restaurant

Aperta

Restaurant Aperta (La Rochelle)

© Olivia Duff

  • Date
  • share

Open up! After exiling themselves to the Bordeaux area, friends Olivia Duff (a former graphic designer) and Anne Drillaud (who used to work at Le Grand Hôtel) have returned to their hometown of La Rochelle to unveil Aperta, a wooden-cemented-tiled bistro with plenty of tricks up its sleeve. In the kitchen you’ll find chef François Durand, who also used to work at Le Grand Hôtel in Bordaeux, brilliantly throwing together a selection of small plates. The night we went, seated on the terrace with views of the covered market, we devoured all of the following: incredible hummus with roasted corn and cilantro, scooped up with some good pita bread; the boss’s Padrón peppers, grilled on the plancha before being painted with maple syrup and garlic oil; tender baby back ribs slow-cooked for 12 hours, served with homemade ketchup for dipping; and to round out the meal, a summery cheesecake made with honey- and lemon-infused cream cheese, apricots from the garden, tarragon shoots, crushed pistachios and a crispy angel hair topping – a real flavor bomb of a dessert! // Louise Delange

FEELING THIRSTY? Bottles from here and elsewhere, featuring conventional, organic and natural options: an Aude red blend from Le Clos des Jarres (€6 a glass), a Moroccan Syrah produced by Alain Graillot (€42 a bottle), an Alsatian white by Léon Boesch (€32)… 
PRICE: Plates €7-14. 

Save this spot in the Fooding app, available on iOS! Download it now in the app store.

The Belgium Guide 2024 is out of the oven!

Discover the latest selection of the Kingdom’s 350 best addresses (restaurants, bars, cellars, shops and bedrooms), an award’s list celebrating this year’s favorite spots, and a magazine section featuring « Belgium Underground » exploring the margins of the food world, its hidden stories and some of its most taboo subjects.

2024 Le Fooding Belgium guide frontcover
I want it!
About

Le Fooding is a print and digital guide to all the restaurants, chefs, bars, stylish hotels and B&Bs that make up the “taste of the times,” plus an annual awards list for new establishments across France, a series of gastronomic events, a tool that allow you to make reservations at some fantastic bistros, and an agency specialized in event planning, content production and consulting… And after conquering France, Belgium is Le Fooding guide’s latest playground!

Fooding® is a registered trademark.