Fontevraud le Restaurant
While flipping through my Food & Wine magazine in Colorado, I came across an article entitled The Ten Best New Restaurants in France. Much to my delight, one of the restaurants happened to be situated directly on our planned cycling route. Too good to be true, I knew it was meant to be. I decided to splurge and booked a table for two at Fontevraud le Restaurant, in the Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud not far from Saumur.
Located in the cloister, and one time prison, of Europe’s largest abbey, young chef, Thibaut Ruggeri, (only 34-years-old), and winner of the 2013 Bocuse d’Or (an international gastronomic competition), serves up extremely stunning haute cuisine in an intimate and peaceful setting. The tables surround a courtyard filled with fresh and colorful herbs where the very kind and attentive wait staff trim and pick fresh ingredients for each course.
No doubt about it, Chef Ruggeri is an artist. Visually his plates are exquisite. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such beautiful and creative plating. Our dinner was like an edible trip to a fine modern art museum. In addition to the freshly picked herbs, the chef uses local ingredients, like honey from the abbey’s bees and mushrooms grown in the limestone caves surrounding the abbey. While not every plate was a homerun on the palate and flavor sometime took a back seat to art, it was an unforgettable evening.
MENU ABEILLES \ 20€
Layers of fresh goat cheese
Chicken with mashed potatoes and lemon
Chocolate and nuts
MENU MENU \ 58€
Including wines in keeping with the meal \83€
A springtime revolution
Pollock, and pots herbs
Chicken from Racan, Swiss chard end goat’s cheese
Goat cheese and basil
A symphony of lemon and black olives
GRAND MENU \ 95€
Including wines in keeping with the meal \ 130€
The Paris mushroom at Fontevraud
Fario trout marinated, pinewood
Poached monkfish with shellfish and striped with squid and squid ink with a braised fennel bulb and a dill and red wine sauce.
A pigeon fillet with almonds and covered with a cognac marzipan, honeyed carrots and giblets with 4 spices.
Cheeses from the length and breadth of the Loire
A little sweetness without butter or cream
A symphony of lemon and black olives
365+ Things I Love About France 
What a perfect setting for a restaurant! Did you have a chance to wander around the abbey?
Yes. Just about 15 minutes. I will definitely put it on my list as an overnight stop the next time we travel this way. Gorgeous little towns all around, good wine tasting, and the Abbey is now also a hotel. I have no idea what it costs, but would be an excellent splurge to be able to be on those grounds at all times of the day and night. It’s been spectacularly renovated.
Sounds stunning! I visited in 2006 and loved it then. It sounds quite different now! (As long as the tombs of Richard and Eleanor are still there!)
There is also a language school in the village – Parfum de France – which a friend of mine recommends but I suspect your French doesn’t need any brushing up on!
Ooh! What an idyllic spot for a language school. I’m definitely going to look into that. My French is pas bien. That would be the perfect spot to learn I think.
whaou !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Marie-Françoise
I know. Crazy, beautiful food.
Oh man! This post definitely made my mouth water! I miss French food; perhaps I will check out that restaurant when I return to France!
It was an amazing evening. Quite the chef and restaurant.
Wow!
And so reasonable for that standard of food and such an exquisite setting
I think we need to fit in a trip back that way……………
It’s definitely an “event”. Well worth the money for a 4-hour gourmet meal. He’s quite the talented chef. One to watch, me thinks.
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Do you ever feel that so called ‘top restaurants’ become more about the chef than the food? I sometimes think that they try to outdo each other in showing off and I’d rather have good ingredients well cooked than anything ‘deconstructed’ or featuring foam!
Yes. I agree. Visually it was a magnificent show. And it really was a show, but I’d say flavor wise about half of them were a miss. Meaning they were just ok. In the end it was about the plating and a feast for the eyes. Still it was a great evening.
Wow! What an experience. It looks well worth it (types the hungry girl :o). Thanks for sharing these beautiful creations!
What amazing looking food! Lovely setting for the restaurant too 🙂
It was a dream setting. Gosh I miss France…about to start a new adventure here in Colorado: French culinary school starts next Monday.
Sounds wonderful – hope you will blog about your culinary adventures at the cooking school! 🙂