This trip along the Atlantic and Breton coast had a clear gastronomic purpose: to visit three well-established names of coastal cuisine, Hugo Roellinger in Mont-Saint-Michel Bay, Christophe Coutanceau in La Rochelle, and Alexandre Couillon in Noirmoutier.

All three chefs interpret the sea through their own lens. Only La Marine offered an experience powerful enough to leave a profound and lasting impression.

Christophe Coutanceau delivered technique and consistency, but the overall experience lacked the emotional and gustatory impact one expects at this level.

Hugo Roellinger, despite the reputation and family heritage, felt less compelling than expected, especially when compared to his father’s emblematic dishes such as the iconic agneau aux épices, a dish that Vedat Milor still recalls with admiration. In fact, at Roellinger’s, we enjoyed more their bistrot Le Cancale, not the gastronomic restaurant.

Alexandre Couillon, however, stood apart. His restaurant La Marine was above the rest, because it offered something neither Coutanceau nor Roellinger achieved on this trip: a complete, coherent, place rooted culinary identity from start to finish.

The Experience Begins Before The Meal

One of La Marine’s many strengths is that experience begins before entering the dining room. We were led to a projection space, where a short film immersed us in Noirmoutirer’s tidal life, algae fields, fishermen, violence of storms, quite of dawn and beauty of coastal ecosystems.

For a chef so deeply rooted in Noirmoutier, this introduction is not theatrical, it is contextual. A way of telling: listen first, then taste.

The dining room, recently renovated with taste and elegance extends the same philosophy. And at the heart of the room is Mme Céline Couillon whose master of service is integral to the experience. She leads with precision and warmth, just perfectly aligned with the spirit of the cuisine. Her presence is one of the restaurant’s great strengths.

The Menu Biodiversite Marine

The menu traces a path through Noirmoutier’s maritime ecosystem, moving from delicate coastal flavors to deeper, more intense marine notes before returning to softly to land. A cuisine of precision, purity and place.

Amuses bouches

The amuses set the stage for what will unfold later. Delicate but full of flavor, plenty without being excessive and well thought out. Instead of “tisane” we are served a bouillon of shrimps with fresh verbena. We were also served various crustaceans in little paper thin tarts and seaweed (algues) dressed with pinenut vinegar encased in bucket shaped mini biscuits. Next, came young fennel from the garden with spider crab and burnt lemon cream. Finally, we were served sunchokes with cacao, mushrooms and hazelnut.

Saint-Jacques, Lait D’amende Et Encornets

The Saint-Jacques is handled with precision, warmed on the outside and the center raw. The texture is firm and sweet. The almond milk is well calibrated, light, discreetly nutty, and not over reduced. The squid strips give the dish the necessary marine contrats. The only strong element is the black acidic condiment, which is correctly dosed and prevents the dish from falling into blandness. A technically sound opening course with clean flavors.

Maquereau, Betterave Et Lait De Persil

The maquereau is impeccably fresh and cooked skinside to achieve crispness without drying the flesh. The parsley emulsion brings lift and a subtle acidity, and the beetroot sorbet, cold, sweet and earthy works better than expected with the grilled fish. The balance between fat, acidity and earthiness is well thought out. A dish that demonstrates Couillon’s ability to work with so-called “humble” fish without masking their character.

Homard, Caviar, Un Flan Au Bouillon De Crabe Vert, Halophytes

The cooking of the homard is exact, firm but tender texture. The flan underneath is extremely soft and serves as a structural link rather than aromatic element. The green crab broth is intense, saline, and iodine driven. It gives the dish its identity. Julien Dumas (Zostera in Paris) loves also using that sauce. The caviar integrates seamlessly into the sauce and acts more a seasoning amplifier than as a luxurious topping. A complete and expressive dish, one of the most flavorful in the menu.

Laitue, Braise Et Un Crème D’herbes Potagères Et Jus D’oignons

This is a simple dish on paper, but very well executed. The grilling brings slight bitterness and depth. The herb cream adds freshness, and the onion jus gives a discreet sweetness that rounds the dish. The addition of seaweed and small herbs add aroma without cluttering the plate. A successful vegetable course that remains flavorful and structured.

Huître Grille, En Paquet De Feuilles De Choux

Grilling alters the oyster’s texture and dims the raw iodine intensity. The cabbage leaf gives softness and a vegetal element. The foam is light and neutral. The dish is intentionally restrained and offers a gentler expression of oyster. Technically correct, though less expressive than other courses.

Lieu Jaune, Courge Et Poire, Un Petit Lait Au Vinaigre De Sureau

The cuisson of the Lieu jaune is excellent: moist, firm, and uniform. Serving the skin separately as a crisp roll is a clever way to preserve texture without compromising the fish. The whey sauce brings light acidity, while the darker reduction provides the depth often mission from lean white fish. The grilled coastal green adds salinity and structure. A clean, precise dish built around product quality rather than complexity.

Barbe, Blettes Ligotées, Un Jus De Tête Et Œufs De Poissons

A more assertive dish. The fish-head reduction gives a gelatinous, strongly marine sauce. The chard contributes a slight bitterness and vegetal length. The roe adds salinity. This is the most intense fish preparation of the menu, and one that shows Couillon’s confidence in working with concentrated marine flavors.

Laitue De Mer, Sorbet, Fouet Des Sorcières Et Sarrasin

The sorbet is cold, saline and discreetly bitter. The buckwheat underneath provides warmth and crunch. It resets the palate effectively without sweetness and prepares the diner for the shift toward dessert. Very functional and well executed.

Pomme De Terre, Un Crème Onctueuse Et Noissette

A smooth potato cream shaped into a sphere, lightly sweetened. The texture is extremely soft, almost mousse-like. The hazelnut adds arome and a bit of contrast. A warm and quite dessert that avoids excessive sugar.

Our Wine Choices

The wine at La Marine is handled with competence and a clear understanding of the restaurant’s culinary philosophy. With the pairing, we aimed to respect the purity and salinity of the dishes by avoiding oxidative or heavily oaked wines that would overpower.

Frederic Savart – Le Mont Des Chrétiens 2019

This champagne was an appropriate choice for the opening sequence. Its acidity and restrainted soage supported the amuse bouche and first dishes. Compared with Savart’s Eceuil-Trépail cuvée, this bottle shows more structure and less aromatic charm, but the precision of its profils matched the minimalistic direction of the first dishes.

Les Vignes Oubliées – Saint-Jean De Bébian 2017 (Languedoc Blanc)

This wine offered more width and texture, which worked well with the lobster and the green crab broth. The dish has strong iodine depth, and this wine’s balance of bitterness and mediterranean herbs held up to it.

Albert Boxler – Pinot Gris, Grand Cru Brand

The most convincing pairing of the evening. Dry but expressive, with ripe fruit and smoky mineral notes, it aligned naturally with the grilled lettuce, the cabbage wrapped oyster, and even the pollack. The slight richness of Pinot Gris gave enough volume to withstand the fish reductions without masking the fish itself.

Macallan 25 (Anniversary Edition)

A separate note is necessary here. Céline Couillon, who manages the restaurant, with professionalism and warmth, kindly allowed us to open and taste our own bottle of Macallan 25. This is a thoughtful gesture and not something to be taken for granted in a three star environment. I would like to thank her again for her kind gesture.

The whisky sherry-drive concentration paired will with the darker notes of mignardises and offered a richer, more complex conclusion to the evening.

Conclusion

The visit to La Marine confirmed the confirmed the consistency and maturity of Alexandre Couillon’s cuisine. The technical precision, the restraint in seasoning, and the clarity of flavors are the foundation of his work. The recent renovation and the restaurant management under Céline Couillon give the restaurant an even more coherent identity.

The experience is controlled from start to finish, without unnecessary gestures and without the noise that too often surrounds fine dining.

The menu we tasted showed no weak link. Some dishes stood out for their depts, the homard, the pollack, the rockfish and the others impressed with their simplicity executed at a very high level. The wine menu was aligned with the kitchen, and the openness shown by all La Marine’s team was a gesture of genuine hospitality.

We left La Marine with the clear intention to return next year, and to extend the experience by trying La Table d’Elise, their bistrot next door. Few restaurants manage to create such a sense of confidence and continuity. Couillon’s cuisine is not demonstrative – it is assured, precise and grounded in a true understanding of product and place.

La Marine in Comparative Perspective

As far as gastronomic seafood is concerned, there are two kinds of restaurants: Purists and Enhancers (we made up this term, but our intention will be clear soon).

Purists view themselves as “intermediaries” between the ocean and the final dish. Much like natural winemakers, they want minimal intervention, focusing primarily on perfecting cooking time (or lack of it) and method to bring out the maximum sweetness and other inherent qualities of a particular piece of seafood.

Enhancers, on the other hand, seek to imprint their own signature, or style, on seafood and other dishes. Various combinations, contrasting textures, use of spices, etc. are the tools to enhance the flavor of the fish according to the chef’s vision and preferences.

We are not building this dichotomy on the so-called Product versus Sophisticated restaurants because, at the high end, product quality is first and foremost for both the Purists and Enhancers. The purists differ from the Enhancers in philosophy, but their cooking can be very sophisticated. Nobody with a right mind and palate will characterize Etxebarri of the Basque region in Spain as a “simple” restaurant. Perfecting how to cook with fire takes as much skill (but a different sort) as Couillon’s mindful and labor -intensive creations.

In our opinion, considering only Europe and North America, Spain excels in Purist seafood. We have never seen the level of D’Berto, Etxebarri, Bar FM, Los Marinos Jose, Elkano elsewhere. Conversely, we have been disappointed with the Enhancers in Spain.

France, on the other hand, is the kingdom of Enhancers. True, there are excellent Purists restaurants, but they fail in comparison with Spain in terms of variety and exquisity! (Partially thanks to the relative low income, there are more fishermen in Galicia than Brittany who are willing to take risks to fish the rarest species.) The best French Enhancers are amply rewarded by the Michelin guide, and we tried most of them.

In our October trip we tried three of them, on consecutive days. (see the introduction of this article). La Marine is without any doubt at the top of the list. If there is one that can equal it, we have not discovered it yet!