Auberge du Château/Auberge de Montpoupon
on road between Montrichard and Loches
Château de Montpoupon (above and below)
Last night we went along to the newly reopened Auberge de Montpoupon and had a very enjoyable evening with a very professional and friendly service and good simple food. As suggested in my recent post on the reopening of the Auberge, this is a return to basics after the previous chef's ambitions to turn this into a gastronomic restaurant. The menu has a limited choice very much focused on traditional food from the region featuring charcuterie, goats' cheese and beef.
There is a menu at lunch time but only à la carte in the evening. We chose four entrées – friture de Eperlan, like whitebait (7.50€), salmon rillettes (7.50€), plâteau du l'Auberge (9.50€) – a selection of charcuterie, salade tourangelle with lardons and grilled goats' cheese (8.90€). For the main course two of us shared a very flavoursome pièce de boeuf (28.50€), three opted for the excellent brochette of Saint-Jacques (16.90€) and one went for the brochette de poulet (12.90€).
To drink we started with an agreeable half bottle of 2012 Chinon Rosé (10.50€) from Charles Pain – the list had said Raffault (without saying which one) but there seemed no reason to complain. Then we had a bottle of the 2011 Cuvée Tradition, Saumur-Champigny, Clos des Cordeliers, whose soft and reasonably concentrated fruit was a good match with the beef.
Initially we were four but two friends joined us unexpectedly as they had managed to black out the electricity in the house confused by a new junction box. The Auberge coped happily and efficiently with this unexpected influx, which boosted the number of diners last evening to between 20-25. With coffees and infusions but no desserts, the bill came to 168€ for six.
Plâteau de l'Auberge
Friture d'Eperlans
Salade Tourangelle
Salmon rillettes
Pièce de boeuf
Brochette de Saint-Jacques
We will certainly go back probably on an evening when we don't fancy cooking. The short menu isn't a problem as it means that everything can be freshly prepared. There is a reasonable selection of local wines, although it would be good to have details on the vintages and in instances like Raffault to know exactly who the producer is as there are several Raffaults in Chinon.
A similar alternative in the immediate vicinity is Le Lézard Vert (8 Rue de Fontaine 37150 Epeigné-les-Bois, Tel: 02.47.23.97.94) in Epeigné-les-Bois run by Nacer and Stéphanie – open throughout the week from Tuesday lunch and dinner to Sunday lunch. Menu around 12€ with the possibility of a tagine or couscous at the weekend. Best to reserve in the evening as Le Lézard may close on quiet evenings.
Nacer and tagine
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