La Dulce Terrasse

Last weekend, mom and I decided to visit the Val de Loire and its châteaux. The region has more than 100 castles, but we only had a day and a half, so we could only visit four of them. We got a train to Tours, a cute little town by the river and then headed off in a excursion the next day. 

While visiting the Châteaux Villandry and its breathtaking gardens, we stopped at this restaurant right outside of the properties' walls. I was skeptical about eating at a restaurant so close to a tourist attraction because, let's face it, they usually are overpriced and serve bad food. This one, though... big surprise.

For starters, the place is adorable. It was actually a terrace, although there was a wooden covered deck on the right side. The weather was nice, so we decided to stay in the open part.

The cocktails and the eggplant chips

Our first choice from the menu was one of their non-alcoholic cocktails made from fresh fruit and vegetables. I chose a mixture of grapefruit, orange and lime juices with mint, and my mom chose a carrot and apple mixture. Both were delicious - and I was really surprised, since they had no alcohol on them... the cocktails came with some eggplant chips (!) that tasted way better than regular chips. Seriously, I wanted to buy a big bag of them, they were so good. 

Amazingness

The main courses we chose were the meat of the day for me and fish of the day for my mom. It was the first restaurant in France I've been in that served a vegetarian option, which was quinoa-stuffed zucchini. 

My plate was this amazing filet-mignon of pork, with a honey and lime sauce and baked vegetables. Hum, I can still taste it... from the presentation of the plate, you can infer how amazing it was. My mom's plate was salmon with quinoa and vegetables and she loved it as well. 

More amazingness

Then, we went to the fun part of the meal - the crème brulée! I have to start by saying that this is one of my favorite desserts in the whole wide world, specially when done perfectly. And this one, was pretty close. The cream was cold (as it should be), and the sugar was crunchy... although they left one side of it undone. It had a hint of lavender, from the garden of the château... delicious!

The price was not that bad either - the cocktails were 3.50€ each, the plates 14€ each - mine cost 17€ because I had dessert with it (so worth more than three euros). I would say it was good value for money. 

And here are some pictures of two the seven beautiful gardens we visited and of the château:

The Vegetable Garden

The Ornamental Garden

Château Villandry viewed from the garden

City: Villandry, France

Restaurant: La Doulce Terrasse

Food: Excellent

Service: Great

Price: €