Few of the restaurants in Le Havre are worth making a fuss about. There are, however, lots of bars, cafés and brasseries around the gare SNCF, and all sorts of crêperies and ethnic alternatives – North African, South American, Caribbean – in the back streets of the St-François district.If you're shopping for food to take home, you could try the central market, just west of place Gambetta and ideal for fresh produce, or two Auchan hypermarkets (both open Mon–Sat 8.30am–10pm): the larger, at the Mont Gaillard Centre Commercial, is reached by following cours de la République beyond the gare SNCF, through the tunnel; the other, at Montivilliers, is signposted off the Tancarville road. L'Huitrière 12 quai Michel Féré tel 02.35.21.24.16. Seafood specialists in the historic St-François quarter. Even the simplest €14 assiette includes clams, shrimps and langoustines; the two-person €115 Abondance has to be seen to be believed. They also have another branch in Étretat. La Marine Marchande 27 bd Mouchez tel 02.35.25.11.77. Budget eaters congregate five minutes' walk east of the gare SNCF to enjoy a fine all-you-can-eat spread of French starters, which with a main course, dessert and wine costs just €10. Closed Sat lunch & Sun. L'Odyssée 41 rue Général-Faidherbe tel 02.35.21.31.42. First-rate seafood restaurant close to the ferry terminal in the old town, serving a reliable €20 weekday lunch menu and a changing, more adventurous €25 dinner option. Closed Sat lunch, Sun evening, Mon & mid-July to mid-Aug. La Petite Brocante 75 rue Louis Brindeau tel 02.35.21.42.20. Lively central bistro, where the set menus are a little pricey at €21.34 and up, but there's always a good-value plat du jour, as often as not fresh fish. Closed Sun & first three weeks in Aug.
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