Restaurant le Donjon is, in our opinion, a must for a stay in Arsène Lupin’s hometown.
The fantasy of the place is found as well in the decoration of the room of the restaurant, as in the plate. A real dive into the creative and grandiloquent atmosphere of France in the second half of the 19th century, revisited in the 21st century!
In this article, we tell you all about the gastronomic restaurant Le Donjon – Domaine de Saint Clair with our review on the cuisine and many photos.
This review is completely independent, we ate anonymously and paid our bill in full.
Why eat at Restaurant le Donjon
Is Le Donjon Restaurant worth it? Our review
By its audacious choices, the Restaurant le Donjon leaves no one indifferent. We put it at the top of our list of restaurants to eat in Etretat because it is for us exceptional in more than one way:
- For the setting of the Donjon – Domaine de Saint Clair, a small medieval-inspired folly nestled on the heights of the cliff above Etretat.
- For the decoration of the room of the restaurant, signed of the stylist Jean Charles de Castelbajac (we speak to you about it a little lower).
- For the uncompromising menu of the Norman chef, Gabin Bouguet, who offers us a variation on the sea and vegetables of our countryside.
What you will eat there
The only choice you will have to make, will be to decide between horizon, littoral and foreshore!
The horizon will be a limitless dive in a menu in 8 times between sky and sea. On the coast, vegetarians can experience the exhilaration of sea weather in 4 stages, while keeping their feet dry in the produce of the Normandy countryside. The foreshore, which corresponds to the part of the beach uncovered at each tide, will allow you to go back and forth between land and sea in 5 steps. So many promises…
After an authentic marine appetizer with whelks, mackerel and oysters, you will sail on the high seas according to the inspirations of the young chef, Gabin Bouguet. It is at the auction of the nearby port of Fécamp that he selects the best of the sea products. Normal for a grandson of Terre-neuvas, these sailors who courageously went fishing off the coast of Canada.
Between monkfish in low temperature, scallops marinated in citrus fruits, lobster, sea urchins, it is a real diving 20000 places under the sea that your palate will make.
And when you come up for air, you can combine these delicious fish and shellfish with the treasures of the Normandy countryside, from small chanterelles to roasted carrots and a creamy celery dish to die for. We owe this love of the land to the chef’s other grandfather who was a market gardener!
The desserts are as good as the meal, with a pastry chef who sublimates the fig in dessert, and offers us a brioche bread to accompany the succulent seaweed butter.
A big thank you to the elders and their worthy descendants!
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What you will drink
Before taking an interest in the impressive wine list, you can accompany your appetizer with the house’s signature cocktails . We were charmed by a “Phoenicia too” which mixes Maury Vintgae, Pomegranate and Acidulated strawberry, orange blossom and Proseco!
The wine list is just incredible, offering the most prestigious appellations of our wine regions, with young wines and others that have been left to age. The opportunity to rediscover incredible and complex aromas that the fashion of the “ready to drink” wine on the fruit tends to make forget.
In the little nuggets that brought back wonderful memories of past tastings, the1er cru Dents de Chien, in Saint Aubin, in White Burgundy, or our favorite Saint Jospeh , the cuvée du Papy de Stéphante Montez.
The range of wines by the glass is quite vast with about twenty options, including Château Musar, a wine from Lebanon, a nod to the origins of the owner of the place, Omar Abodib.
PLAN YOUR STAY IN Etretat
- What to do in Étretat
- Where to stay in Étretat
- Where to eat in Étretat
- The gardens of Étretat – coming soon
- The beach of Étretat – coming soon
The atmosphere of the restaurant
After having your cocktail in the pleasant and spacious veranda, you enter the heart of the Donjon. In the octagonal room, the show is as well inside as outside.
You will enjoy a splendid view of the park and the sea, completely magnetic at sunset. But what really makes the atmosphere unique is the decoration of the room signed by the stylist Jean Charles de Castelbajac.
In 2017, for 4 days, the designer with Norman roots, created a mural that he entitled“In the wake of 2 hands“. He combines his 3 fetish and vivid colors (red, yellow and blue) to offer us a portrait of our world with the sea as a link.
He also had the restaurant’s furniture made by two Norman craftsmen who turned the restaurant’s chairs into real works of art, each one telling a different story. Amazing!
The chef of the Restaurant le Donjon
In the kitchen, an explosive and promising duo with Gabin Bouguet in the kitchen and Aurélin Helfrich in the pastry shop.
Gabin is an authentic Cauchois, originally from Fécamp. He learned to cook from his Breton grandmother and inherited his love of beautiful products from his two grandfathers, one a fisherman, the other a market gardener.
After training at some of the finest restaurants in the region, notably L’Ecaille, a fish restaurant in Rouen, he went into exile on the other side of the Channel, in Suffolk, at the Maison Bleue for 5 years. Back in France, he worked as a second-in-command before becoming the head of the Donjon at only 28 years old!
In 2021, at the age of 31, he was awarded his first star, and the following year he received the “Grand of Tomorrow” award from Gault et Millaut.
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Practical information about the Restaurant Le Donjon in Etretat
Type of restaurant:
Gastronomic
Schedules
- Evening dinner, Wednesday to Saturday, from 7:00 to 9:30 pm
- Lunchtime, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 12:00 to 13:30, as well as on holidays.
Where is Le Donjon – Domaine de Saint Clair
- Driving time from Rouen: 1h15
- Driving time from Evreux: 1h50
- Driving time from Caen: 1h35
- Driving time from Alençon: 2h20
- Driving time from Cherbourg: 2h50
OUR ADVICE FOR RENTING A CAR IN Normandy
- Compare prices on our preferred platform: DiscoverCars – one of the best rated sites.
- Choose a car that is comfortable enough (distances can be long) but compact (some parking lots and villages are narrow).
- Think of thecomplete insurance (some roads are tortuous and narrow).
- There is a lot of demand, book it early.
How to get there
Coming to Normandy remains a small adventure, especially if you opt for the train. 2 options are available to you:
- From Paris, get off at Breauté Beuzeville and take the bus of the line 17
- From Paris, get off at Le Havre and take the bus line 24
See train schedules and make reservations
But really, we recommend you to go to Etretat by car.
Parking
Although access is quite cramped and steep, the hotel-restaurant has a few spaces for its guests and even offers fast charging stations.
Otherwise, you will have to opt for a parking in the city and quietly climb the cliff to the entrance of the Keep (about 10 minutes).
The menus
3 menus to choose from in the evening:
- Le Littoral, vegetarian menu in 4 courses
- L’Estran, 5 course menu
- L’Horizon, 8-course menu
And for lunch, you can also opt for the Embrun, with the traditional starter, main course and dessert, but you might be a bit frustrated!
Is Le Donjon Restaurant family friendly?
Clearly, Restaurant le Donjon is not aimed at children. The level of demand of the kitchen and the intensity of the taste of the dishes clearly seem to us to be difficult to match with young palates in training.
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The bill
For gourmet dining in a seaside town, Restaurant le Donjon remains relatively affordable. The variety of the proposed menus allows a progressive rise from 55 to 125 €. Prices go up a bit with the wines, even if the most accessible bottles start at 30€.
Reservation and contact
- We strongly advise you to make a reservation and you can even do it directly online
- And if you’re still in doubt about whether or not to have lunch or dinner at Restaurant le Donjon, you can learn more on their website.
Our 3 best things to do in Étretat
Admire the view of the cliffs from the beach
Let’s stay on simple pleasures…
The whole city revolves around the beach. The waterfront is bounded by high, straight cliffs on either side. There is a wide walkway to get from one end to the other with beautiful views in all directions.
We recommend you to visit it at low tide and at high tide, as it has a completely different appearance.
Walk along the downstream cliff
In Étretat, there are several arches and formations. Most of them are on the south side called “Falaise d’Aval”.
One of the most famous formations is the “Aiguille Creuse”, where the fictional character Arsène Lupin (invented by the author Maurice Leblanc) hides a treasure.
Climb the cliff from the beach to discover wonderful views of the cliffs. And feel free to continue along the path to admire different angles.
Visit the gardens of Étretat
Étretat is a place where art is mixed with reality. The cliffs and the sky have long inspired painters.
Recently, Étretat has developed a garden in this spirit.
It is a unique place to visit because nature is really linked to art.
Reserve your entrance to the gardens
And to learn more:
