3 Best Restaurants in France

Octopus does indeed appear on the menu at this friendly little restaurant with a view of the Grand Plage from its terrace dining area. But there's more: the Basque burgers—featuring Charolais beef, local Ossau Irauty cheese, and piquillo peppers—are a hit with locals, the steaks are generous and tender, and the chipirons (baby squid) with Basque black pudding are the chef's specialty. It also serves food all day, every day—a bonus when most other local restaurants stop serving at 2 pm.

If you love Yves Camdeborde's southwestern France–inflected cooking at Le Comptoir but can't get a table for dinner, head to this tavernlike Basque restaurant run by his longtime second-in-command, Stéphane Jégo. Jégo's style is remarkably similar to Camdeborde's because he uses the same suppliers and shares his knack for injecting basic ingredients with sophistication reminiscent of haute cuisine. You can go hearty with Spanish piquillo peppers stuffed with salt-cod paste or poulet Basquaise (chicken stewed with peppers), or lighter with seasonal dishes that change weekly. The restaurant is popular with rugby fans (a sport beloved of Basques), who create a festive mood. Reserve at least a week ahead for dinner.

This old-style market café within Biarritz's Les Halles market hall has a proper zinc counter with stools inside and a scattering of tables outside. Tostadas of melt-in-your-mouth ham, foie gras, or cheese, charcuterie platters, and Oleron oysters pair well with tasty regional wines by the glass.