Le Choiseul

Le Choiseul is the restaurant of the Relais d'Amboise, a five-star hotel on the banks of the Loire, at the foot of the royal château. The Minim monks lived on this spot in the 16th century and, in the 18th, the Duke of Choiseul, who according to the hotel was the most powerful man in the kingdom after Louis XV; the restaurant takes its name from him. From the dining room and the rooftop bar you can see the river and the Île d'Or.

The cooking

The menu is signed by chef Nicolas Aubry, whom the hotel presents as a Michelin-starred chef, and executive chef Vincent Léger Blanchard. It is French sauce-based cooking, with regional meats, seasonal vegetables and Atlantic fish, and it changes with the seasons. The September 2026 menu included:

• Starters from €16 to €20: roast and raw carrots with vanilla and lovage, soft-boiled egg with Basque sauce, Roi Rose de Touraine pork belly with artichoke and thyme cream. To share, pollock gravlax (€29) or Petrossian caviar (€95).
• Mains from €28 to €34: confit hake with Bonne Femme sauce and Bouchot mussels, red mullet with red pepper, farm chicken with chasseur sauce, beef rib with whisky and liquorice, gnocchi stuffed with mushrooms and goat's blue cheese. For two, Roi Rose pork chop at €65.
• Cheeses from a local affineur, Quentin Fromager (€16).
• Desserts from €14 to €16, including the raspberry soufflé with Chambord liqueur.

There is a children's menu at €25, up to age 10: chicken or fish of the day, side and dessert. Prices include taxes and service, and there is an allergen menu.

When to go and how to get there

The Touraine Val de Loire tourist office lists it as open every day, from 12:00 to 14:30 and from 19:00 to 22:00; confirm the hours when booking, online or by phone. It is at 36 quai Charles Guinot, the riverside promenade, a few minutes' walk from the approach to the château and the bridge. Before or after, the Le Turner bar, on the rooftop, serves cocktails and Loire wines with a view of the château.