Le Cafe des Arts - Chinon

Extremely long waits. It took 50 minutes between getting the starters and getting the main dishes. These were a beef tartar (served cold, yet 50 minutes… with some warm-ish fries and a veal stew with rice (advertised as sautéed veal! with an extremely watery gravy. Crème brûlée was OK. Service mediocre (but a very nice short haired lady . Also, the place was full of large flies!

We booked hoping to have a nice family meal. On previous experience the full menu was acceptable. On this occasion, we were not told that the menu was extremely limited. And this is the second time this year that this has happened. The food we had was good but the choice was minimal. The service was attentive but slow. When I was on my way to the lavatory I noticed there were many large flies flying around. Also you could clearly tell that knowone had cleaned the floor in a while because it was like a tip! If we were looking for a restaurant again we would try and avoid it.

We had eaten here a few years ago and had a decent lunch. However this evening meal was probably the worst dining experience I’ve had in France for very many years. Service was average but the Coq au Vin in particular was simply awful, and staff should have been embarrassed to serve it. A dry mix of blackened meat (which was apparently chicken, perhaps dyed with red wine on top of starchy spaghetti and no actual sauce to speak of. Prison food?! Or perhaps a retro tribute to school dinners of the 1970s. I have now read several similar reviews from this summer so this was not a ‘one off’. The pork was a bit better, but not much. The kids’ burgers, ice creams and formulaic desserts were ok, but did not rescue the evening. Significantly overpriced as well. They also didn’t check our Covid passports the first venue of many this year not to do so. (Although perhaps took it for granted that Brits travelling abroad in 2021 are vaccinated. Avoid!

We ordered a glass of wine at a small table which is 1/3 of the glass. Since it’s only 6 E we weren’t too concerned but since the other restaurants were busy we decided to have dinner. BIG MISTAKE. Coq au Vin was a strange and disgusting piece of chicken on top of spaghetti. My Cesar salad had a lot of sand in it and was poor quality breaded chicken with house dressing. No oil and vinegar was available. Service was brusque. Guy who brought the food out was rude. Overall terrible experience. Do not advise.

In the charming town of Chinon, besides being characterized by its excellent wines, you can also eat well. In this restaurant which is located in the main square, near the elevator that leads to the center, you can taste perfectly the kitchen of the center area, besides the most international cuisine. The population is simply precious, with the option to navigate the Loire for an affordable price. Also the castle of the same name crowns the city and is worthy to visit. Another option is to take a ride on a horse carriage, very relaxing and quiet.