L'Epicerie — Restaurant in Loches

Absolutely the best meal we have had while visiting France . We did not have a reservation but we were fortunate to still get a spot which was very lucky considering the crowd. I read the reviews about the long wait times and that wasn’t our experience. That said, we had our order figured out before the waiter came by. The lovely waiter, possibly owner, explained that everything is made fresh and they will slowly bring out each dish. My husband and I split the escargot, cheese board, French burger and crème brûlée. Everything was phenomenal. We got to choose which cheeses made the board and I’ll be dreaming about the escargot for years. The French burger was truly worth writing home about. I texted my mother about it that night. I think the problem people have, especially from the US, is that they expect to order everything separately and have it delivered immediately, I too am guilty of this, however, this restaurant truly makes everything to order so you will wait. Nothing is sitting pre-made ready to go, which I appreciate. So if you don’t want a long wait time, then order it all up front and the servers will slowly bring it out thus avoiding the long wait. I am counting down the days until I get to go back to this restaurant. Seriously, we visited two Michelin star restaurants in Paris and this place was so much better. Thank...

When picking our first night’s dinner in Amboise, we went with where Rick Steves went and highlighted on his episode in the Loire River Valley. It was OK. The staff was nice and accommodating to our lack of French language. The food was good, not great.

Like many of the restaurants in the area, they offer a prefixed menu that offers a good value if you want a full meal.

We both started with a Terrine but mine was pork and fried and the other was more traditional with duck. We had the steak with wine mushroom sauce & fries and tried the duck and foie gras burger. The burger was a bit messy to eat and had a lot of bun.

For dessert, we went for the classic creme brûlée and the strawberry & lime cream tart that was light and...

We visited France again, and during our tour of the Loire Valley, we stayed in Amboise. The town is certainly charming, as is its château, but this restaurant was honestly our most memorable meal during our 10-day stay in France (which included Paris, Bordeaux, and other small towns). The atmosphere was amazing, the vibe cozy, the service so personable and great, and the food absolutely incredible. My husband and I still talk about the cheese course, the sweet ladies who waited on us, the bread, and the meal in general. It was just so pleasant and even though we ate later in the evening, we were not rushed to finish despite staying a bit past closing. You simply must stop by and...