Restaurant Le Grand Saint-Michel - Relais de Chambord

We spent Christmas in Paris, then headed to Chambord and the Loire region to round out our Christmas Holiday. Staying at the Relais Chambord, we reserved Grand Saint Michele on our arrival evening. The staff was wonderful, we enjoyed delicious food, and with the help of the staff paired a wonderful wine with our meal. I’m surprised to see other reviews as we truly enjoyed the cuisine and service.

Not sure how this is rated this low - service was fantastic, and the food was right up there with the best we’ve eaten in France (and that’s high praise). The obvious part is the view - stunning vista across the Chambord chateau, whilst feeling you’re on your own private terrasse.

The restaurant was good for dinner, we had a really great meal. Service was really frustrating and slow, we really struggled to get anyone's attention to order wine, to get the bill, and our dirty plates sat on our table for nearly an hour. We had to get up to flag someone down to pay the bill in the end. Service was similarly slow in the morning at breakfast and the quality of breakfast was not the best - it would be nice to have full size pastries on offer rather than the mini affair that you might expect at a chain hotel rather than boutique!

Very unhappy with our experience at this restaurant, complete waste of our time and money. We sat for about 45 minutes before being brought water, the meat on the kids menu was impossible to cut, the few pasta that were served with it were overcooked, served without any sauce and not properly drained, plates arrived cold, and for the outrageous price of this place, not even a single sweet treat with our coffee. I don’t think I remember having ever paid so much in a restaurant for such a frustrating experience.

Beautiful location. My wife and I ordered the escargot appetizer and it took 40 min to get to our table. Then we ordered the octopus and chicken entrees. Octopus was very good with a cream corn spread. Chicken was dry and sauce was burnt, green beans needed salt, mashed potatoes were dry and tasteless. We asked for the check and 20min later we asked someone else because apparently our waiter had gone home or quit or something. All in all it was €100 for the 2 of us and 2 hours. It was fine. But they have to figure out the speed of service issue and take the chicken off the menu.

We sat for about 20 minutes, nothing. Nobody even saw us. No water, nobody asking us about what we want to order. When we said we are leaving and the service is unacceptable, the manager literally ran and shouted “wait wait! We will serve you right away” When she did that I knew that they receive a lot of bad reviews, but these reviews say the truth. Don’t go.

Amazing view of the castle, attentive staff and a good atmosphere. I went as a couple and my companion had a totally different experience to mine. Some dishes were incredible and others not so good. For the main course, he ordered duck and I ordered coq au vin. His dish was very well prepared and had a delicate flavor, while mine was very strong, to the point where I had difficulty finishing it.

We stayed at the hotel and had dinner in the restaurant. We were a bit sceptical given the restaurant reviews but we were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food and the friendliness of the staff, not to mention the stunning view from the terrace! The hotel itself was beautiful and the staff incredibly friendly and helpful. Extra point for the complimentary and beautiful spa ✨