Lucriolla

Chef Philippe Maizières is breathing new life into this inn on the banks of the River Loire, where Clémence Lefeuvre invented the beurre blanc sauce around 1890. Maizières, who trained with Jean-François Piège at Le Parc Les Crayères and Clos des Sens, signs a concise, legible menu rooted in the Loire. An example: fillet of hake, paired with a medley of cauliflower and a… beurre blanc sauce.

On the banks of the Loire, this restaurant is set in a pretty townhouse dating back to the late 19C. It has been proudly serving its guests delicious food in an elegant, cosy decor for 75 years – so you could say it's an institution. The current chef uses the finest local produce in traditional regional cuisine: frogs' legs with parsley butter or a herb sauce; local fish (pike, pike-perch and sea bass) with beurre blanc; golden-brown calf sweetbreads with a morel cream. A smiling welcome awaits you, as does a large shady terrace surrounded by a bucolic garden planted with colourful flowerbeds.

Surrounded by rose bushes, this restaurant, which has stood on the banks of the Loire since 1938, affords a stunning view of the river and the abbey church of St-Florent-le-Vieil. In a tasteful contemporary interior, the chef crafts a traditional lineup drawing on regional fare (hake, pollock, farm-reared lamb, calf sweetbreads) flanked by classic sauces (beurre blanc, shellfish jus, wine sauce).

The sprawling terrace, which commands a superlative view of the fairytale Gacherie château, seems to float above the River Erdre. A peaceful, refreshing venue set in the heart of unspoiled countryside. Even better, the floor-to-ceiling windows of the dining room offer the same fantastic view when the weather is less suited to alfresco dining. The owner-chef, Walter Lescot, works only with ingredients he himself loves: Scandinavian gravlax of salmon, lemon cream; loin of cod, celery and chorizo risotto and a piquillos sauce. The tart of citrus fruit and lime sorbet is delicate, flavoursome and