The 11 best foods to try in Chartres

In March 1996 I was on a European backpacking trip that went sideways. I didn't intend on visiting France or Paris but did and as an architecture student visited Chartres for the cathedral's gothic significance and then walked around the town finding a beautiful restaurant overhanging the L'Eure. On that sunny March day I reflected that this was the place I wanted to propose to my future, albeit unmet wife. Fast forward 29 years, a marriage and 4 children later, my wife and I made it back where I proposed again and had an absolutely outstanding meal and experience on beautiful sunny March day. C'est bon!

Very gracious hosts. One of the best meals I have had. I was part of a study abroad group from the States. We had with us one girl who can get by with French, but the rest of us knew only “please” and “thank you”. The hosts and servers were very kind and they graciously (and patiently) served us some of the best food I have ever eaten. The atmosphere was wonderful. We all had a great time. Merci Le Moulin De Ponceau. Merci.

Best meal we had in a long time. Attention to detail in the presentation and in the food combination. The waiter was very prepared and polite, explaining to us every dish. The wine I had was fantastic. Definitely recommend and we will come again to visit.

The restaurant is situated in a lovely location next to the river, making for a lovely sunny evening experience. The food is quite high-end, but unfortunately some of the dishes seemed to lack the flavour of the included ingredients. Staff were friendly, and the price is good for the experience, but I think they need to bump up the flavours a bit more.

Former watermill, this spot has to offer a delicate and seasonal cuisine in a clean settings. Efficient and friendly serving staff. Book your spot for a culinary experience. You get to enjoy your meal as well as the view on the river. Menu offers options to satisfy veggie friendly customers. All dishes were perfectly balanced. Great plus was the bread. Won't say much about the dishes to avoid any spoilers (the combination of lukewarm beetroot and strawberry was a delicious surprise!).

This was definitely one of the highlights of our visit to France and certainly to Chartres. The location is picturesque, the staff are friendly and attentive and the food was excellent. The location was so peaceful, service was at a relaxed pace -- a true gem

Amazing experience! Very nice place inside an old windmill, the staff is very welcoming and available, you get serve very quickly. Food is very tasty in small portion but at end of the meal you have enough. We had some little extra! Probably better view of the surrounding during day time. Ask for a table in the veranda if you want be placed near the river!😉

Café Bleu, Chartres — Simply Superb! What an absolute gem! The food at Café Bleu was amazing — full of flavour, beautifully presented, and clearly made with real care. The interior design of the restaurant is stunning too: stylish, welcoming, and perfectly balanced between classic French charm and modern flair. The service was brilliant from start to finish — friendly, attentive, and genuinely warm. And to top it all off, we stepped outside afterwards to enjoy the Tuesday Son et Lumière, over the cathedral which made the whole evening feel magical. A wonderful experience in every way — Café Bleu is an absolute must when in Chartres!

Visited this niece caffe on my way to Spain and after a visit to the beautiful cathedral we wend for a coffee and a nice cake, nice cafe friendly staff a reasonably prices. Great to relax at the sight of this beautiful village and cathedral

Very good experience! Beautiful terrace, very cozy inside arrangement, excellent service, delicious food! We were taken care by Kelly, and must say it was perfect! Friendly, attentive and very efficient. Absolutely recommended!!!

Been here for a dinner in family. Nothing fantastic. Place is well located, food is normal food, nothing outstanding. For the price we finally had to pay i would expect an outstanding food and service. The taste of the food is not “special” at all. So, overpriced taking into consideration the quality of the food and the service.

While the location is very close to the cathedral, making it quite touristy and a bit overpriced, the overall food quality was good. The one exception was the "pastry with foie gras," which barely had any. It should really be named "pastry with the scent of foie gras."

We stopped here on our way south and had a super delicious dinner right in front of the cathedral. Great views while dining :-) I very much enjoyed the duck foie gras, but the highlight was the veal roast in a mustard marinade. Probably one of the best roasts I have had in a long time. Service was very friendly, prices are moderate. Would certainly be back.

We had nice but mixed time at Café Blue. In the beginning we had to wait quite long for our oysters and sometimes we had to wait a bit for our wines. But we heard that other tables had to wait extremely long for food and drink, I guess we were a bit more lucky. The waitress was doing most of the things alone and she was very friendly and she was doing her utmost best. The wines were very good and of high quality (yet quite expensive). Overall the food was good but nothing really special, the mussels were really disapointing. It was €15 for a small plate of the tiniest mussels. It seems like the kitchen staff was very inefficient in how they work... Overall, we had a good time there (but the bill was higher than expected)

A very nice creperie. There must be almost a hundred different crepes to choose from. The ones we had were well loaded with ingredients and very tasty. Staff were very friendly and accommodating. Also a good location for visiting the Cathedral. Recommended!

Amazing food, friendly service! Nice interior, fast service and the staff was very friendly making jokes. The galets (savoury crepes) are a perfect light lunch if you are visiting the cathedral. Absolutely would reccomend!

Wandered around before choosing this place and was really impressed with the meals. The sardine crepe was stacked with salad, potatoes and tomato salsa. Duck one was just as stacked but sardine one was better. Nice wine and the onion soup to start was excellent. Nice service also.

We dined here as it’s a few meters from the cathedral and throughly enjoyed the experience. All of the staff were excellent, the menu is extensive and the price was reasonable too. Highly recommended!

Really enjoyed our galettes here. Great service and value. Would definitely recommend

I visited on June 4th 2025. My first time in France and by far my favorite restaurant of all! The people were absolutely the sweetest 💗 if I come back to France this will be my first stop

Great galettes, as good as they get. We had the classic ham, cheese and egg - delicious - and the vegetarian piled with fresh ingredients

I went in May 2022, we ate outside after a bit of a wait but servers were helpful. Avocado egg pastry was interesting, quite good but plating was its better quality. French onion soup was very bad, not thick not creamy or beefy or smooth at all— so watery and flavourless compared to the one we had at the Monet restaurant!! But I’m told that’s how they typically make it in France. Burger maison was wonderful, so delicious especially the cheese, very special burger and good fries too. I am writing this review because I was thinking about it. I wish I could go back!

This café was an excellent escape from the cold. While touring the nearby cathedral, I stopped in for a breaks. The hot wine, the crème brûlée and the French onion soup were excellent.

I had great vanilla tea here (beware the boiling metal teapot). We shared a really tender lamb shank for lunch, I would recommend. The service was great, even though it was really crowded

This is a super cute French bistro just off the church. We sat for a meal and a glass of wine. I ordered escargot and a steak tartare. The snails were delicious, perfectly cooked and seasoned. The tartare was fine, but it didn’t have any capers. We sat out side, shrubs could glasses of wine and enjoyed a great mean. Highly recommended if you have time.

We came with 3 children, very fredly 😊and had just some different type of meny to taste famous French dishes 😁

The French Onion soup was bland and the broth tasted old, not fresh. For excellent French Onion Soup go to Cafe Degas in New Orleans. The whole city rocks with fantastic french food. Go during Jazz Fest. A long wait now for main course.

I ordered the onion soup with croque madam. The cheese on top of the soup was burned black while the croutons were on the bottom and soggy. The croque had some cheese on top but the sides were black- burned low quality loaf bread. The egg was well done and crispy. It was the driest, most tasteless burned sandwich I ever tasted. It was clearly evident that everything was poorly reheated with a blowtorch and served up for the tourists. Save your money, better food at McDonald's.

Excellent restaurant. A place where the sun will shine on your plate and in your glass! Romantic, joyful restaurant with great service and wonderful food. We had two desserts since those were too good to be missed. The lasagna is heaven on earth. The recommended wine was a good Fitbit all dishes: crisp, dry and transparent. Not to be missed when in Chartres.

This is my absolute favorite restaurant. I love the truffle pasta. They dont accept walk ins

Fabulous small restaurant, inventive menu, great drinks selection, food exquisitely prepared. Not huge plates but it's not that kind of restaurant. Strongly recommend.

For a good dinner and taste, would I recommend thesis restaurant. Enjoy their service and art of cooking.

The food was very good and there was also a cute cat

I come here everytime i am in Chartres! I love the Troffi Pasta and the service is amazing

Had a fantastic meal with excellent service. The food is expertly prepared and delicious. The restaurant is very comfortable and has the added bonus of Pinocchio the cat who will visit you if you are kind and friendly :-)

Obviously, it is a really good restaurant. We went there after the Paris-Chartres pilgrimage in 2025 and found here really good, local produced food for really affordable prices! I would not call this the best experience I ever had, for the reasons below, but I can strongly recommend everyone to go there at least once. But, here are some misses that I would change if I was the owner. -The plates were cold. While serving hot food, especially a steak in a rich sauce it is much better to provide a warm plate to avoid it getting lukewarm just after 10 minutes. - There were not a lot of veggies. Just to make it clear, it was our first time in a French restaurant and we are much more accustomed with the Swedish cuisine - but it came as a surprise to us that there were not more vegetables in the menu. We found the majority of food to be very rich and it lacked some of that lightness to balance things out. - It would be nice to have some butter to the bread. - We found that it was rather loud in the restaurant despite that there were not many more customers other that us. Maybe more curtains could absorb more of the noise? Other than that, we really enjoyed our visit here, the steak was perfect, the decorations and atmosphere was classy and the staff friendly (laid back even). Would definitely come back!

Yes this is a 1-star-Michelin restaurant and supposedly the best in the region. As you would expect, impeccable service, very quiet atmosphere, only a few tables and good service. I went for one of the three Degustation Menue and interesting enough the service really struggles to explain I’m English what the chefs had created as culinary explosions … that is the only short coming of the restaurant in my view - yes I know my fault to not speak good enough French, but a one star restaurant in a tourist town … Otherwise really great food with interesting avant-garde displays … good timings and flavors. My favorite was the fish part … and supporting the local couple next table who was celebrating their 35th year of marriage with this treat :) So go here if you want this extra Michelin start level of quality as a special treat and do not mind that a lot of the intriguing flavors and ingredient combinations will be “lost in translation”

We had a fantastic meal here. The food was of extremely high quality, with some wonderful flavours. There were plenty of additional amuses and petit fours, all expertly crafted. Service was excellent as well. In my opinion this could easily be 2* quality. Highly recommended!

A wonderful experience from the very beginning till the end. The service is excellent: professional, attentive and friendly. The closest description of the food is traditional French cuisine with a nice twist. Michelin star is absolutely deserved!

We were 5 of us staying at the hôtel hoping for a good diner at Le Georges, after the meal 2 of us were sick as a dog all night. Next morning, no consideration, no sorry, no discount, nothing .. from the management or the chef, just the bill. You’d better spend your big money elsewhere where the customer really matter, stay away.

Excellent !

(Translated by Google) We spent two incomparable hours in a sumptuous and peaceful setting. The staff was very classy, attentive, and remarkably kind. As for the food and wine, they were exceptionally refined, enchanting our senses with their beauty, aroma, and delighting our taste buds. All in all, a remarkable experience! A huge thank you to everyone. (Original) Nous avons passé deux heures incomparables dans un décor somptueux et très calme. Le personnel est très classe, d'une attention appréciable et d'une gentillesse remarquable. Quant aux mets et vins, ils étaient d'une finesse exceptionnelle, et enchantaient nos sens, par leur beauté, leur fumet et la joie de nos papilles. En tous points, remarquable moment ! Un grand merci à toutes et à tous.

Delicious food and very attentive staff. I particularly enjoyed the chocolate sphere which melts when you pour the hot chocolate sauce on it. I'd definitely recommend this restaurant.

I made a last minute reservation here for dinner. The food was excellent! Very welcoming and friendly service. I highly recommend. Thank you!

Had a wonderful meal here on a very warm evening and found the fabulous food was perfectly tailored to the hot weather. Our starters included a delicious mixed tomato salad with burrata and a fresh, perfectly flavoured crab concoction. This was followed with seared tuna with sesame and sea bass with vegetables, and finished with peach Melba and a rich chocolate fondant with hazelnut ice cream. All absolutely perfect. The waiter was extremely kind and attentive, arranging our taxi and even helping my mother, who has limited mobility, all the way to the car afterwards. I'd highly recommend this restaurant and have only marked down the 'atmosphere' a little as the outside terrace at the back is quite small and more practical than beautiful!

Delicious food. Best roast duck I've ever had. My husband's beef lightly seared and not overcooked at all, just as he likes. Tried raw cod fish for starter (first time) and pleasantly surprised. Go if you get the chance. Bar next door a good place to grab an aperitif beforehand. Need to walk here, no parking.

Had lunch there a couple of months ago with friends who own a home in France ! We all agreed , without a doubt, the worst food we have ever had anywhere. The chicken could not be cut with a sharp knife without rocking the table . We all simultaneously looked up , with 75% of all of our food still on the table and requested a check! Avoid this restaurant!

Most attentive service. Warm and inviting atmosphere a delicious food. Creative flavor profiles. A gem if walk down the road a bit in Chartres. Would love to go back

Excellent menu and very attentive staff. Will be sure to return when visiting Chartes in future.

We had a wonderful meal at Julie’s last night. The food was perfection…. I left my bag in the restaurant and didn’t remember until this morning. It contained everything of value - passports, cash, credit cards, 😱 The staff had kept it safe overnight and we retrieved it this morning. Extremely grateful to Julie and the team!!

The atmosphere at lunch was really comfortable, even with a friendly wasp that seemed keen to share my drink. I had the plat + dessert formule. The dorade was perfectly cooked and well-seasoned. I especially enjoyed the crispy skin and flavorful sauce. For dessert, I chose the tiramisu, which unfortunately, didn’t quite work for me.

Food was of an acceptable standard with some variety. However, this was significantly undermined by the very poor and inattentive service. We waited too long for menus and anyone to take our order when we first arrived. Desserts sounded nice but after having our main course we eventually left our table with our plates still uncollected to get our bill and leave.

A popular spot for locals it seems, this place pretends to be more than it is. It wants to be haut cuisine, but comes up short. A very limited dinner menu leaves you with few choices. As typical in France, the portions tend to be small. The food quality is marginal. For example the shrimp in our Entree was dry, not deveined and half peeled.

We had very friendly waiting ladies, they worked so hard running around to ensure that the guests were served on time, truly amazing to see this in France. The ambience was superb, restaurant was decorated very tastefully. The food were presented beautifully, they tasted fantastic too. The chef obviously put in tremendous effort into her cooking and the diners can definitely see and feel her effort. Location was right in the old town, very convenient. Highly recommend it.

We had good evening. The menu wasn't too enticing, but the burger was good. Our dog read welcomed too

Truely worthy of the description bistronomique. It is bistro food at heart but with a level of finesse and inventiveness that rises way above what the term bistro usually implies. Would definitely recommend. Good winelist and service as well!

Fresh terrace a day of furnace, nice and original cuisine in transparent jars (don't hesitate to pour the content into the plate!). A fine place to lunch before going back to the arena of sightseeing ;) (walking distance from the Cathedral)

We had the seabass - really great. Very nice athmosphere in the courtyard and friendly staff - although a bit forgetful. Can recommend.

Wonderful restaurant with beautiful and atmospheric dining room. Good menu and wine list. Recommend.

Nice atmosphere with friendly service but was served raw chicken and still charged for dish, very disappointing.

I went expecting a pleasant time given the place looked very pretty but no, what I got was staff serving me a hot beer, the setting area smelling of trash and staff forgetting I even was with them. Over 15 minutes pasted before I even got the drink I ordered.

Had a lovely meal in the outside courtyard, very good service, and a great abs private setting in the midst of Chartres

Slow inconsistant service, my wife's beer was more foam than liquid, two of the drinks we ordered were the same item yet we only got one that was correct, the terrace smells absolutely awful

Excellent experience; lovely service, great food and a location that is hard to beat. The only thing we didn’t like so much was the selection of starters; we felt that it was rather short on highlights and a bit boring. They can do better here.

We were passing through Chartres and came here because it had a knife and fork mention on the Guide Michelin. We made a reservation and glad we did for lunch because the place was full. I had the special which was cuisse de canette with orange sauce and he had the beef with mushrooms. Both were excellent. Be sure to order the Iles Flottante for dessert it's a dramatic presentation and delicious!

This was a superb meal and dining experience. Every dish was outstanding and we thought the value was fully there. Our 3 hour lunch with cocktails and two bottles of wine for 3 people was thoroughly enjoyable. Could not recommend more highly

Exquisite food, wonderful service, very good choice of wine, we tried the pork and the beef, along with a red and a white wine of Bourgogne. Highly recommended especially this time of year with the "Chartres en Lumiere" illuminating the facades of the Cathedral!!

A wonderful experience.We were a group of 17 people who booked a large table at this charming esta blishment bang on cathedral square in Chartres. A big menu with a lot of option, and we ordered quite a few dishes which were all just superb. We were served by a lady who was very kind, attentive and helpful.We all enjoyed our lunch there.The food, service and atmosphere were just great.

A lovely dinner in an authentic French restaurant. The accompanying service was a real highlight. Very happy to recommend. On a warm day the outside tables enjoying views of the cathedral would also be a highlight. We dined on a cool evening.

Really friendly staff. They were busy but so efficient. Great food. We had the belly pork which melt in the mouth. Would definitely recommend.

Terrible experience, food not good! We chose this restaurant last Friday evening after walking around the fabulous city of Chartres. It looked to be in quite a nice area of the town amongst some other restaurants and offered the type of dishes we were looking for. We sat inside near the bar, where there was a rather unpleasant smell which drifted in the air from time to time. This seemed to coincide whenever somebody used a door near to where we were sitting. The initial service staff seemed quite friendly and polite. We ordered steak and chips and a crispy fish burger with chips. When it arrived, the steak was very small and seemed to be folded in half. The meat was very tough and after taking the first mouthful it tasted like it had been cooked in rancid butter with a very upleasant taste indeed. The chips looked and tasted burnt. One mothful was enough not to want any more. My partner's fish burger appeared to be microwaved. The bun had a hard texture and the batter on the fish looked very pale and uncooked and was stuck to the bun. She took two mouthfuls and had to spit out the second one as it tasted rank. Her chips were also burnt. After trying the food, we decided that we would just finish our drinks, which were ok, and go. We were both left with a horrible taste in our mouths. The waiter, different one to the one that showed us to our table, came and asked us if we were happy with our meals, to which we replied no with an explaination why. He then went and came back with a bill for 50 euros. I asked him if we could just pay for our drinks as the food was not edible. He refused to do this and went off to chat to some other staff. When he came back he still insisted that the food was good and what we had ordered and we had to pay. He also seemed to become more agressive in his attitude and body language towards us. I did argue that we we were very usatisfied with the meal and felt we should be let off some of the bill. After it started to get more heated, I decided to just give them the 50 euros and call it a day. Over the years we have visited many restaurants in France, some very good ones and some not so good ones. This one is by far the worst restaurant we have visited in any country both in terms of food quality and quality of service! We do not recommend you go there until they have made some big improvements!

The Foie gras was superb! The main dishes are all good. I had the pulled pork burger - yum! We tried two desserts, the lemon meringues tart and the chocolate cake. Both very delicious! If in Chartres this restaurant is worth a visit!

Smells like death outside under the « halles », thanks for the garbage cans and the dead rats around them next to the tables. That should have been a dead giveaway for the rest of the experience. The staff is clearly still in school and have acne spots depicting their extensive experience. No knowledge of how to properly place dishes on the table, pay attention to the clients… loooooong waits. The food is good, I’ll admit but way overpriced. All in all, they are way over their head and cannot keep up, looks a bit like a tourist trap.

Food was ok in general but the onion soup was burned and did not taste at all. Even though I complained nobody really cared. Service was not good in general. We ordered water and salt and never received it.

A really great meal here, starters, mains and pudding all delicious. Menu has lots of unusual and attractive sounding dishes, but not fussy. Chef is very good. Wine list, particularly Loire selection, nice too and the poire eau de vie we had was pretty special. Friendly and efficient service, cosy unpretentious setting.

Excellent lunch menu at reasonable price and very good quality. We had the sweet potato parmantier with pulled pork for the main course and an original viennoiserie pain purdue. The service was fast and efficient with the staff being very friendly.

Friendly staff were always on hand, made us feel welcome and were patient with our amateurish French. Nice beer and cider. My partner had a tasty steak with potatoes but not enough salad, I had john dory (perfect) served with a stodgy risotto which was delicious but had the texture of rice pudding. My plate also lacked green veg or salad other than a few leaves on top.