Restaurant Les Trois Marchands, Cour-Cheverny
Sitting on the main square of Cour-Cheverny since 1867, Les Trois Marchands is the kind of French restaurant that travel writers claim no longer exists — a proper regional table where the menu changes with the hunt and the harvest, and the wine list is almost entirely Cheverny AOC.
What to Order
The Sologne is game country and the autumn menu reflects it fully: terrine de gibier, saddle of venison with ceps, and tarte Tatin made with local apples are the benchmarks. In spring and summer the kitchen shifts to river fish — sandre (pike-perch) au beurre blanc is the dish the Loire does better than anywhere on earth.
Ask for a glass of Cour-Cheverny white with the fish course. The local Romorantin's high acidity cuts through the butter sauce in a way that feels designed rather than accidental — because, after centuries of proximity, it essentially was.
The Room and the Value
The dining room retains its old-fashioned brasserie bones — tiled floor, bentwood chairs, zinc bar — and the service is brisk and professional without being stiff. Lunch formulas (entrée + plat or plat + dessert) represent exceptional value for cooking of this quality.
Book ahead for weekend lunches in summer when château visitors fill the village. Weekday lunches are quieter and the kitchen has more time for you — a worthwhile consideration.
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