You might think for such a small island it wouldnt be very easy to write a top five places to eat in Guernsey post but you couldn’t be more wrong. You might also be surprised to hear that there is a distinct lack of fast food places too. No McDonalds, Pizza Express or Dominos. Not a whiff of KFC or Burger King. They don’t want the rubbish that fast food restaurants tend to generate so there aren’t any. And there are a very few take away restaurants too. What there are though are a lot of amazing places to eat, featuring the freshest ingredients, highly trained passionate chefs and a huge amount of locally caught fish.
You also need to be aware that the majority of restaurants (including those in hotels) are closed on Mondays. So you need to make sure you have planned ahead for a Monday night dinner, and made a reservation in one of the few places that are open. In fact you would be advised to make a reservation in any restaurant you want to eat in at the moment. Due to the pandemic there is a real staffing shortage and so this is impacting on the hospitality industry. Make a booking, and sit back with a drink and enjoy it being slightly slower than it might have previously been.
The Hideaway
Situated in the Moores Hotel in St Peter Port The Hideaway is an authentic Austrian patisserie that does the most amazing gateaux and apfelstrudel. They also have a comprehensive lunch menu featuring sandwiches, soups and salads.
Breakfast here is a perfect way to kick off a day exploring the town.
Le Nautique
Le Nautique is a seafood restaurant situated on the main road in St Peter Port. The building it is in were used as vaults by shipowners and merchants in the eighteenth century so it goes way back. And its been a restaurant since the 1960s so is Guernsey’s oldest established restaurant. The view is spectacular over the harbour to Castle Cornet and the islands behind. The food is fabulous and really shows that chef Günter Botzenhardt has a real passion for food. The above photo is of my dessert, which was “the chef’s selection”. I ordered it thinking it would be a couple of small desserts so you can imagine my shock when this platter arrived. £12.50 and featuring nine stunning desserts it was the perfect end to a fabulous three hour lunch on our first day in Guernsey.
Pier 17
Pier 17 was the setting for dinner with our gorgeous friends who live in Guernsey. They suggested it should be where we meet up for Friday night dinner with them as it’s their favourite place to eat and we could see why. The food and service were exceptional.
Old Quarter
To say the Old Quarter restaurant is off the beaten track would be an understatement. The Old Quarter in St Peter Port is quiet in the evening, but a lovely stroll from the main car park by the marina where we left the car. Walking inside was like going into the dining room of a French family in France. It only seats about 30 and the food is prepared in the smallest of kitchens. This is my starter, typically when you get a plate of scallops in the UK you get around 3 or four. This one had nine! And it tasted delicious.
Taste of India
This was an absolute highlight of our trip. Our friend Claire suggested that a good way to end our week in Guernsey would be to get a take away from this Indian Restaurant and then walk across the road with it and eat it on the beach whilst watching the sunset. Planning to do this we brought blankets and cutlery with us from the UK (the joy of travelling on the ferry meant we could load our car up with all sorts of stuff) and then prayed all week that the weather would be on our side.
Boy did we luck out. We did try to order ahead as the website suggested but we couldn’t get though on the phone so turned up and ordered in person. Our order taken we were given poppadoms and drinks and asked to wait in the waiting area for our food to be prepared. Less than half an hour later we were clutching our dinner and heading over to find a spot on the sand. £36 for more food than we could eat and it was all fabulous.
We really couldn’t think of a more perfect end to our week in Guernsey.
Guernsey Gache
Special mention also goes to the Guernsey Gache. You can’t visit Guernsey and not have a slice of this amazing fruit bread, covered in Guernsey butter. Also get some to take home with you. And then find a recipe so you can make it when you are at home too. It’s heaven.
These are our top five places to eat in Guernsey and I could list another ten that we didnt actually get to during out week on the island.
And of course if you are in Guernsey for a while make sure you visit The Little Chapel on your way out to dinner