Top 5 in Biarritz

• Sleep well: Palmito

Right from the lobby, the tone is set with a rack full of surfboards awaiting surf enthusiasts... Ideally located in the pedestrian street of Port-Vieux, this hotel attracts a clientele that has come to sample the pleasures of the ocean.tonne du Port-Vieux, this hotel attracts guests who come to enjoy the pleasures of the ocean in a warm and relaxed refuge. On the second floor, books on Hawaii and the Polynesian tiki can be found on the shelves of the lounge. The 18 rooms feature a vintage decor that's just as well-traveled, with rattan furniture and objects brought back from Morocco by owners Nina and Aurélien Lacoume. Two dormitories with capsule beds for teenagers complete the offer, not forgetting a family apartment on the top floor, with a rooftop for sipping a drink at dusk. Le Palmito has also just opened its own restaurant across the street. Six stalls offer creative and sustainable cuisine, with organic and seasonal produce, for the very best in street food.

7 rue du Port-Vieux, 64200 Biarritz

• Top table: La Rotonde, Hôtel du Palais

It was a gamble, and it paid off. Entrusting such a young, admittedly well-trained chef (his last stint was with Christophe Hay) with the keys to such a prestigious liner, and taking over from Jean-Marie Gautier, represented a risk that proved to be well calculated in every respect. The Hôtel du Palais shines once again: with Aurélien Largeau's superb plates, heart of Banka trout fillet, mozzarella, sea lettuce, celtuce and Kristal caviar, his very gourmet version of ttoro, turbot à mother-of-pearl, shellfish juice, oysters, seaweed and celery, or saint-pierre, green beans, peach, fresh almonds and fish juice. The pleasure continues with the compositions of a pastry chef we crowned when he was with Yoann Conte, Aleksandre Oliver and his clever compositions, the "rhub'algue", the "herbes folles" and the crêpe tribute to his grandfather Raymond. The cellar is rich and can obviously make the bill soar, but this brilliant marine menu certainly marks the beginning of a beautiful story.

3 toques, 16/20

1 avenue de l'Impératrice, 64200 Biarritz

• The table that merges: Carøe

One of the trendiest tables in the up-and-coming district, at the top of rue Gambetta. There's no need to chase the natural, here it comes at triple gallop with the multiple small plates of sharing-nibbling, sashimi, clams with anchovy and burnt leek, beet and ponzu vinaigrette, grilled octopusBanka trout with seaweed, Kintoa pig with onions - a veritable catalog of dishes for the local bobosphere, which is in no way pejorative, but on the contrary testifies to a pertinent choice of the right product. Desserts of the moment, goat and buckwheat cheesecake, strawberry and smoked ricotta celery root ice cream... Matching cellar, decidedly natural wines.

1 toque, 12.5/20

51 bis rue Gambetta, 64200 Biarritz

• Table 109: Tomorrow

Marked by the new wave (short circuits, beet, wild garlic...), Matthias Leuliette "explains his concept", in the form of an improvised menu (€48 in 3 courses, €60 in 5 courses) using ingredients chosen by guests for a "cuisine of the moment". This could be anecdotal, except that the young self-taught chef, who has appeared on "MasterChef" and Momo in London, among others, seems genuinely sincere and shows a certain savoir-faire in the exercise, deserving even of the compliments, and the toast.He's even deserving of compliments, and the toque, for his cute foie gras disguised as a duckling under a citrus shell, raviole faisselle ail des ours, a very good free-range poultry with a vin jaune sauce and a pleasant strawberry dessert. The excellent bread comes from Clément, the baker in Enneartz, and the wine list has been put together with the help of wine merchant friends.

1 toque, 12.5/20

1 rue du Lycée, 64200 Biarritz

• Gourmandise: Pâtisserie Noisette

Set up in Village-Iraty-Biarritz's "rue des créateurs", pastry chef Mathieu Turonnet has quickly become so successful that he's starting to go beyond the borders and, above all, the walls of his workshop. The man who, until now, didn't sell directly, but only to order, has just opened a beautiful boutique in town. Taste the Saint-Honoré, and give us some news...

5 Rue Gaston Larré, 64200 Biarritz