Au Chapeau Rouge - Chinon

Our group ate dinner here, so there was minimal choice in our courses. There were plates with little amuse-bouches—toasted bread with salmon and sour cream and a flower, and little glasses with a purée of green stuff (pea soup? over a layer of puréed beets. Not especially to my taste, but they were very pretty and others liked them. I had fish terrine for my starter, and Husband had medallions of duck with foie gras. We both had chicken for the main course—tender, wonderful chicken on a bed of dried pear that I thought was onion at first. Lots of mushrooms, a long slice of carrot, and some fava beans. Delicious. We both had the chocolate dessert, which seemed to combine a variety of chocolates—mousse, cake, a crunchy wafer-like stick, and more. The other dessert for our group was strawberry and it also looked wonderful. Local white and red wines were served with the meal.

We had a good meal here but were astonished at how rude the front of house lady was. She didn’t smile once, made no eye contact and sighed very crossly when we chose to sit inside rather than outside she having asked us which we wanted. A lovely setting, Chinon is gorgeous, but she absolutely killed the occasion.

The restaurant is placed on a pleasant place. very pleasant, attentive, effective and professional staff. The kitchen is excellent, the presentation of the plates a feast for the eyes and the ratio of quality/pris is quite affordable. The restaurant's interior is irreproachable and the toilet. Never seen in cleanliness!

Gourmet stop in the red hat, with an excellent price/service/quality ratio of menus. the very beautiful reputation of this restaurant is a reality. We'll definitely go back.

We had a lovely celebratory lunch for a special birthday. We had reserved a table on the terrace (which is in the square), which was perfect on a hot day. The terrace is almost totally covered by umbrellas, so was nicely in the shade. The menu is very much for those who enjoy fine dining and who are going to take their time over the meal. We found the staff helpful, very knowledgable about their menu and wines and encouraging of our slightly dodgy French. A very pleasant meal and I would definitely go back if I was in the area.