Who knows Honfleur, knows the place Sainte Catherine, its beautiful wooden church and its traditional Norman buildings. It is in one of them that the hotel Les Maisons de Léa and itsrestaurant Le Tourbillon are located.
But here, rest assured, no agitation, a hushed atmosphere, a cosy decoration, a cuisine respectful of the noble products of the soil…
In this article, I’ll take a look at the pictures of this dinner, in this restaurant where we felt really well sheltered from the crowd and the bell tower of Saint Catherine.
This review is completely independent, we ate anonymously and paid our bill in full.
Why eat at Le Tourbillon restaurant
Is the Tourbillon worth it? Our review
The choice of restaurants in Honfleur is quite vast, but so are the opportunities to fall in the wrong place, the risk in any tourist town.
By choosing the Tourbillon, you take the decision to move away from the famous and touristy Honfleur basin to the beautiful Place Sainte Catherine and its wooden church, so bewitching.
Sheltered from the crowd, you will take place in an old Norman building of more than 400 years! It is in fact a salt storehouse and 2 houses of the XVIth united in a single building, whose first floor was occupied for several decades by hallettes (food halls open on the square).
Bought in 2003 by Léa Lassarat, she transformed, with her husband, the mythical Hostellerie Lechat, into a beautiful hotel and restaurant, Les Maisons de Léa, with a really cosy setting. It must be said that she presided for several years over the destiny of a well known French decoration brand, Interior’s, that could help!
But the frame is not everything, it is time to look at the plate. Here too there is no lack of taste, the quality local products are cooked with precision and we do not refrain from small gourmet touches to brighten the whole.
The selection of wines is coherent, without extravagance, with well established appellations.
DISCOVER Honfleur
- Best things to do in Honfleur
- Where to sleep in Honfleur: our best hotels
- Where to eat in Honfleur: our best restaurants
- Best museums
- Visit the surpicious Sainte Catherine’s Church
- Discover the Eugène Boudin Museum
- Honfleur or Deauville or Cabourg: where to go?
What you will eat there
The menu offers a wide range of choices for a bistronomic restaurant (6 starters, 7 courses and 5 desserts). In the kitchen, we benefit from the talents of a young chef, Benoit Gripon, from the neighboring Orne region, who comes from a family of farmers.
The fundamentals are there from the start (oysters, salmon and foie gras…) and also impose themselves at the time of the dish (lobster, scallops, lamb mouse…). But can we blame the chef, when we are talking about some of the noblest products of French gastronomy and that he knows how to select with care. Please note that a starter and a vegetarian dish are offered.
As for the accompaniments, originality suddenly comes to wake up the classics. The Pays de Caux egg will be served in a toasted bread espuma, the scallop carpaccio will be sprinkled with hazelnuts and apples, all accompanied by a surprising beet sorbet… The impressive pork chop will be served with a pomelo sauce, while the filet of pollack will be accompanied by gingerbread! Who said we would be bored!
For dessert, allow yourself to be tempted by the Normandy apple or succumb (as we did) to the cheese platter on which 3 of the 4 Normandy PDO’s make a very good showing (we’ll let you guess which one is missing from our hearts…)!
What we ate:
- Starter: Carpaccio of scallops, hazelnut, apple, beet sorbet – Caux country egg 64°C, cep, toasted bread espuma.
- Dish: Lobster Whirlpool, Madagascar vanilla, crushed potato – Lamb mouse confit with thyme, crushed potato, pumpkin chips.
- Dessert: Chestnut & Almond, pumpkin sorbet, vanilla espuma
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What you will drink
The wine list reflects the dishes. We start on the most established appellations of the French vineyard and we try to find a wine which will surprise you while accompanying perfectly your dishes.
It is logical that the selection of white wines, will see the side of Burgundy (Chablis, Chassagne Montrachet, Saint Véran …) to accompany your dishes of the sea. But you can also choose to be surprised, for cheese and dessert, by the “BL” vintage (for Béatrice Larribière, a talented winemaker who took over the family vineyard in the Bordeaux region).
In red, only prestigious appellations (Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Gevrey Chambertin, Saint Joseph…) to compete with the lamb mouse or the pig’s rib.
A real pleasure to see a wine list by the glass worthy of the name with a dozen references, including two of the beautiful burgundies on the menu.
What we drank:
- Red Sancerre – Paul Thomas Chavignol – 2020
- Gevrey Chambertin – Louis Jadot – 2016
The atmosphere of the restaurant
When the first question you are asked when you arrive at the restaurant is whether you prefer the room with the fireplace or the other one, you say to yourself that it goes well.
The atmosphere is quite dark, but not heavy. Warm chandeliers that have much more to Claire, come to warm the wooden beams. The comfortable armchairs bring softness to the atmosphere, while the kitsch paintings made us smile (let’s hope they are not family portraits…).
It’s not luxurious, it’s not old-fashioned, it’s not trendy, it’s cosy, as the owner of the place, who knows a lot about decoration, likes to say.
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Practical information – Le Tourbillon, restaurant in Honfleur
Type of restaurant:
Gastro/bistronomic
Schedules
Monday to Saturday from 7pm to 9:30pm.
Sunday lunch from 11:45 am to 2 pm (with brunch)
Where is Le Tourbillon
- Driving time from Rouen: 01h03
- Driving time from Evreux: 01h18
- Driving time from Caen: 54min
- Driving time from Alençon: 01h40
- Driving time from Cherbourg: 02h03
Sleep in the hotel Les Maisons de Léa
The restaurant is in the same building as the hotel.
A cosy decoration in a historical building very well located.
Read our review after spending a night there!
And see prices, pictures and availability
And here are some other suggestions:
WHERE TO STAY IN Honfleur
Option 1:
Choose a historic house near the old port.
- Hotel Absinthe – see prices, photos and availability
Option 2:
Choose a hotel higher up for more peace and quiet while remaining close.
- Hotel La Maison de Lucie – see prices, pictures and availability
Option 3:
A bit of luxury in the surrounding countryside.
- the magnificent Saint-Siméon Farm – see prices, photos and availability
How to get there
The city of Honfleur has been poorly served for a very long time, even if this has improved (a little) with the construction of the beautiful Pont de Normandie in 1988.
We clearly advise you to opt for the car by renting your car if necessary from Paris.
If you are more adventurous, you can take a train from Paris Saint Lazare either to Le Havre or to Deauville and finish by bus (minimum 3h30 of travel)…
And for having practiced it a lot, we are not sure that the train journeys between Paris and Normandy are much shorter than those told by Marcel Proust at the beginning of the 20th century. A real praise of slowness, or the opportunity to reread the complete“In Search of Lost Time” during the trip (7 volumes). It’s up to you!
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.
Parking
When you think of poor transport links, the seaside and a tourist town, you think of parking problems! Even though the number of parking lots has increased tenfold in the last few years, they can fill up quite quickly in summer. The most convenient way to get to the restaurant Le Tourbillon is to park near the public garden, boulevard Charles V.
The city is not very large, so don’t hesitate to jump on the first place you see!
All parking lots in the center are paid and relatively expensive.
The menus
No menu, except for the children (we speak about it just after). On the other hand, 1 starter and 1 vegetarian dish are at least proposed on the menu.
On Sunday it’s brunch, with “delicacies and sharing” for the whole table.
Is the Tourbillon family friendly?
Besides the fact that the restaurant offers a children’s menu (with main course and dessert), the Tourbillon seems to us to be quite suitable for a good meal with your child.
The relaxed atmosphere that reigns there, the available space and the accessible cuisine seem to us a good opportunity to continue the initiation of their taste buds.
The bill
We are in Honfleur, in a magnificent house and with the most beautiful local products. That has a cost and it is necessary to count approximately 80€ per person, wine included (a little more if you crack for the lobster…).
Reservation and contact
- We strongly advise you to book and you can even do it directly online with this link.
- And if you still have a question about the restaurant Le Tourbillon, you can learn more on their website.
Our top 3 things to do in Honfleur
Walk around the old basin
Became the most most typical of Honfleur, the old basin was used for a long time by fishermen and sailors who armed their boats in the shelter, before facing the dreaded Sleeve! Lined with tall Norman houses, some of whose facades are covered with slate, the old basin has inspired a whole generation of impressionist paintersinspired by the reflections of the water and the 50 shades of sky so characteristic of the mouth of the Seine. Let yourself be charmed!
Discover the church of Sainte Catherine
This church in the heart of Honfleur is a rare piece of religious heritage in France. Entirely built in wood, its vault has the shape of an overturned boat hull (15th century). Its oak belfry was moved to an annex building for fear of lightning igniting the frame, but also because it could not withstand the weight of the 6 bells sheltered for a time in the belfry. We particularly like the atmosphere of this church which recalls the maritime vocation of Honfleur with its numerous ex-voto plaques dedicated to fishermen and the sea.
Read our article.
Visit the Eugène Boudin Museum
Born in Honfleur in 1824, Eugène Boudin is an emblematic painter of the impressionist movement who was greatly inspired by the landscapes of Normandy and Brittany. He has become famous for his marine works, knowing how to render, like no other, theharbor atmosphere that we love so much. The Eugène Boudin Museum in Honfleur, located in the former chapel of the Augustine convent, houses a rich collection dedicated to the famous painter and the Impressionists, but also to lesser known aspects of Norman popular art (wooden games, posters…).
Read our article.
And to learn more:
