The Castelbrac hotel in Dinard toasts the Route du Rhum with a Brittany-Caribbean menu

Until 1 November 2026, the five-star Castelbrac hotel in Dinard is serving a menu at its Michelin-starred restaurant that links Brittany with the French Caribbean, for the duration of the Route du Rhum. The Le Pourquoi Pas restaurant, the Aquarium bar and the Bielle Distillery of Marie-Galante have teamed up for three events, including a dinner for 24 guests built around the distillery’s rums on Thursday 29 October.

☰Contents

1. Why the Route du Rhum runs through Dinard
2. Six courses from Brittany to the Antilles
3. Julien Hennote, a Michelin star since 2019
4. Accras and Ti Passion at the Aquarium bar
5. On 29 October, 24 guests and Bielle rums
6. 23 rooms facing the bay of Saint-Malo

Why the Route du Rhum runs through Dinard

Castelbrac clings to the cliff at Dinard, facing the ramparts of Saint-Malo. It is from there, on the other side of the bay, that the 13th Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe will set off on Sunday 1 November 2026 at 1.02pm. Created in 1978 and raced every four years, this solo transatlantic race links Saint-Malo with Pointe-à-Pitre: 3,542 nautical miles, or 6,560 km, for six classes of boat. The race village has been open in Saint-Malo since 20 October.

For the occasion, the hotel has chosen a partner from the finish line: the Bielle Distillery on Marie-Galante, one of the islands of Guadeloupe. Its rums feature on the restaurant menu, in the bar’s cocktails and at the heart of a tasting evening.

Six courses from Brittany to the Antilles

Served from 21 October until 1 November, the Route du Rhum menu pairs seasonal Breton produce with Caribbean flavours, with rum as the common thread. It runs to six courses:

• raw sea bass, fennel and passion fruit;
• lightly roasted lobster, burnt corn cream, baby leek, coconut-curry espuma;
• confit pork shoulder, sweet potato and plantain, aged rum jus;
• roasted pineapple and seaweed;
• baba, chestnut and rum;
• smoked vanilla and cacao nibs.

The menu costs €150 per person, and the food and drink pairing, which mixes wines and rums, an extra €90. Booking is essential.

Julien Hennote, a Michelin star since 2019

The polar explorer Commandant Charcot once had his office within these walls, where the Salon Charcot now stands. The kitchen is run by chef Julien Hennote, holder of a MICHELIN Guide star since 2019. He usually composes discovery menus according to the day’s catch and the region’s producers, in an Art Deco dining room that opens onto the Belvédère terrace and the bay of Saint-Malo.

The restaurant is open from Wednesday evening to Sunday evening, from 12.30pm to 1.30pm and from 7.30pm to 9pm, by reservation only. Its menus cannot be adapted to diets that exclude fish and shellfish.

Accras and Ti Passion at the Aquarium bar

The bar occupies the former aquarium of France’s National Museum of Natural History, open to the public from 1934 to 1992, and keeps its portholes and Art Deco spirit. For the Route du Rhum, it offers a pop-up menu of Caribbean-inspired tapas: salt cod accras, crispy rum chicken, sweet potato and coconut-curry.

Four signature cocktails have been created for the occasion, the Ti Passion, Planteur del Sol, Brume des Antilles and Transatlantique, alongside two house-infused rums. The bar, led by head bartender Pierrick Pradel, is open from 10.30am to 10.30pm.

On 29 October, 24 guests and Bielle rums

On Thursday 29 October 2026, the Aquarium bar will host an evening devoted to Bielle rums, in the presence of cellar master Jacques Larrent and an ambassador from the distillery. A single table of 24 guests will share a dinner paired with a masterclass on the house’s craft and its aromatic expressions.

The evening costs €240 per person. Places are limited and can be booked directly with the hotel on +33 2 99 80 30 00.

23 rooms facing the bay of Saint-Malo

Castelbrac was born from a Belle Époque villa, the Villa Bric-à-Brac, which became a research station for the Museum and then an aquarium. Yann and Lydwine Bucaille bought it in 2010 and in 2015 opened a five-star hotel with 23 rooms and suites, all facing the sea, since awarded two MICHELIN Keys. The spa offers Yon-Ka treatments, and a lap pool runs along the cliff. Their Soul Haven collection also includes Villa Haute Guais, Maison Pavie in Dinan and Villa Isis, right next door to the hotel.

A night from 29 to 30 October in a Superior Sea View room cost €445 at the flexible rate and €401 non-refundable, for two, breakfast not included, when checked on 22 October. For comparison, see our ranking of the best hotels in Saint-Malo and our ten spa hotels in Brittany.