the port
- eat couscous and vegetable tagines. Le Touquet has two Moroccan restaurants; Le Bistrot in Montreuil also does a good tagine
- try fermes auberge, which are, in general, good for non-
meat eaters as they make the most of produce from their own kitchen gardens. The Legumes d'Antan, at Offin, (see the Frogsiders’ restaurant review) also sells vegetables, seeds and seedlings of heritage or heirloom vegetables grown on the farm. Other ones to look out for are La Ferme du Vert and Ferme Auberge de la Raterie near Wierre Effroy, the Ferme des Chartroux at Maresville and the Ferme Auberge du Prieure at Chériennes - ring beforehand and explain your requirements. With advance notice, restaurants will often do creative things. But if you get a sharp intake of breath and the restaurateur's tone of voice noticeably changes, try somewhere else
- have a picnic, as most traiteurs and markets also sell salads to go with bread, wine, cheese and fruit
- learn to love omelettes (sorry, vegans) as most restaurants do them well and that can be the only vegetarian option
- be sure to have lunch at the restaurant at the gardens of the Abbaye de Valloires at Argoules. Vegetarian and vegan dishes are so beautifully presented that you regularly see diners taking photos of their lunch. Without a doubt, the best option in the area.
Clare Smith is the nom de plume of a writer who lives in London and Montreuil.
The Gallic Shrug, beautifully demonstrated by an expert
Restaurant suitable for vegans?
Editor’s Note:
The restaurant “Les Hauts de Montreuil” in the old town of Montreuil now boasts a vegetarian menu. A restaurant review will appear in Frogsiders later this week
Recent vegetarian cookery articles:
October Recipes -
September Recipes -