Dinner at Le Saint-Honoré, Tours

Since arriving in Tours I have been on the lookout for a really nice new restaurant to visit, and I was very happy to have discovered this little gem, tucked away in a quiet little street behind the city's main cathedral. Le Saint-Honoré came up in Tripadvisor searches as a very highly regarded local restaurant, in addition to being on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list for good quality and value, and I decided to check it out this evening together with my singer Angela.

The restaurant is not that difficult to find - just walk straight on from Rue Colbert (the main dining street) in the direction away from the central square and you'll eventually come to it at a crossroads. We had actually tried to walk in without a reservation yesterday evening, but were informed by the warm and friendly couple who run the place that they were already full. Fortunately they still had space this evening! Reservations are absolutely essential especially for dinner.

Le Saint-Honoré is housed in an ancient former bakery dating from 1625, and run by Benoît and Isabelle Pasquier, a lovely couple who manage to do everything themselves without extra help. Benoît grows his own vegetables in a little patch at the back of the restaurant and cooks, while Isabelle, the main face of the restaurant, serves and charms guests with her casual and genuine demeanour.

One feels the homely atmosphere as soon as he steps in. The original brickwork and wooden beams have been carefully preserved, and the place is decorated with all sorts of nostalgic knick-knacks, creating an aptly quaint but not overwhelming environment. It felt especially comfortable and cosy sitting down to dinner with red checkered tablecloths, just as one might do in a traditional French country home.

Whilst perusing the menu, we were given a variety of canapés, consisting of raw baby radishes, cheese goujons, sesame and poppyseed biscuit sticks, and preserved black olives on a plate. This was a lovely way to stimulate the palate - the radishes were crisp and mildly sweet; the goujons warm, fluffy and aromatic; the biscuit sticks very light in texture but nutty and robust in flavour; and finally, the sharp, briny and juicy olives really awakened the tastebuds.

The menu is unfortunately French-only but I believe Isabelle speaks enough English to get by if you need help. There is the standard à la carte menu with multiple options under each course, or one may also choose between two fixed sets, Menu Saint-Honoré at 3 courses for €28, or Menu Homard (lobster menu) at 4 courses for €45, tax and service included. Angela decided on the former set while I went for the latter. After some time, Benoît emerged from the kitchen, took our orders himself and explained some of the dishes. He also readily allowed me to substitute my cheese course with an extra dessert upon request, recommending the apple tart to go with the dessert I'd already chosen, and quipping that 'you are a real gourmand' - very nice of him! We both really appreciated his warm and personal touch, and marvelled at his multitasking ability.

Following that, Isabelle offered each of us an amuse-bouche on a tablespoon, which contained a mound of radish mousse with sesame and rillons. 

Compared to the previous canapés, this was a lot richer in texture and heavier in flavour. The mousse had a fresh and delicate sweetness that was well enhanced by finely-chopped chives in the mix, while a sprinkling of sesame contributed a pleasant nutty aroma. The few small chunks of rillons (pork breast confit, a Touraine specialty) were smoky and intense in flavour, and had a lovely succulent bite - just perfect with the smooth, airy and creamy mousse. It was quite surprising how this spoonful could pack such a punch, and our expectations were suitably raised for the rest of the dinner.

Starter (Menu Saint-Honoré): disc of crushed heirloom tomatoes with basil, toasted nuts and seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and pine nuts), quinoa and olive oil; mesclun salad leaves with balsamic vinegar; balls of watermelon and rock melon.

This was Benoît's 'suggestion of the moment', and what resulted was one of the beautiful tomato salads I have ever seen. Almost all the produce (except for the nuts, seeds and fruits) had been grown by Benoît himself, and the care with which he had cultivated and plated them was immediately evident. The chunks of heirloom tomatoes (I counted at least two different varieties) were extremely sweet and juicy as expected, and the fruity and mildly bitter olive oil in the mix instantly elevated their crispness and enriched their texture. Fresh basil leaves contributed further pleasant aromas, while bits of quinoa, nuts and seeds enlivened each mouthful with a crunchy bite and robust flavour. At the other corner of the plate, crisp and delicately spicy salad leaves with a dash of tangy balsamic vinegar continued the garden-fresh theme of this starter. The row of fruit separating these two parts of the plating was no less stellar - meticulously shaped into tiny balls, very juicy, and even sweeter than the tomatoes. Incredibly wholesome and satisfying!

Starter (Menu Homard): rosette of lobster on a bed of crushed tomatoes with basil.

This was essentially the same dish as the tomato salad above, but with the addition of generous slices of lobster arranged very prettily like petals in the form of a rose, as well as a whole lobster claw. The lobster had been boiled to just the right degree and still retained all of its juiciness and sweetness, and the flesh was really firm and succulent. The plump lobster claw was particularly tantalising. Coupled with the tomatoes, basil and olive oil, the result was utterly fresh, crisp and luxurious.

Main (Menu Saint-Honoré): Chartres-style beef tenderloin, potato galette, seasonal vegetables and garlic confit.

The original French name for this dish was 'tournedos', referring to round cuts of beef from the end portion of the tenderloin. Chartres-style (taking its name from the nearby city of the same name) refers to a garnish of fondant potatoes and veal gravy with herbs that typically accompany tournedos. This dish had a very homely and down-to-earth feel to it. The medium-rare beef was tender and succulent, and its intense flavour was enhanced aptly by the accompanying soft, pungent and sharp pieces of garlic confit with a mildly sweet aftertaste. The cooking juices with chives were another natural and effective match for this full-bodied meat. On the side (taking the place of fondant potatoes, but similarly prepared), the potato galette, made with just layered paper-thin potato strips and butter, had been oven-roasted to a delightfully browned and aromatic crispiness on the surface, whilst the insides remained meltingly tender and milky without the slightest hint of grease, despite the use of butter. On the whole, this was a robust and rather heavy dish, well executed in all of its deceptively simple components and very enjoyable indeed.

Main (Menu Homard): croustillant of lobster on a bed of gently spiced girolles.

If you're a mushroom lover, this dish is for you. The positives: the bed of girolles was very meticulously prepared, having been minced to an almost paste-like consistency and marinated with various spices for an additional warmth to its already deep flavour. Surrounding the bed of minced girolles were actual sautéed girolles with a firm and fleshy texture and a pleasant hint of caramelisation. The meat jus with finely crushed hazelnuts further contributed to the overall intensity of the accompaniments and provided an occasional crunch. Finally, the individual discs making up the potato croustillant on top had been shaved to an remarkably translucent thinness, and deep-frying not only made them stick together nicely due to the release of natural starches, but also made them incredibly crispy and appealing (who can dislike potato crisps, really?). Needless to say, the lobster was as good as it had been in the salad (this is most likely the other half, so one gets a whole lobster over two courses).

However, my first reservation about this dish was its proportions, as the overwhelming amount of girolles on the plate seemed to have upstaged what should have been the focus of this dish - the lobster. I was also concerned by how the earthy girolles with a meat-based jus might overpower the much more delicate and clean-tasting lobster, though I understand that traditional French restaurants may have a tendency to make everything on the plate taste of meat. Again, to be sure, the individual components were very good, but I must admit that their juxtaposition on this plate felt rather awkward.

Dessert (one chooses from the same list for both menus): apple and honey tart with cinnamon ice-cream.

One can never go wrong with the classic apple and cinnamon combination. This was my replacement dessert for the cheese course, and I was both surprised and impressed by how finely the apple had been sliced then carefully arranged on the equally thin pastry base. The apple slices remained very juicy and crunchy, and the baking had produced a deep caramelised flavour. Both their texture and taste were aptly enhanced by a surface glazing of honey. The pastry base was very light and somewhat crumbly to the bite. On the whole, it was a lovely combination of textures. Topping the tart was a scoop of cinnamon ice cream, made with a generous amount of real ground cinnamon powder, which packed a real punch with its smooth and rich texture, and authentically warm and sweet aroma. It even came with a paper-thin cinnamon feuilletine for extra bite and flavour. A single small strawberry provided a pleasant tart balance to this otherwise rather sweet and indulgent dessert. It was indeed quite a nice way of recovering from the slight disappointment of my main course.

Dessert: strawberries with lemon verbena.

This was Angela's choice, and an entirely apt one coming after her meaty and substantial main course. Fresh strawberries, lightly poached in strawberry juice, had a delightfully soft and juicy texture, with a crisp and tangy taste. The surrounding strawberry juice had in turn been reduced to a thicker consistency and infused with lemon verbena prior to serving, which resulted in a concentrated sweetness with pleasant citrusy notes. Topping the dessert was a  very light, smooth and refreshing scoop of strawberry sorbet and a crispy brown sugar tuile for extra bite. On the whole, this was extremely vivid both in appearance and in flavour.

Dessert: raspberry gratin with basil and Vouvray sabayon.

Gratin refers to a culinary method in which an ingredient (such as sliced potatoes) is sprinkled with grated cheese and/or breadcrumbs in a shallow dish and baked till a golden brown crust is formed on top. This unusual dessert version of an otherwise savoury dish had a base of simmered raspberries swimming in a pool of raspberry soup, similar to the previous strawberry dessert, but here the raspberries were even softer and somewhat mashed up (like in a chunky jam), perhaps due to their smaller size which makes them more prone to disintegration upon heating. This raspberry base had a concentrated tartness which was effectively tempered by the fresh peppery flavour, with a sweet aromatic aftertaste, of the shreds of basil scattered within. Similar in appearance to a Mornay sauce, the sabayon on top was actually a liquid custard-like mixture of egg yolks, sugar and wine, lightly cooked then whipped to its foamy appearance. The use of typically dry and acidic Vouvray wine (a famous white wine made from Chenin Blanc grapes just east of Tours) resulted in a sabayon that was remarkably fresh and crisp, perfect for the strong and spicy basil as well as the rather astringent raspberries. Charred bits of icing sugar on the surface offered a balancing tinge of sweetness as well as a convincing gratin-like appearance, while a halved fresh strawberry completed this picture-perfect dessert like a jewel in the crown. This was a most invigorating way to end the dinner, and now I could also see why Benoît had recommended the much sweeter apple tart to pair with and precede this dessert.

Petit fours: thyme meringue, raspberry financier and grape & peach compote tart.

No meal in a proper French restaurant is complete without the little pastries that arrive at the end of dinner, and these were very good indeed. The meringue was crisp, airy and minty, a great palate cleanser; the financier was moist, fluffy and buttery, with a tinge of acidity from raspberry jam in the centre; and for the tart, who could possibly dislike a thick and sweet jam filling, with a fresh and juicy grape to boot?

I'd wanted to see Benoît's vegetable patch but was unfortunately informed by him that other guests sitting in that area might be disturbed if I did that, so I respected his decision. Throughout the dinner we witnessed the seamless and loving cooperation between husband and wife, and it's frankly remarkable how efficiently the business runs despite having just the two of them. I couldn't leave without asking to take a picture with this lovely couple as a souvenir, which they were only too happy to oblige. They were extremely pleased that we had enjoyed ourselves this much.

Le Saint-Honoré is most certainly the best restaurant I've discovered in Tours so far. Great cooking at reasonable prices, coupled with the most amiable service I've experienced in this city - what's not to love? Go!