This is a favorite place of mine when in the area. The setting is breathtaking and the food…read moreauthentic, beautifully presented and of the highest quality. The venue is cool, decor in keeping with its origin and on hot days the stone structure is forgiving. Expensive but worth it for a treat.

From the owner: Cuisine gastronomique, Chambres d'hotes et Cave a Vinread more

Hidden away in a small hamlet about 15 minutes from Chinon makes for a wonderful break from the…read moretourist overload in Chinon proper. We had eaten in Chinon the previous night, and found that while the quality was comparable or perhaps slightly better, the price, quiet atmosphere and attentive service more than made up for the difference. The husband/wife team worked tirelessly to make our dinner pleasant, and although their English isn't as strong as one might get in a tourist hub - it was more than sufficient! We each had the prix fix menu for under 20 euros, including an appetizer, main, and dessert. With wine and coffee, we spent just less than 60 euros for two - highly competitive in Chinon, where similar prix-fix menus go for between 30 and 40 euros per person. The quality and taste if the food was without reproach, and presented fresh and simple French cuisine at its best. The fish/ratatouille main is a must-try, as is the prawn/fish roulade.

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.

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

Tasty food, definitely one of the better places for dinner in Amboise. Fills up fast during peak…read moreseason so get there early. Steak frites and beef tartare were yummy.

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.

Choice of tasting menus in different price ranges from two courses to three courses. I picked the…read moretraditional gourmand choice with escargot appetizer, fish main course and a three cheese selection for dessert. Everything was delicious! We dined in the restaurant & since it turned out to be a beautiful warmish day, we requested to have coffee in their outdoor garden area. Tip, you can forgo dessert if you plan to get coffee, the serve mini portions of three kinds of sweets with the coffee! Just the perfect way to end a scrumptious meal! (At least for me . )

Truly the finest meal we had on our recent trip through the Loire. This is a lovely spot that is…read moreimpeccably run. From the opening amuse-bouche to the dessert was delicious. The service was unintrusive yet attentive. The food was uniformly fresh and the flavor pairings were exciting. The cocktails ran to the classics-- kir royale, Americano-- and were always en pointe. We were a party of three and all ordered from one of a few prix fixes menus on offer. The total can to about US$50 per person-- a perfectly reasonable sum for cocktails, wine and food, all on a very high level.

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