We had a great experience here. Both the owner/chef Olivier and the other staff member were very…read morewarm, kind, and helpful. We learned that the name of the restaurant means "kitchen in the middle of the room," which is literally the case here. We were served some hard salami as a complimentary treat with our drinks. The menu is minimal with only 2 options for each course (starter, main course, dessert), but this is not surprising as it's a very small kitchen with one cook. We shared a starter of crispy phyllo filled with stewed pork, veal, chicken and onions and each ordered duck and turkey parmentier as our main course. The food was so cozy and comforting. It was definitely more rustic than some of the other dishes we had eaten on our trip, but we really enjoyed all the flavors and would definitely come back. Olivier in particular was delightful. Even though he was cooking all the food, he checked in on us multiple times and ensured we were enjoying ourselves. This is a small restaurant and reservations are definitely required.

I'm sure their food is very good. I accidentally- made the reservation at L'llot in Paris. We…read morewalked in and I felt attacked and embarrassed as they loudly and rudely said you cannot have a reservation we are full, look around. They asked abruptly to see my confirmation and as i fumbled with my phone as they were so forcibly rude. Such poor treatment for an honest mistake which could and should have been handled in a much more hospitable manner.

Wonderful steak frites, excellent service, friendly atmosphere. The dessert selection is fantastic.read more

I'm sorry I don't get the other reviews. Only thing I can think is the chef changed…read more Positives: great location by the castle and semi attentive staff. Portions are big/fair. Based on prior reviews we had high hopes. There were 4 of us so we each tried something different. The 2 steaks/duck were super tough ( cooked med rare). We said something to the waiter and we asked if we wanted it to be cooked some more. No thx - additional cooking would make it even more leathery. Fries looked like they were cut in half, then in half, then again. Really why serve a bunch of broken potato pieces. The waiter praised the house wine, and pushed it hard but honestly it was not very good. Maybe "buvable'. A bit sour, no complexity. But heck it pairs with the steak. Sorry, but our worst meal yet in France. (Day 8) . Take your chance- hopefully your experience is better than ours. But don't say nobody forewarned you ...

Don't miss this restaurant while you're in Amboise! Make a reservation! It's a spot you wouldn't…read morejust happen upon (you'll need to follow signs--it's in a dead end). They only have 14 small tables indoor and out, which may sound like a lot but trust me, they fill up on reservations and we saw them turn many people away. The menu is very creative, interesting, and delicious. They focus on shareable plates, although you could easily just order your own food if you really wanted. We shared caramel pork with tahini-coconut roasted vegetables and crispy chickpeas; Thai salad with fried chicken; and salmon tataki with paprika oil, chermoula cauliflower, preserved lemon and Medjool dates. As you can see, the flavor profiles really range, but the food is prepared to excellent standards and I don't have a single note or complaint about anything we tried. This was our first meal upon arriving in Amboise and it really set the bar high. I wish we had more time in our trip to dine here again, but I will definitely plan to come back if I'm ever in Amboise again in the future.

Second time here and it blew our minds again. If in Amboise make a reservation and go here-it's a…read moremust. Staff is attentive and kind and the food the food! The best in Amboise imo.

I don't revel in giving bad reviews. We dined at 5 restaurants in Amboise and L'Ecluse was by far…read moreour least favorite. It wasn't even close. I feel like I was really misled by all the positive reviews because I can't see how we dined at the same restaurant. First for some positives. The staff is very helpful and kind. They do a good job of explaining the dishes. The dishes were all beautiful and very creative. That said, I feel like for us the food was style above substance. Our favorite bite of food was an amuse bouche of fried Loire catfish. It was wonderful. I would have preferred a full portion of this as my entire meal in retrospect. Both of our starters were disappointing. My mom had sea bass carpaccio which was beautiful to look at but was missing both acid and salt and actually made her sick for several days after. I had "The Tomato" which was stuffed with basmati rice and Thai curry, basil pesto, and buffalo mozzarella. It was an odd combination of flavors, yet it had so little flavor. The rice was undercooked, and this dish too was missing both acid and salt. It really tasted very bland for something that was so pretty to look at. How disappointing. We both had the prawns with wok-fried noodles for our main courses. It was served on separate plates for the prawns and the noodles which seems so odd and didn't even make sense like they were two different dishes. The prawns were pretty decent. The noodles were not that good. They were undercooked and way oversauced and the sauce was pretty sweet. Both of our desserts were good overall. In the end, although I loved visiting Amboise and would 100% like to return, I will definitely be skipping L'Ecluse in the future. It did not live up to its reputation. Not at all.

Wonderful meal. Server helped us in English and the food was fabulous! Glad we were able to get in.read more

This was BY FAR our absolute favorite meal in Amboise and perhaps even our entire trip to France…read more They have a 3-course and 5-course prix-fixe menu option; we selected the 3-course and were very satisfied by our choice. The menu was a mystery. We only needed to indicate if we wanted meat or fish for the main course. Note that each of the courses (even the meat and fish courses) are totally different between the 3 and 5-course menus so the 5-course menu had different fish and meat dishes (as well as the other courses) than what we were to receive. We began with tomato biscuits with cremeaux of zucchini, coriander, and lemon. They were delightful! Next, we received another amuse bouche, which was broccoli mousse with peach and celery (sounds a bit odd but it was delicious!). Our official first course of the three came next. This was maybe my favorite course--white beans with red pepper gelee, chorizo sauce, sweet pepper sauce, fried chorizo, and pickled mustard seeds. I was really impressed by the variety of flavors and textures and everything just went so well together. I love beans and this was such a gorgeous way to elevate them. This fish course for our menu was a Merlu fillet (a type of European hake) with different textures of tomato, served with basil sabayon. This was another home run. I loved the fish. It was cooked perfectly, and the tomato and basil flavors were subtle yet perfectly complemented the fish. Keep in mind our meal was in August 2025 so these ingredients were in season at the time. For dessert we had two different desserts between the two of us: lemon tart and "the prince with fig tree." Both were really beautifully presented and delicious. Service was also excellent. Every single member of staff who came to our table, from the server to all the food runners, asked us if we prefer English or French and then spoke to us in that language to explain the dishes. I really appreciated this and noticed they asked the same question to every single table. That to me really highlighted that they were intentional and placed importance on ensuring each customer had the best experience they could and fully understood what they were eating. I would absolutely recommend Les Arpents to anyone visiting Amboise, and I hope I have the opportunity to visit again someday. It was a really highlight of this trip.

Oh wow 5 course pre fix meal. Took 2 1/2 hours and of course two bottles of wine for our table of…read more6. The place is quite cute and not loud. We had ling cod, duck, excellent bread, cheese, desserts. One of the owners served us and told us he owns along with the chef. We all enjoyed the experience of not knowing what you would have.

Came here after the previous restaurant experience was awful. As tourist this place is amazing…read more Speaks english and VERY friendly! My family had the pasta, chicken burger, and meat plate and it was by far the best meal we have had here in two weeks that we traveled. The outside patio was wonderful on a cool night. Definitely check out this place.

Very friendly lovely French cuisine Had the lamb shank…read moreperfectly prepared Service atmosphere and food excellent

Restaurant is about 4.5 stars. Reservations are recommended. The town Amboise is a small area. The…read morerestaurants are limited selection and get full easy. The reservation is a must for the good restaurant. We were able to get the reservation at last minute availability. The chef start with chef complimentary dishes. It is cracker with cream. It is a good opening. I got local mascot for drink. We have pre prix menu. Our app is foie gras and pate. My wife have the quail. Both app are delicious. My entree is the roasted lamb and honey pork. The lamb is delicious and cook in pink temperature. Meat is tender. The dessert is exquisite. I have raspberry shortbread with pistachio ice cream. It is Mmmmm delicious. My wife has the crisp dessert with chocolate and praline and mango sorbet. It is delicious too.

Have to start out by saying that the food and service was great! But the ambiance lacked. Bright…read morelights, no tablecloths, candles, music. Could have been a family restaurant. We were staying within a 4 minute walk and happened to pass by Le Clos de Amboise (hotel and restaurant) and wish we would have eaten there because it looked so warm and cozy and the menu looked spectacular. Sie la vie!

Such a fabulous lunch at Le 36 before visiting the Amboise castle. I got the gazpacho to start with…read morea shortbread and tomato and cheese biscuit - very good. I also got the sea bass which was delicious- fantastic flavors that all paired together so well. My mom got the quail which was similarly delicious and the cheese plate. The ambiance was so so lovely and the service was fast and polite. The little garden where we sat was so enjoyable and a perfect setting for such a wonderful meal

Located in a 4* hotel in front of the Loire, le 36 is a very nice and upper class place for dinner…read more Service is quick and friendly and as it should be in this type of establishment. Served à la carte or on the menu, the dishes are sophisticated and very pleasant. An assortment of wines is available by the glass as well as a wine list of the region. For dessert, I recommend the soufflé au grand marnier. For those who are not used to it, be prepared to be surprised.

Need to post hours. We drove to this spot only to find it closed. I don't have a problem with that…read moreat all but you need to post your hours so we don't get excited and reach for a door that is locked. Thank you. Maybe next time.

Our family is traveling through France and stopped for lunch at this lovely restaurant this…read moreafternoon. The service was outstanding and the food was nothing less than excellent. Our Server was Geromie who was very pleasant worked hard to speak to us in English and made some great recommendations on drinks and the crepés. I would highly recommend this lovely, quaint restaurant if your looking for great food and outstanding service. Thank you Geromie for your kindness and hospitality. We would definitely be back if we ever traveled through France in the future. Made great memories!