The Best Restaurants in Pays-de-la-Loire
The Loire Valley in Western France is a popular destination – for wine lovers and architecture fans alike. On an island in the Loire River, the UNESCO-listed village of Béhuard offers a serene and special dining experience. Most visitors are drawn to the island village for its narrow alleys, quaint stone houses and the 15th century royal chapel, built on the order of King Louis XI following his miraculous rescue from drowning. But opposite the chapel, the old village school has received a new lease of life. With L´Audacieuse, chef and owners Armelle and Charles Tardy-Joubert opened an elegant, light-flooded restaurant in 2018, offering an authentic and relaxed dining experience. Fond memories of her Béhuard childhood made Armelle give up a successful career in communications and retrain as a chef at the Institute Bocuse in Lyon, France. Her cuisine is refined but also comforting and accessible, ruled by the seasons and predominately locally sourced: vegetables and herbs from the garden, poultry from the nearby farm and game from the neighbouring woodlands. Colourful soft furnishings give the interior – with 20 covers and extra seating on the courtyard in the summer months – a cool and stylish yet homely vibe. A late July visit offered a mouth-watering starter of fresh salmon tartare with dill from the herb garden in a zesty lemon dressing with bright accents of pink peppercorn. The deceptively simple-sounding main course of chicken and mushrooms revealed itself as a plate-licking exercise involving local roast chicken bedded on a mound of creamy mushroom ragout, served with buttery potato gratin. If there had been any resolve to skip dessert, it was at this point that it was abandoned. The melt-in-your-mouth crème brûlée was a vindication. A meal of brilliance and comfort. Service is impeccable, and local wines make up the short but exquisite wine list. For those longing to extend the experience, there are two newly renovated guest rooms with breath-taking views of the chapel. Reviewed by Manuela Prieth in August 2021