EuroRevs

Caen France - Bouillon Saint Martin

Date of Visit - October 2025

Here is my experience in Caen, Normandy

I was refused entry at a restaurant I researched. I mention this as a preface to what happened next. I hot-footed it there, knowing that the opening hours were all over the shop.

I found another, by chance that I was passing by. This is what happens when you look up at your new surroundings. Travelling to a new place, while clutching your phone, can mean you miss out on what’s actually going on.

No reservations were made by me, at either establishment. Where I ended up that night did not come up on any of searches online in Caen or London.

I wanted a French bouillon experience. Typically, Paris is the way to go. I didn’t make it there either but perhaps that’s a tale to tell another time. Normandie, let’s see what you have to offer.

Dining in France

The French just don’t do rushed dining. Even after you’re seated at a restaurant, no one will rush to take your order and it’s nothing to do with their service charge / no tipping culture. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t proper French dining – it’s a Bouillon restaurant. They originated in Paris, more specifically with the first one opening in 1767 on Roue des Poulies and named after Monsieur Boulanger, commonly referred to as the 1765 Parisian soup vendor.

“Venite ad me omnes qui stomacho laboratis, et ego vos restaurabo”

It’s no coincidence that the restorative properties of a bouillon broth led to Monsieur Boulanger’s shopfront engraving of “Come to me, those whose stomachs ache, and I will restore you,” in Latin. Nor surprising is that it closed around 1854 when the street was torn down.

Soupe à l'oignon gratinée - French onion soup in Caen

Previously not drawn to a French onion soup, this challenged my persuasion: the broth – not too beefy, in fact not beefy at all. One wonders about the stock used; nothing almost gravy like about it, nor do the onions resemble a caramalised mush. This is essence of onion, soft Roscoff slivers, dispersed Gruyrère goo and slightly fermented baked bread. Hint of bay and bright alcohol cooked off and not a garlic crouton in sight. None of it is sloppy or astringent, as my description may suggest. Perhaps it is their take on it; Bouillon Saint Martin style?

Having tried it in brasseries across London all it needed there, for me, was a splash of red reduction and it could go onto a banger or Sunday roast – spare the cheese. At Bouillon Saint Martin in Caen, this is not that. When I stir my spoon into it the creamy emulsification resembles my Pastis the moment the ice hits the glass and the water is release through it. You want to take your time with this, trust me.

What snails are Escargots?

Butter, parsley, garlic and the Helixpomatia. Burgundy snails which are most prized and a protected species in France. Also known as the Roman snail they are a classic to be eaten in this preparation. The three other varieties are the “escargot du turc”, “petis gris” and the large grey snail. While restaurants in France typically use fresh precooked snails (before adding the butter etc), home cooks or kitchens without such availability used canned. These are then stuffed back into a snail shell purchased separately for this purpose.

The garlic isn’t playing here. It will stay with you. It lingers. I taste the earthiness of the mollusc’s diet in each al dente chew, bathed in Beurre d’Isigny. The accompanying complimentary bread acts as a delivery mechanism for every morsel of that butter bath gushing from the shell with each extraction of flesh.

The snappy smoked pork sausage is satisfying to cut through with the steak knife the dish is presented with. The jus is light and seeps into the chive scattered mash. The portion of the accompanying carrots and mushrooms can be less or replaced with a few simple roast carrots or plain cabbage. Although a speck or two of Dijon would not go a miss here, I add nothing to any dish, if not prompted.

Inexpensive French faire served honestly in an expensive environment: the French bouillon re-opened in the late 1850s. This time it was butcher Pierre-Louis Duval serving cheap meat and broth to workers in Paris. By 1900, Paris had nearly 250 bouillons.

Once sat, it’s rare to see a new set of diners appear. Most of our closely placed tables seat a family, a couple. It makes as good case for this Michelin thing where they excel: “Take a seat. Get comfy. It’s going to be a long ride.”

I’m not a dessert person. Fresh choux pastry, warm, I might add, enveloping vanilla bean ice cream like a hug only an airy pastry puff could give. Créme patisserie with vanilla bean and chunks of dark chocolate. I’m still dreaming about it. Hot and cold, crunches of bitter chocolate, all afloat colossal cream clouds swimming in Willy Wonka’s pool.

Bouillon Saint Martin address – 21 Pl. Saint-Martin, 14000 Caen, France.

Food 8.9/10

Value for Money 10/10 (25-30 Euros pp for 1-2 appetisers, main course, desert with a carafe of wine, digestif)

Mood/Vibes 10/10