Restaurant Le Lion d'Or

The day we arrived in Candé-sur-Beuvron, the restaurant of the hotel we were staying was closed so we had to find the best nearest place and I must say we were blessed with the quality of the nice opportunities around Blois! So we went twice to this place and now when you see this: Si yes the food was tasty and high quality and yes the service was top notch and with a smile! This is a great place with a menu showing variety of fresh food and a good wine list as well. Enjoy the place if around Blois!

We dined at this establishment on one evening while staying close by. The food was excellent and the service of the highest quality. The main restaurant had a large party for dinner and we were seated in a smaller part of the restaurant with several other couples. Despite the busy evening we never had anything but the best level of service. We could not fault this place in any way.

We stayed en route to the Dordogne. We had seen excellent reviews for this restaurant, in an isolated spot near the Loire, and they were richly deserved. From the amuse bouche gazpacho, followed by mackerel with an amazingly piquant dressing and.hake, through to the divine desert, I was mightily impressed. There are different priced menus, and we went for something in the middle. We sat in the small and rather rustic garden on a sultry evening. Inside looked a little more formal. Highly recommended.

My husband and I asked for a recommendation at the elegant hotel we stayed at in the Loire Valley. The hotel we were at had a Michelin two star restaurant on site, but we much prefer less formal, more intimate (and less expensive! meals when we are in France. The concierge recommended Le Lion D'or to us, and we were overwhelmed with our excellent meal! We both felt it was one of the best meals of our lives, and we have done some fine dining! We ate out on the charming, informal patio...it has a covering of wisteria vines and is very quiet. The server and assistant were very friendly and the service was excellent. The meal started with an amuse bouche that was bursting with flavor, but the most incredible thing was the entree that we ordered (appetizer on French menus , which consisted of small pieces of shrimp in an emulsion (foam made of peas and asparagus, along with a cold center that was made from tomatoes flavored with basil..our tongues lit up with the intense and delicious flavors. We couldn't get over this entree! For our main courses my husband ate a delicious fish dish with incredible sauce and veggies surrounding it. I had hunks of delicate lobster meat in a heavenly sauce with potatoes and vegetables...it was to die for. What was so wonderful at this restaurant was that each dish was composed of very creative combinations of ingredients and seasonings presented beautifully...each dish was full of flavors that were truly delicious. We couldn't get over the quality of the meal, especially for the price. It was so good we had to go back again a couple nights later! I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough.

The middle of January is not the best time to visit the Loire and the restaurant was understandably quite empty. The welcome was warm despite the freezing weather outside. The choices of main course were all fussy and none would have been fully freshly prepared, all being variations on dishes cooked in the oven and prepared in advance. Our fish (described as similar to cod, I didn't catch the French name) was accompanied by a kitchen sink of items including pork and vegetables. The sauce was quite rich, though. We were a little disappointed although, having chosen from the €21 menu, we couldn't complain about the value too much.