La Table de Jeanne — Restaurant in Chinon

We had a really lovely dinner here last night, at a table for two in the street, under a window box of red pelargoniums.

The summer rush here seems to have ended precipitously; it was only 1 September but the town was wonderfully quiet and peaceful. Being a Sunday no doubt helped that.

We loved the food here. We don’t eat meat, but both of the fixed price menus were perfect for pescatarians and we chose the Menu Decouverte (40 euros).

We both started with a delicate plate of smoked wedges of salmon garnished with citrus fruit, freshly picked horseradish, large juicy capers, and mayonnaise. And then a generous and perfectly cooked filet of sandre (zander or pike perch) each, in a light bechamel sauce with sliced roasted mediterranean vegetables and new potatoes. Finally a superb nougat glace and a selection of excellent goats’ cheese. All washed down with a half bottle of hearty Chinon wine (red; Cabernet Franc).

We were too busy enjoying the food to photograph it, but I did get a blurry photo of the Hummingbird Hawkmoth that flitted among the flowers and a few of Chinon in the...

We found this place while walking around in the old town centre of Chinon. It didn't look very busy, at least at lunch. The menu looked good with several a la carte options. I ordered the coq au vin ( seemed to be their classic dish per online reviews) and my partner ordered a steak - entrecot We also had a few glasses of wine. The steak ( i took a bite) was perfectly cooked and tasted delicious. My coq au vin - while the sauce was tasty cooked with mushrooms and wine, the bird itself was too dry for my taste. It was a huge portion for one person, I couldn't finish it. In hindsight having it as a part of a menu will have been a better choice, or it gets too monotonous. Again, similar to the experience with other places in the Loire - fish and seafood options are few and far. Mostly salmon or other ocean fish and mostly steamed. Bit disappointing and vegetarian options are few. Service was...

"Coq au vin" is not a chicken dish with luscious, plump pieces of meat around thin bones. Here, they do it right. True, unless you're into braised rooster skin, you dont get a lot to eat. But what you do get is dark, flavourful rooster, braised in rooster blood and red wine, pearl onions, and vegetables, with lardons to add the fat that no rooster ever has. The cold soup is perfectly simple, fresh, and relevant to the hot summer were enduring. Im looking forward to further incursions into the land of this menu. It's fully priced but delivered as well as I could imagine it, albeit...