Official tourism website of Lorient South Brittany
Seafood in Lorient Bretagne Sud
Tasty Seafood
Langoustines, hake, spider crab, lobster, cockles and clams… Lorient Bretagne Sud is full of tasty seafood. Make the most of your visit to taste some ultra-fresh seafood!
Exceptional Savor
What could be tastier than some fresh scallops, or simply fried in a pan with butter? …
Lorient, leading French fishing port
Lorient is France’s leading fishing port. It is also France’s leading port for live langoustine catches. These crustaceans are delicious in the spring and summer (the langoustines season). Buy live langoustine, seeing as you are here (not frozen langoustine). You should be able to find it for €10 to €15 per kilo (except at the end of the year, when the price doubles!).
The hake, emblem of Lorient
As far as fish are concerned, hake is the true emblem of Lorient. The fish has given its name to Lorient’s professional football club “Les Merlus”, historically created by fish merchants from Lorient! It is a large fish, which can of course also be bought in fillets. Its flesh is fine and it is not very expensive (less than €10 per kilo).
But the fish caught in Lorient doesn’t end with hake. There are many others, noble (monkfish, pollack, red mullet, sea bass, etc.) and less noble (sardine, smelt, mackerel, etc.).
Cockles, prawns, winkles, clams, spider crabs, lobster!
Once you get here, enjoy the best shellfish that Lorient Bretagne Sud has to offer (cockles, venus clams, winkles and clams are delicious). You will find good shellfish in all fish shops.
You can also gather your own shellfish at low tide (and preferably from a tidal coefficient of 70); winkles and cockles are easier to find than clams. Make sure you respect current regulations for amateurs (concerning the size of what you fish), and only fish in authorized areas.
As for spider crab, it has been quite easy to catch in past years (as it was present in quantity). You can fish for it either directly from a beach or rocks, or from a fishing boat, with just a mask and snorkel, wetsuit and gloves.
Of course, if you have the occasion to taste a fresh Breton lobster caught by a local, do give in to temptation!
Fishmongers, Fish auctions, and Markets
Seafood products can be found in all the local fish shops, including of course at the Halles Merville in Lorient and at the markets in Lorient Bretagne Sud. If you want to buy from Lorient fishing port, head to Moulin Marée, a fish shop open to the public, offering among other things, products from Lorient fishing boats (but not only).