Everything about our meal was excellent and exceptional. The food was delicious and the service was…read moregreat. We ordered prefix menu of one starter, one entree and one dessert for 42 Euros. The tartare, monkfish and duck filet were our favorite, the flavors were exceptional and the waiter suggested great wines to pair with each of our entree. The restaurant is located at the city center of Tours in a small alley, easy to find with Google map. The space is not very big but cozy and warm, the quality of the food is beyond what we paid for, highly recommended!

The restaurant was recommended to us by our AirBnb host after we asked them for some guidance after…read morebeing disappointed on our first night. Thankfully we were able to get a table without a reservation as it was indeed excellent. It was also obvious that it was a local favorite with several tables clearly occupied by couples on a date night. We decided to have 2 courses each and share a dessert. For starters we had the foie gras and a warm salad with quail. Followed by entrées of fish and pork loin. And a dessert that was essentially a very indulgent Brioche French toast. Everything was quite impressive but I do think the first course and dessert triumphed over the entrées. In any case I'd go back again if I were back in the area. The service was also on point and friendly.

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.

We'd had an awful day, after our rental car breaking down on the freeway, trying to communicate…read morewith the tow truck and Hertz in French, and having to spend the night in an out of the way little town in France. It turned out that the meal we had at that restaurant was the one that we kept talking about and trying to replicate for the rest of the trip. I ordered the sole with potatoes, and it was so absolutely memorable. The hosts are wonderfully accommodating and helpful. Thank you, L'escapade!

This is one of the best meals we had in two weeks traveling through France. L'Escapade serves…read moreFrench food with a Japanese twist. I'm normally skeptical of fusion food, but the dishes were beautiful, excellent and interesting. My starter (the duck with wasabi foam) and dessert (the matcha macaroon) were particularly wonderful and my boyfriend and I would've happily eaten here more than once if we had been staying in the area for longer. The service was also helpful and friendly, and English translations for menu items were provided when needed. There are a lot of restaurants in the area in this price point and they can be hard to distinguish from one another - L'Escapade stands out and is worth visiting. An excellent value.

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

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.

We were happy to find this place through Yelp, which isn't as often used in France as in the US…read more Our reservation was for noon, and we were one of only two tables there for lunch on a Wednesday. The staff is very friendly, and seemed to enjoy speaking a little English with us. I started with a goat cheese tarte, and had the pork as the main dish. My hubby had foie gras and the vegetable plate. For dessert, I ordered the baba au rhum and that's where it went a bit wrong. The server put the plate with the cake down and proceeded to pour bottled rum over it, telling me to tell him when to stop. Eeek. How do I know how much rum to soak into a cake like that? Well, it turned out to be way too much, the rum was so strong that I couldn't eat it. All in all, we enjoyed our meal, but it would have been better without the ruined rum cake.

Charming servers asked about my visit to Tours and general experience. Service was quick, I was the…read moreonly customer eating a late lunch. The duck was fantastic, with crispy skin, succulent meat, and perfect golden potatoes. Would recommend.

Exquisite cuisine in a tranquil setting. You can tell the owners and chef take pride in their…read moreservice, food and presentation. This should be a definite stop for fine dining in the area.

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.

This is the most unique and delicious restaurant of our Loire Valley exploration so far. Dinner in…read morea real cave with an atmosphere that will surprise you. Wood fired grills are used to prepare beef dishes and a burning fire for ambiance is in the center of the main dining area. We ordered the gourmet three course dinners and they were fabulously French! Nice Amuse-Bouche, wonderful bread with fresh butter, and an after dinner plate of cookies and confections were served gratis. Prices are fair and the food we had was divine. Menus are in French only. A waitress helped us with translations. Be prepared to spend over 2 hours here and savor the rich flavors of this French cuisine at an unhurried pace.

The outside aesthetics of this place is beyond breathtaking. It took me 15 minutes just to enter…read morebecause I couldn't photographing everything. Upon entering, there is a musty smell but it's to be expected when dining inside of a Cave hundreds years old. It's dimly lit and the decor is not memorable, but it's warm. The service was spot on. This was a unique dining experience i won't forget. The food was great at the time, but I don't remember it today. The location definitely left an impression.