Three “must-go-to” restaurants in Loire Valley for a fine dining experience
There is great staff in many good restaurants here in Loire Valley, that would be very pleased to welcome you and meet your dining needs whether, it be for a special event or simply to discover the chef’s cooking. From East to West, here are 3 top places that give us, in Touraine reason to be proud of its gastronomy!
The Cheval rouge auberge
This is a charming place very close to the chateau of Chenonceau. It is more precisely in a village called Chisseaux. This is where Jenny and Jacques Guillaumat manage the Cheval rouge auberge staff who were rewarded with a “Bib gourmand” in 2017.
On the menu, you can choose dishes from lobster and crab cannelloni to tender lamb “noisettes” and vanilla-strawberry iced Parfait. To sum up, you feel like tasting every dish, which is moreover perfectly combined with a local Loire wine like a Vouvray wine from Catherine Dhoye-Deruet or a Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil from Frédéric Mabileau for example. The list of wine makers in Touraine is long and of great quality.
The Cheval Rouge auberge
La Roche le Roy
The bar has been at a high level…but during these past few months, the Chef Maximilien Bridier has shown he has mastered the art of cooking. Over the last 30 years at the head of “La Roche le Roy”(Tours), Alain and Marilyn Couturier have become experts of the Touraine gastronomy and have been rewarded with a Michelin star and three Gault et Millau “chef’s hats”.
Maximilien and his staff will have to try to keep this award in the future. For the time being, the public opinion about the menu, mainly based on seafood produce, is rather encouraging. A special mention about the bread is obligatory as the chef spent one whole year in his native village learning bread making. He is now able to make his own bread recipes for a perfect match with his courses. It is true that the French “baguette”, is often known abroad as the symbol of the French gastronomy!
La Roche le Roy
La Maison Tourangelle
It is inside a charming 19th century typical house that Frédéric Arnault created his restaurant “La Maison Tourangelle”. This place, now popular locally has been rewarded with a “Bib gourmand”. Furthermore it is located right along the Cher River, in a small village called Savonnières which is well known by the cyclists of “the Loire à vélo”(after passing along the Loire River, the path goes on along the Cher River). During his cooking training, the Chef worked with well-known chefs: Bernard Loiseau, Georges Blanc, Alain Ducasse. It is then unnecessary to discuss the cooking abilities of this man, even if there are things to be said about his veal fillet cooked slowly over low temperature, accompanied with forest mushrooms and a delicious sauce seasoned with summer truffle oil. Let us rather congratulate the young team of waiters, who are very professional, friendly and at the same time make the time you spend at the restaurant, a successful and enjoyable gastronomic experience.
La Maison Tourangelle
Practical information
To discover other nice restaurants in Touraine, see our selection “Doing things in style »