Brunch in Le Touquet: where to go, and how to put together a brunch of your own

Where can you have brunch in Le Touquet? The choice is narrower than in Paris or Lille: the resort has one big hotel brunch, on Sundays at the Westminster, and a handful of cafés and pâtisseries where breakfast can stretch into late morning. On the other hand, with a covered market, fishmongers, a greengrocer-cheesemonger and renowned artisans just a couple of streets apart, it is one of the best towns on the coast for putting together your own holiday brunch. Here are both options, with checked addresses and our tips as hosts.

Brunch in Le Touquet: what to know before you go

A few local realities will save you from disappointment:

• Brunch is mostly a Sunday affair. Full brunch menus are concentrated on Sundays and rarely offered on Saturdays.
• What's on offer follows the seasons. Some brunches stop in winter; always check before coming between November and March.
• Book ahead. On spring and summer weekends tables go quickly, especially for large groups.
• Places change. Cafés and tearooms open, close or change their menus from one season to the next: call or check their social media before you go.

We only list establishments whose activity is confirmed by a recent source; for everything else, we point you to the neighbourhoods and types of places worth looking in.

The big Sunday brunch at the Westminster

The most complete option is Le Brunch du West, held on Sunday lunchtimes by the Hôtel Barrière Le Westminster, avenue du Verger, in its “Les Ambassadeurs” function rooms. It takes the form of an all-you-can-eat buffet covering the whole spectrum:

• an American-style breakfast corner;
• starters and carved meats;
• a seafood buffet, with whole fish and Côte d'Opale specialities;
• cheeses and a dessert buffet;
• live music.

This is the brunch for special occasions: birthdays, family get-togethers, the last day of the holiday. It is seasonal (it takes a break for part of the winter) and booking is essential; up-to-date dates and prices are on the hotel's official website.

The setting alone is worth the trip: with its brick façade and Art Deco lounges, the hotel is one of the resort's landmarks, on the edge of the forest.

Cafés and pâtisseries for a simpler brunch

If you're after something lighter than a hotel buffet, the town centre has several options for a late breakfast:

• Le Globe Trotter, rue de Metz, is the café where all of Le Touquet crosses paths from morning to night; stop for a coffee and something fresh and simple, in travel-inspired surroundings.
• Opaline, avenue du Verger, is a pâtisserie-restaurant recommended by the tourist office for its cakes; several customers recommend its brunch. Check opening days, which are limited during the week.
• The bakeries and tearooms on rue Saint-Jean and rue de Metz are ideal for a stop for pastries and a hot drink, to take down to the beach when the weather is fine.

Where to settle in?

For a lively atmosphere, stay around the covered market and rue de Metz, especially on market days. For peace and quiet, avenue du Verger and the edge of the forest are calmer. The seafront has the view, but terraces there are more exposed to the wind: bring a jumper, even in July.

A home-made brunch: shopping at Le Touquet's market

This is our favourite option, and the one that suits families and groups best. Le Touquet's covered market, on the corner of rue de Metz and rue Jean-Monnet, is held all year round on Thursday and Saturday mornings, with extra Monday mornings during some school holidays; its fish hall is also open on Friday and Sunday mornings. Details in our guide to Le Touquet's market and shops.

All of these are listed by Gault&Millau in its selection of Le Touquet artisans. A tip: on Saturdays, go early, before the late-morning rush.

Brunch through the seasons

A Sunday morning in April is a very different experience from one in November:

To choose your dates, see our guide on when to visit Le Touquet.

Our plan for the perfect Sunday morning

1. Around 9am: a stroll along the seafront promenade or a run on the beach at low tide to work up an appetite.
2. Late morning: a look round the fish stalls at the covered market, open on Sunday mornings, then a detour to the “rendez-vous du terroir”, a market of local produce and crafts held on Sundays on place Quentovic according to the tourist office's events calendar.
3. At noon: brunch, at the Westminster if you've booked, or at home with your shopping.
4. In the afternoon: a walk in the forest or a bike ride to help digestion; see our ideas for walks in Le Touquet.

Charles's tip: do your brunch shopping at the market on Saturday, and leave only the bread and pastries for Sunday morning. From the villa, rue Saint-Jean is a two-minute walk: someone pops out for croissants while the others lay the table.

Brunch for eight: what works

Large groups are hard to fit into the town-centre cafés on a Sunday. Three solutions work well:

• Book the hotel brunch very early, giving the exact number of guests and mentioning any children.
• Split the shopping the day before: one group at the covered market, another at the artisans on rue de Metz.
• Have a real kitchen and a big table: that's the whole point of renting rather than staying in a hotel. Our family duplex for 8 people, which combines the Hélios and Cassiopée apartments, was designed for exactly this kind of morning.

For the rest of your meals, see our guides on where to eat out in Le Touquet and what to eat in Le Touquet.