Places To Eat In Brittany: Le Cancalais, Cancale

While I usually confine my ‘Places To Eat’ features to London where I know a very large majority of my readers live, or in Canterbury where I also have quite a strong readership, today I wanted to share with you Le Cancalais, an incredible seafront restaurant with some of the best seafood I have ever had in Brittany in case any of you happen upon the Breton coast on your travels – it is not to be missed! It is also a hotel, so if you were looking to holiday in the region it might be a good place to consider staying. They have most seafood on the menu and I enjoy looking at what other diners order, from massive plates of Fruits de Mer that take up the whole table or massive lobsters cooked in garlic butter. The restaurant is actually rather expensive if you order A La Carte, with a lobster coming in at about 55€, but their 3 course 15€ a head set menu is amazing and never disappoints with three options per course.
 

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This was my starter of fresh prawns and whelks, with mustard flavoured mayonnaise on the side. I love the presentation; the prawns displayed in the spider crab shell resting on a piece of fresh seaweed. I don’t know what Le Cancalais do to their prawns, but this was not the first time I’ve tried them, and their flavour is simply exquisite; the best prawns I have ever eaten. As for the whelks, or ‘bulots’ as the French call them it was my first time ever eating them. As they come from the sea, I was surprised that they did not have an ocean flavour to them at all, they were actually quite meaty. They were also a little slimy, and while I don’t think I would order them again in their current form, as I like snails cooked in garlic butter I would like to try these after the same treatment. 

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For her starter, something I was quite tempted by, my mother had the duck which I really wished I’d asked her if I could try a piece, because it looked absolutely divine. 

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Something I really like about dining out in France is in almost every single restaurant I have eaten in since about the age of about 6 when I used to stay with my grandparents in the South, there has been absolutely delicious complementary bread to munch on while we wait for our meal to arrive. When I’ve ordered my all time favourite dish of mussels, I like to save some of it to soak up some of the delicious flavoured wine they are usually cooked in. 
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Speaking of moules marinieres, true to form I ordered my all time favourite dish. They were some of the best I have eaten in a very long time; traditionally done in white wine, shallots and parsley the addition of thyme sprigs really boosted and enhanced the flavour. 

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If I had not been craving a fix of my favourite dish I would have ordered a dish of my mothers mixed seafood tagleitelle which was served in a delicious cream sauce and the pasta was wonderfully fresh.

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For dessert we had nougatine ice cream which was served with a perfect compliment of a creme anglais and red fruit coulis base with as master piece of a sugar piece on top. 

It was a simply incredible meal, and if you are in the area anytime soon I urge you to go and try the set menu.

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