The art of living in Amiens: conviviality and pleasure
Amiens is known for its mystically calm cathedral. For the House of Jules Verne where he lived for more than 30 years and wrote most of his work. Not to mention its hortillonnages to discover on foot or by boat. But to get into the Amiens spirit, there's nothing better than a break in the city's best establishments.
The city cultivates this art of living thanks to which gastronomy rhymes with pleasure. And who says pleasure says Saint-Leu district! This trendy and student district, very lively during the weekend evenings, offers a magnificent setting for relaxation. To get a taste of its essence, there's nothing better than to push open the doors of one of the establishments on Quai Bélu, which overlooks the Somme! Taste the potjevleesch or the carbonade of the Quai (15, Quai Bélu) will already put you in the mood!
A little further, still on the Somme, the restaurant Ô Jardin, with its incomparable terrace, also knows how to cultivate the art of meeting with pleasure around a table. Inside, the large bay windows allow you to enjoy the bucolic landscape. In the middle of the room is a rustic fireplace where you can cook ribs on the bone over a wood fire. Enough to make the show! The most during the winter: the Finnish chalet that can be privatized with a pierrade or raclette menu!
The downtown area is not to be outdone and has many addresses where it is good to meet. The Robin Room (9, rue Flatters) is one of them! Led by the chef Claire Chaumeil, the restaurant offers fresh, home-made dishes full of beautiful flavors in a colorful and tastefully decorated room. The most: the Saturday brunch with its pancakes and English muffins.
A 100% local supply
The hortillonnages and their fertile soil are of great benefit to the restaurant owners. This opportunity to consume ultra-locally is more generally very much appreciated by the city's inhabitants. Several market gardeners from the hortillonnages sell their products every Saturday in the Saint-Leu district, but of course you shouldn't miss the "market on the water" which takes place every year on the third Sunday of June. Dressed in traditional clothes, the market gardeners go down the Somme to sell their products on the Bélu quay, as they did in the 19th century!
The hortillonnages even have their own honey thanks to the Ruchers de l'Ilot Miel, led by Mathieu Boll and Sébastien Lequien. Biodiversity is so rich that bees allow these beekeepers to harvest a honey "all flowers" with multiple nuances.
From now on, sourcing locally has become a guarantee of quality for customers who are increasingly looking for responsible consumption. L'Île aux fruits (325, rue de Verdun), an eco-location in the heart of the hortillonnages, is the right place to realize all the possibilities that local consumption can bring. Every Thursday, you can discover this beautiful place where life is good. You will find local vegetables and fruits. But not only that! You can also attend a concert while enjoying an aperitif board and a good beer.
And if we talk about hops, we might as well talk about the local craftsmen who are multiplying in the city and around. Arnaud Daumerie of Bear's Tavern brews on his barge, the Ambiani Brewery and their labels with the effigy of Amiens are a great success as well as the Charles & Vianney brewery which bets on the 100% local.
Local shopping continues at one of the city's best cheese shops: Julien Planchon, located in several places in the city, including the Halle au Frais, at the foot of the belfry. You will find a good summary of the nearly 200 different cheeses that the Hauts-de-France region alone has to offer.
For the amateurs, it is even possible to take advantage of the products of the Hautefeuille distillery (in Beaucourt-en-Santerre) which produces whiskies and gins of very good quality. The distillery is located on the family property (10 generations old!), and its founder, Étienne d'Hautefeuille, uses the barley and wild botanicals found on the cereal farm.
Locavore and seasonal food: a desire assumed by the restaurant owners
Products from the hortillonnages and from various local actors can be found on the stalls of the city's markets, but also on the plates of all the good restaurants. In recent years, many chefs have joined the movement and have made respect for the land and local producers the basis of their work. The menus proposed in these establishments change according to the seasons and the supplies. In this respect, the Ail des Ours (11, rue Sire Firmin Leroux) has clearly distinguished itself since its opening. The chef, Stéphane Bruyer, Maître Restaurateur, and his team offer a gourmet and creative cuisine. Elegance and refinement can be seen both in the dining room, with a very elaborate decoration, and on the plate.
A little further away, in the city center, and very close to the Maison de la Culture, Au Quotidien (11, rue Léon Blum) promises a locavore and playful feast! The traditional cuisine is here enhanced by a zest of originality, to eat better and healthier. The great classics are brilliantly interpreted, the ingredients are all very fresh and carefully selected. Finally, the vegan choices allow a complete and delicious meal, with zero animal cruelty.
Near theTourist Office, where you will find all the information you need for a successful visit, go and discover a new table: Hyacinthe, a small restaurant that has everything of the big ones. The chef, Thomas Dumont, proposes the idea of a committed gastronomy. Here everything is fresh, seasonal, organic and local. Each product is chosen, thought out and highlighted thanks to an intelligent and subtle work.
The gastronomy of Amiens: creativity as a key word
This new way of working with local and seasonal products necessarily leads to creativity. Starting voluntarily from this constraint, chefs are obliged to regularly rethink their dishes and the menu proposed to customers. It is more and more common to think that a small menu is a guarantee of quality!
Some chefs have the talent to push creativity even further by proposing gastronomic tables of very beautiful workmanship. This is particularly true of Éric Boutté, chef of L'Aubergade in Dury, a true standard-bearer of Picardy gastronomy. Author of original recipes, which always draw from the land of his childhood, this talented chef offers his customers a menu that evolves with the seasons for a unique taste experience on each visit. Just across the street, La Bonne Auberge, owned by chef Vivien Lamotte, also innovates by combining flavors that are always refined and subtle.
Back in the city center, you will also find some gastronomic restaurants. Starting with the restaurant Les Orfèvres (14, rue des Orfèvres!), led by chef Frédéric Barette, who offers dishes of a rare elegance. The "Carte Blanche" menu will offer you beautiful surprises and unforgettable discoveries. To immerse yourself in another atmosphere, go to the Parc de la Hotoie and the adjoining zoo to discover Le Pavillon Bleu. This bistronomic restaurant at lunchtime and gastronomic restaurant at night offers a fresh and refined locavore cuisine. Located in one of the last guinguettes in Amiens, the establishment elegantly mixes tradition and modernity.
GOOD TIPS
Top locavore restaurants where to eat for less than €25
-L'Eden Burger (4, rue de Beauvais) where burgers rhyme with good food.
-Au Quotidien (11, rue Léon Blum) with a healthy but tasty menu.
-Le Colibri (79, rue des jacobins) : the ideal place to have a brunch on weekends.
Where to go for brunch
-Le Colibri, 79 rue des Jacobins. This is the new address for your breakfasts and brunches. Here, you can enjoy a beautiful room, under a glass roof and decorated with taste. The menu offers the classics we love: boiled eggs, avocado toast, pancakes or French toast. You can also ask for an extra, including a pastry from Gâteaux de Margot.
I buy local
-Thursday, starting at 5pm at L'Île aux Fruits (325 Verdun Street).
-Friday afternoon at the Hortillon de Lune market (impasse Marcel, in Rivery).
-On Saturday mornings, at the market on the water along the Somme (place Parmentier).
-Every day: the Fresh Market (place du Beffroi).
-From April to November: the Cueillette de Saint-Gratien, with a view of the Hallue valley!
For a sweet break
-Les Spécialités de Quesnoy-le-Montant, Maison Fréville (6, rue des Vergeaux). You will find the best beaten cake in the region!
-Les Gâteaux de Margot (2, rue Henri Barbusse) : tea room and fine and organic pastries.
-Dasi Frères (20, rue de Beauvais): an institution for all tea and coffee lovers (with little sweets!)
Getting there
By car, Amiens is located at 1h15 from Paris by the highway. By train, Amiens is located at 1 hour from Paris. The city benefits from the proximity of a TGV service with the Haute Picardie TGV station (20 minutes away by freeway). By bus, with the companies Flixbus and BlaBlaCar Bus which make a stop at the bus station, right in the city center.
Contact
-OFFICE DE TOURISME ET DES CONGRÈS D'AMIENS MÉTROPOLE - More information on the website
23, place Notre-Dame - BP 11018
80010 Amiens Cedex 1
Tel : 03 22 71 60 50
To find all the tourist information of the city, and allows you to prepare your stay and book guided tours.
