Val du Loir
The Vineyards of Jasnières, Coteaux du Loir and the Vendômois
Eating,
Drinking and Sleeping
Exploring
Vendôme and the Coteaux du Loir
Vendôme to Montoire-sur-le-Loir
Vendôme
Restaurant with rooms – Auberge de la Madeleine
6 place Madeleine
Vendôme
T:
+33 2 54 77 20 79
F: +33 2 54 80 00 02
Situated in the heart of the old town, this
restaurant is on a tree lined square opposite the church of the same name.
The menu features local specialties and is quite rustic. The eight rooms
above are small and very basic and not particularly recommended.
(Last stayed: 08/08)
Hotel-Restaurant - Le Saint-Georges
Vendôme
T: +33 2 54 67 42 10
T: +33 2 54 67 42 20
contact@hotel-saint-georges-vendome.com
www.hotel-saint-georges-vendome.com
Well sited in the main thoroughfare of the old town.
The hotel offers modern, updated self catering apartments with
kitchenettes, but is otherwise quite basic. It’s a suitable place to
stop on business, but not particularly recommended for its homely
comforts. The restaurant below doubles up as a cocktail bar.
(Last stayed: 12/08)
15 Fg Chartain
Vendôme
T: +33 2 54 77 02 88
T: +33 2 54 73 90 71
info@hotelvendomefrance.com
www.hotelvendomefrance.com
Just on
the outer ring road, this small hotel is about a five minute walk into the
centre of town.
8 Boulevard de Tremault
Vendôme
T: + 33 2 54 80 27 00
F: + 33 2 54 77 30 63
Capricorne41@hotmail.com
www.hotelcapricorne.com
This Logis
de France is situated directly opposite the SNCF station (as opposed
to the Gare TGV which is just out of the town) and is an old commercial
hotel. I haven’t stayed or eaten here, but from the outside it doesn’t
look too promising.
Jean-Marc and Betty Ligot
1 rue Darreau
Vendôme
T: + 33 2 54 77 02 71
F:
+ 33 2 54 73 17 71
Something of a walk out of town, this restaurant is
located close to the old SNCF railway station. It’s large and airy and
serves typical bistro fare, such as steak tartar and snails. The house
specialty is Feuillete, a puff
pastry case with a variety of fillings. There is a small wine list
featuring a few growers from the Vendômois and the Coteaux du Loir.
Whilst it may be remote and away from the old town, it is worth seeking
out. Inexpensive.
(Last dined: 08/08)
M. Dias
21-23 Rue du Change
Vendôme
T: + 33 2 54 67 13 51
Le-moulin-du-loir@orange.fr
www.le.moulin-du-loir.com
A light, airy restaurant full of pastel colours,
situated just off the main pedestrian street that runs the centre of the
town. It sits astride a mill race that feeds the old roue. The food is French bistro classics with no surprises, but the
quality is acceptable if not inspiring. There is a short wine list.
(Last dined: 12/08)
Restaurant – Le Terre á TR
Vendôme
T:
+ 33 2 54 89 09 09
F: + 33 2 54 77 84 92
leterreatr@orange.fr
The ‘TR’ in question here is one Tony Renaudin.
His restaurant is situated in a tufa cave on the outskirts of the town;
about a 15 minutes walk from the centre. Despite the ancient location, the
décor is modern as is the trendy Buddha Bar music. There is a short but
well chosen wine list, with the wines from the Vendômois concentrated on
those of Jean Brazilier and Pascal Colin, and most are available by the
glass. As for the food - well this is a classic example of too much
attention to the presentation of dishes and not enough to substance. The
fad of the ubiquitous foam and froth damns the style of the food to be
already outdated, and it has certainly not been perfected. It’s a great
venue for a restaurant, however. Let’s see if he’s still around on my
next visit.
(Last dined: 12/08)
Restaurant – Hotel –du
Pont
Thoré-la-Rochette
T: + 33 2 54 72 80 62
F: + 33 2 54 72 70 95
A modest looking eatery in the centre of the
village. Closed on Mondays, which is the reason why I haven’t eaten
here.
Lavoir
at Lavardin
Restaurant – Le
Relais d’Antan
Isabelle and Paul van Gessel
6 Place du Capitaine du Vigneau
Lavardin
T: +33 2 54 86 61 33
A pretty looking auberge found just alongside the
old pack horse bridge in this tiny ‘Most Beautiful’ village. The menu
looks serious, but unfortunately they close of Monday and Tuesday and my
visits through the region have yet to coincide with their opening. I look
forward to dining here one day.
Restaurant – Le Caveau
10 Rue de Vaux Boyers
Lavardin
T: + 33 2 54 85 31 11
P: + 33 6 82 23 33 00
A great
little find: situated in a cave cut into the tufa below the ruined
medieval fortress. In winter, expect to be welcomed by a roaring fire with
its chimney channeled up through the rock and a hearty home cooked lunch
– served with a slightly piqué carafe of gros
rouge. Inexpensive
and recommended.
Le Caveau
Montoire-sur-Loir
Restaurant - Le Paix
10 Place Clemenceau
Montoire-sur-Loir
T: + 33 2 54 85 10 48
Montoire is a small town
central for visiting vignerons
from both the Coteaux du Vendômois and the Coteaux du Loir. In
fact, Françoise Martelliere, who has operated this modest bar cum eatery
on the main square for nigh on thirty years, comes from a family of
vignerons. The food is rustic and based on the more frugal cuts of pork,
her specialty being Jambon Ronsard.
Wines are served by the glass, carafe and bottle, and all come from the
Martellière domaine.
(Last dined: 08/08)
Poncé-sur-Loir
Gîte - Chambres d’hôte –Château
de la Volonière
M. Becquelin
49 rue Principale
Poncé-sur-Loir
T: + 33 2 43 79 68 16
F: + 33 2 43 79 68 18
Chateau-de-la-voloniere@wanadoo.fr
http://chateaudelavoloniere.free.fr
Five rooms in an old manor. The chapel is now the
dining room. I haven’t stayed here, but it looks impressive from the
exterior.
Hotel - Restaurant – Auberge
du Poète
6 Rue Pasteur
La Possonière
T: + 33 2 54 73 55 96
A country hotel with modest and clean rooms, and offering regional
cooking – or so I am told.
Chambre d’Hôte –l’Escalier
Saint-Gabriel
Trôo
T: +33 2 54 72 50 34
www.bandbcave.com
A troglodyte bed and breakfast.
Chambre d’Hôte – L’Eperon
Trôo
T: + 33 2 54 72 55 68
Solange.guilloux@orange.fr
Another troglodyte bed and breakfast.
Pont
de Bray
Restaurant – Le
Petit Luc
3
Rue de Braye
Pont de Braye/Lavenay
T: + 33 2 43 44 45 55
F: + 33 2 43 44 61 35
lepetitluc@wanadoo.fr
www.lepetitluc.com
Equidistant
between Montoire and La Chartre-sur-le-Loir is this casual little
restaurant where you can eat by the fire in winter and on the terrace in
summer. Closed all day Monday. I haven’t eaten here, but it was
recommended within the region.
Hotel – Restaurant – de
France and Le Relais Ronsard
20
Place de la République
La Chartre-sur-le-Loir
Tel: + 33 2 43 44 40 16
Fax: + 33 2 43 79 62 20
hoteldefrance@worldonline.fr
Created in
1900, Sylvia and Francis Pasteau are now the fourth generation to run this
24 bedroomed hotel on the main square in the centre of La Chartre. On the
ground floor there is a bar on one side of the reception that also serves
a Menu du Jour, whilst a more
serious and traditional 150 cover restaurant – Le Relais Ronsard – is
situated on the other. I have never stayed here, so cannot comment on the
quality of the rooms. The main restaurant, whilst is brightly lit looks a
bit dated but has some regional charm. The first page on the extensive
menu has the chef highlighting his local suppliers, including Joël Gigou,
whose wines are the sole representative of the Jasnières and Coteaux du
Loir appellations on their limited wine list. The seasonal winter menu was
full of rib-warming dishes based on offal and game. Closed Sunday night
and all day Monday. The food here is good, but not exceptional.
(Last dined: 12/08)
Hôtel
de France
8 Place de la République
Le Chartre-sur-Le-Loir
T: +33 2 43 44 40 44
A little bar in the main
Le
Jasnières
Restaurant
- Auberge Saint-Nicolas
2 Place Mauclerc
La
Chartre-sur-le-Loir
Tél: + 33 2.43.44.42.38
Fax: + 33
2.43.44.02.08
Pepée and
Jean-Claude Beranger have run this old auberge on the road out to Marçon
since 1988. The entrance leads to the rough looking café which during the
day attracts the local workforce who stand around the bar in their blue
overalls. On the wall, almost out of view is a copy of an old vineyard map
that indicates the vineyards along the
Marie-Danièle
Millet-Lecourt
8 Rue de Syke
La Chartre-sur-le-Loir
T: + 33 2 43 44 65 78
P: + 33 6 85 56
30 45
mdmillet-moulin@club-internet.fr
Le Grand
Moulin is a charming 18th Century mill in the centre of the
town and dates from the First Empire, its English waterwheel being
installed sometime during the 1820s. The mill was in continual service,
helping to grind wheat for the town’s inhabitants, until it closed in
1972. It was bought in 2005 by the delightful Marie-Danielle, who
exchanged it for her
(Last stayed:
12/08)
Le Grand Moulin
Gîte – Joël
Gigou
4
La
Chartre-sur-le-Loir
Tel: + 33 2 43 44 48 72
Chambre.gigou@wanadoo.fr
www.gigou.herce.eu
This modest Vigneron
offers two bedroomed accommodation at his tasting room just on the
edge of the town.
Café-Restaurant - Chez
Miton
15 place de l'Église
Chahaignes
T: + 33 2 43 44 62 62
F:
+ 33 2 43 44 25 05
Chahaignes, one of the most important of the
(Last dined: 12/08)
Chez
Miton
Retail
Chahaignes
T: + 33 2 43 44 46 19
F: + 33 2 43 44 91 39
info@lamalvoyere.com
www.lamalvoyere.com
Christophe
and Pierre Bouin raise poultry, pork and lamb on their farm situated on
the road between Chahaignes and Lhomme. The farm shop is worth seeking out
as it is full of their artisan charcuterie, foie gras and confits. In
addition, they also own vines in Rasné, the most celebrated slope in the
Coteaux du Loir and they make their wine in a separate cellar in the
village (see their grower profile for more details). Vintages back to the
early 1990s are available for purchase in the farm store. The shop is
closed Sunday afternoon and Wednesday. They also work several local
markets.
Guy
and Katia Podevin
Les Sources de l’Hermitière
Saint-Vincent-du-Lorouër
T: + 33 2 43 44 84 45
hermitiere-berce@wanadoo.fr
www.lhermitiere.fr
L’Hermitière
is situated in an idyllic wooded glade some 10 kilometres north of
Chahaignes on the edge of the Bercé forest. The building looks like an
old hunting lodge and was restored by the Guy and Katia Podevin in 2000.
Along with a private dining room, the main dining room is built around an
old tree trunk, and the bar counter has been crafted out of a huge single
slab of oak. The Podevin’s cooking is centred on ingredients that are
close at hand; mushrooms, game and chestnuts feature extensively, and are
crafted into traditional Sarthoise dishes - on which subject they have
published two cookery books. The food here is confident and refined,
although the service by the young and inexperienced staff could be
improved. The wine list covers all the main growers from the region, but
sadly only lists current releases and even then is not kept updated. Recommended.
(Last dined 12/08)
Bar-Restaurant – La
Renaissance
12 Rue du Val du Loir
Lhomme
T: + 33 2 43 44
00 52
The local
village bar found opposite the church. There is a simple restaurant
serving a menu du jour.
Marçon
Bar-Restaurant – du
Boeuf
21 Place de l’Eglise
Marçon
T: + 33 2 43 44 13 12
F:
+ 33 2 43 44 54 75
Christiane Bonnisseau has been serving her native
Creole cuisine – she is originally from
Beyond
Château-du-Loir
Hotel – Le Relais Cicero
18 Boulevard d’Alger
La Flèche
T : + 33 2 43 94 14 14
F : + 33 2 43 45 98 96
www.hotel.cicero@wanadoo.fr
www.cicero.fr
Pascale Chérel
runs this charming 17th Century former convent, set back off the road in a
quiet backwater of the town. The 21 rooms are all individually decorated
and some may be a tad small but are full of character, with classic dark
wood paneling, toile de Jouy themed
fabric and oak beams. There are also a couple of attractive salons in which to relax and have a drink, plus an attractive
garden. Recommended.
(Last stayed 12/08)
Restaurant – Le Moulin des Quatres Saisons
La Flèche
T : + 33 2 43 45 12 12
F : + 33 2 43 45 10 31
Contacts@moulindesquatresaisons.com
www.moulindesquatresaisons.com
The
restaurant is sited in an attractive 17th century watermill on an island
in the
(Last dined 12/08)