Wave spectra derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images acquired by ENVISATs are compared to in situ measurements by seven sensors, deployed in a field experiment carried out on the French coast of La Manche (English Channel). The wave spectra inversion scheme is adapted for shallow water from the European Space Agency (ESA)'s operational processing techniques used for level 2 ocean wave products. Under the low to moderate wind speed observed conditions, overall good agreement is found between in situ and SAR observations over a wide range of wave heights and directions, including waves propagating in the radar azimuth direction and incidence angles different from the standard imagette products.