Celebrated table

Aperta

Name: Aperta
Address: 1 Rue des Cloutiers, La Rochelle, New Aquitaine, 17000, FR
Telephone: +33 5 46 46 31 85

Aperta in La Rochelle serves shareable bistro small plates from an open kitchen. Le Fooding listed it in 2026.

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The story

Aperta La Rochelle: Bistro Small Plates at 1 Rue des Cloutiers, Listed by Le Fooding 2026

Aperta is a bistro at 1 Rue des Cloutiers in La Rochelle, built around small plates meant for sharing. Le Fooding listed it in 2026, and the menu and wine list both change with the season.

Cooking in full view

Chef François Durand runs the kitchen, which opens onto the dining room so guests can see the line at work. The menu follows what is available that day, with fish from Charente-Maritime auctions and cheese and vegetables from nearby farms. Plates arrive to be passed around the table rather than ordered one each.

Dishes worth ordering

Le Fooding's reviewers praised the hummus with roasted corn and cilantro, served with warm pita, and the Padrón peppers, grilled on the plancha and finished with maple syrup and garlic oil. The baby back ribs are slow-cooked for 12 hours and come with homemade ketchup. The current menu also lists a beef tataki with ajo blanco and a rum baba with apricot compote and rose syrup.

A wooden room with a terrace

The room has a wooden, cement-tiled look with a bar-style wine focus. In warm weather the terrace looks out over the covered market. The owners, Olivia Duff and Anne Drillaud, returned to La Rochelle after working in the Bordeaux area.

Recognition

Awards & accolades

2026

Le Fooding

Listed

Ambience

A glimpse inside

Details

At a glance

Le Fooding 2026 — Listed

Cuisines Bistro

Services Good vibe, Lunch, Outdoor Seating, Small Plates, Wine Bar

History

On the record

2026

Le Fooding — Listed

Open up! After exiling themselves to the Bordeaux area, friends Olivia Duff (a former graphic designer) and Anne Drillaud (who used to work at Le Grand Hôtel) have returned to their hometown of La Rochelle to unveil Aperta, a wooden-cemented-tiled bistro with plenty of tricks up its sleeve. In the kitchen you’ll find chef François Durand, who also used to work at Le Grand Hôtel in Bordaeux, brilliantly throwing together a selection of small plates. The night we went, seated on the terrace with views of the covered market, we devoured all of the following: incredible hummus with roasted corn and cilantro, scooped up with some good pita bread; the boss’s Padrón peppers, grilled on the plancha before being painted with maple syrup and garlic oil; tender baby back ribs slow-cooked for 12 hours, served with homemade ketchup for dipping; and to round out the meal, a summery cheesecake made with honey- and lemon-infused cream cheese, apricots from the garden, tarragon shoots, crushed pistachios and a crispy angel hair topping – a real flavor bomb of a dessert! // Louise Delange

Location

Find us

1 Rue des Cloutiers, 17000 La Rochelle, France
La Rochelle, France
+33 5 46 46 31 85
contact@aperta-larochelle.fr
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