Restaurant de L'Île Benoist

The story

Restaurant de L'Île Benoist – Courseulles-sur-Mer – Seafood & Modern Cuisine

A Family Affair by the Sea

Restaurant de L'Île Benoist is an extension of the well‑known family business “Aux Régals de l’Île,” long respected in Courseulles‑sur‑Mer for its seafood. Oysters, fish and fruits de mer arrive directly from the family’s own parks, just metres from the kitchen. This direct line to the source defines the cooking: produce quality comes first, treated with simplicity and refinement.

Chef Sébastien Benoist composes a modern cuisine that balances freshness with technique. The midweek lunch menu du marché (€30) changes regularly – one recent version opened with a tartare of fish with seaweed and citrus, followed by filet of ling with a lemon‑infused hollandaise‑style sauce, and finished with an all‑chocolate dessert of biscuit, streusel, ganache, tuile and espuma. On weekends, the OSTREA menu offers medallions of bar (sea bass) in two textures alongside turbot cooked at low temperature, again with that bright lemon sauce. Meat lovers, too, find carefully sourced cuts cooked with attention.

A Tranquil Setting near the Water

The restaurant sits less than 300 metres from the beaches of Courseulles‑sur‑Mer, on the Île de Plaisance beside the river Seulles. Windows look out over a private pond, creating a haven of calm. The dining room is accessible for wheelchair users, and a large private car park sits directly in front. Open Wednesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner, it invites guests to linger.

This consistency of product, setting and technique earned Restaurant de L'Île Benoist a place on the Michelin Recommended list – a recognition that aligns with the quiet confidence of a family kitchen that lets the sea, and the chef’s care, speak for themselves.