Here are a few of our suggestions for restaurants in the locality. All of the restaurants at the port are within walking distance of the house.
Mortagne-sur-Gironde
Cafe de la Rive at the port is a bar/restaurant with lovely views of the port if you sit outside. Seafood and oysters are on the menu as well as other choices. It serves lunch and dinner but alternates opening nights with other port restaurants. Â Â Tel. 05 46 90 50 86
Restaurant du Port Tel 05 46 90 50 32
Good service and food but can be a little pricey. This restaurant has tables inside and a marquee on the waterside of the port.
There is also a Creperie and a Pizza Restaurant at the port, good for lunches or if you want something not too expensive.
Champagnolles
A new restaurant “La Vieille Poste” was opened in May 2009 by a lovely Australian couple Sue and Iain Holland. It has rapidly turned into a firm favourite. Be advised that they only accept cash but their fixed dinner price is only around 15 euros for a three course meal. They are only open for Lunch on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and only do dinners on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  We would advise you phone ahead to book.
To get there, go to Boutenac Toutvent and take the road to Gemozac, literally about 300 metres from the Boutenac roundabout take the D144 to St Germain du Seudre. After 7 kilometres, you will come to a ‘T’ junction, turn left then turn right in the village (the road is sign posted to Champagnolles). When you reach Champagnolles (about 4kilometres) you are looking for the second right. Take that and the restuarant is about 400 yards down on the left hand side.
Arces
A good restaurant, is The Cottage in Arces. Run by an Irish chef Doug and his French wife Axelle, it has an excellent reasonably priced menu and has both an English and French clientele. In high summer it is very busy so we recommend booking in advance. In the summer season it is open everyday for lunch and dinner. Look out for music nights which they hold occasionally, but these you must definitely book as they are very popular.
To get there you can take the coast road left out of the house drive to the roundabout outside Talmont and take the left hand turn to Arces. When you get into the outskirts of Arces turn let again and the restaurant is on the left hand side at the bottom of the hill below the Church. You will see the Church on the road to the village from Talmont.
Talmont
Relais at Boutenac Touvent
We haven’t been recently but English spoken and it does a 12euro menu du jour.
Gemozac
Pizzeria Florentine in the centre of Gemozac has very nice pizzas and fast service. It is 7, rue Carnot and the telephone is 05 46 96 33 30
Moulin des Monards Tel: 05 46 90 49 17
is in the second village (Les Monards) from Mortagne on the coast road towards Royan and is about 5kms from the house. It is very nice. We wouldn’t advise you to try the other one in Les Monards which you come across first! Moulin des Monards is just over the small bridge right beside the Estuary inlet and has a conservatory type extension. It has good food and is frequented by the locals and we would advise booking a table, especially at the weekend.
There is the Promontory Restaurant in Talmont where we have had one or two good meals and others that were no better than average.
Talmont has a few creperies as well. One good for one for lunch is on the left hand side immediately as you walk into the village.
Meschers
There are a few restaurants down at the port at Meschers. Lots of English speakers and reasonable food, but you can find better and there is a more expensive restaurant at the troglodyte caves. This one also has a bar and cafe set into the cliffs right on the edge of the Gironde together with a small display of how people lived in the cliffs in the last century.  Sitting out on the cliffs looking down over the river sipping adrink is very pleasant on a sunny day.
La Floret is a fine and popular restaurant close to a roundabout on the outskirts of Meschers. The portions are very generous, it is lovely food but make sure you are hungry before you go! Ask to sit in the conservatory for the views.
To get to La Floret take the coast road via Les Monards and Talmont to Meschers and you will come to it on the right hand side about 500 metres after a set of traffic lights and just before a roundabout. You will know you are on the right road when you see the fire station (pompiers) which is just beside the traffic lights.
Les Cardinale de Mer is a favourite for special occaisions (a bit more expensive then average) and is on the road between Saint-Georges de Didonne and Royan on the promontory. Excellent seafood and meats from the wood burning grill this restaurant is very popular with the locals and you will need to book, certainly for Friday and Saturday evenings and for weekend lunches. Ask for a table beside the windows for a lovely view over the Estuary. Great to watch the sunset.
Royan has so many restaurants both along the Plage and at the yacht harbour that you are bound to find some good ones. There is a very nice one, popular with the locals and tourists across the road from the old fashioned children’s roundabout near the boat marina. The more modern part of town along the seafront has many restaurants but have a good look at the menus first. There are outside cafes on the pavements and in the squares and you should get some live music in the evenings and it is pleasant just to sit having a drink, coffee or an ice cream and watching the world go by.
Hotel Bordeaux, Pons
This is a very good restaurant in the centre of Pons. It is quite expensive but we have never had a bad meal there. We recommend you book in advance.