K-Bane restaurant , Ile d'Oleron

Leave early !!

We rarely have the time to visit the coast in summer but the weekend of our wedding anniversary , Chris fancied some Gillardeau oysters so we cleared our schedules for the Sunday and headed out for the Ile d'Oleron where Gillardeau has its oyster beds, shop and 24hr oyster vending machine !

We had planned to spend an hour or so on the beach before some lunch and before it got too busy but unfortunately we didn't get going until 11am and should of known better We ended up in a 40 minute traffic jam - at this time of year the coast is a nightmare and we vowed never to attempt the journey again so 'late' in the day ! Top tip for summer excursions to the coast LEAVE EARLY !!

K-Bane restaurant

By the time we escaped the jam it was lunchtime. We had heard of a seafood place just after the bridge that is famous for it's mussels 'eglade' (or eclade as it's known on the mainland) Jean - Patrick, the owner and 'ostréiculteur' (oyster harvester) has been selling his oysters to the Paris restaurants for 20 years but wanted to get back to his roots and conserve his links to his original customers on the Island so opened a restaurant in a cabin just across the Ile d'Oleron bridge and next to his oyster beds; the 'K-bane' seafood restaurant was born.

Eglade or Eclade ?

The Ile d'Oleron is also famous for it's mussels as well as it's oysters and a well known Oleron recipe is the 'Eglade' . This consists of a tray of mussels standing upright and covered with pine needles from the many pine forests on the island. These are then set alight and the mussels are cooked in the heat and take on a smokey flavour. It's quite a spectacle to watch and the preparation for each plate takes around half an hour so must be ordered in advance. We were a little confused at first as to the correct name as we had seen signs for both Eclade and Eglade - was it two different recipes ? Apparently not - Eglade is the 'correct' name originating on the Ile d'Oleron; Eclade is what the 'mainlanders' call it !

The restaurant is a seafood lovers heaven - it's for purists - nothing other than oysters, mussels, crab, lobster, bulot, langoustine and prawns on the menu. All dishes are served with sauteed potatoes and the desserts are simple (ice cream, galette charentaise and iles flottantes) We had hoped to try the famous Eglade but the dish has to be ordered in advance, so we had to content ourselves with oysters, fish soup, moules marinier and lobster !

We had a delicious meal and thought the quality, freshness and value were all excellent, we'd highly recommend the K-bane and will definitely be returning.

That day was quite an oyster fest as on the return we picked up the Gillardeau oysters we had come for and enjoyed those with a few bottles of delicious white wine back at home.

The service at K-bane was excellent, very friendly and efficient too. The restaurant is open from Easter to the end of September. Full details and opening times can be on their web site here . When staying at any of our family holiday cottages here in the Charente Maritime we can organise the Eglade experience for you. We shall definitely be going again, but this time we shall leave much earlier to avoid the traffic and also we shall reserve our 'Eglade'.

Content by Wendy Blakeman