The 2025 Critique Gastronomique vintage holds a fine surprise for Loire-Atlantique: Les Embruns earns Mention spéciale (rating 14.5/20) in its first year of eligibility. A meteoric promotion confirming Maëlys Kermarrec's upward trajectory.
The living menu as signature
Where other houses serve a fixed menu, Les Embruns refuses stability. "The menu is only validated the day before, after the evening auction," the chef explains. This discipline produces a singular operating mode: no website with permanent menu, just a promise — that of the tide.
« Impeccable service, living menu, remarkable wine pairings. Les Embruns puts La Turballe on the French gastronomic map. »
Daring sommellery
On the cellar side, sommelier Antoine Le Goff (formerly at Le Petit Nice in Marseille) composes pairings taking calculated risks: an Alsace Grand Cru Riesling on the oysters, a farmhouse Cornouailles cider on the pan-seared scallops with brown butter. The 2018-2022 vertical of Domaine de l'Écu (Muscadet biodynamic biological) alone is worth the detour.
The whole works as a demonstration: high gastronomy doesn't need Paris to exist. It can be born 60 meters from a fishing port, on a windy peninsula, provided a chef puts conviction into it. Maëlys Kermarrec has plenty to spare.
