The Boule d'Or

We normally don't do last minute tours, but on Wednesday night we received a request for a walking tour of Chenonceau for yesterday afternoon. As we we going to be driving past the place on our way back from a medical appointment in Blois it seemed logical to say yes.

That left us with a question about lunch. We like exploring new restaurants, but it's tricky to do with clients and we're very rarely in that area otherwise. So it was a perfect chance to try a restaurant we've been recommended, driven past any number of times, but never tried.

The dining room is a shelter in the car park

La Boule d'Or is a traditional ouvriers restaurant in Chissay, not that far from Chenonceau. A three course lunch is 16€50. There's no choice of entree (salad and home made rillettes) or dessert (Charlotte made with sponge fingers and chestnut puree), and today the choice of main course was between roast pork, lasagne, and beef bourguignon (made with rosé so it's not too heavy). The main was served with chips (fries).

Chestnut Charlotte

The atmosphere is really friendly - from the cat who was occupying a chair when we arrived, to the family who run the whole operation, via the clientele (who appeared to be as much friends as clients). It's also spotlessly clean.

We would recommend it to anyone looking for an authentic french lunch experience. Unfortunately though, we won't be using it for work. We suspect it may be just a little too authentic for our clients.