Auberge des Templiers

Who Should Book Auberge des Templiers

If you are planning a celebratory weekend escape within two hours of Paris; an anniversary, a significant birthday, or simply a long-overdue splurge in the Loire Valley; Auberge des Templiers is built for exactly that occasion. The 17th-century coaching inn in Boismorand holds a Michelin star (2024) and a 4-radish rating from We're Smart, which signals a kitchen that takes vegetables seriously even within a traditionally meat-forward French canon. If you want a one-night-or-two-night Relais & Châteaux stay anchored by a serious dinner, this is the right address. If you want a quick bistro lunch on the way south, it is not.

The Experience

The building does most of the work before you sit down: half-timbered façade, pink brick, stone walls, century-old trees on the grounds. Inside, oak beams and Gien earthenware set a register that is firmly classical without feeling museum-like. The wine cellar is a genuine draw, reportedly deep in exceptional vintages, for guests returning after a first visit, requesting a guided cellar selection before dinner is the clearest upgrade available.

Chef Thibault Nizard leads the kitchen, with the cuisine spanning a concise menu and a tasting menu that run classical French technique against modern instincts. The kitchen's background in saucemanship shows: pressed duck with an intense reduction, lifted with pear and confit bergamot zest, is the kind of dish that justifies the detour. Red meat and game are consistent strengths. Seafood appears reliably, with red mullet tartare in a bold jus representing the lighter end of the menu. Importantly for guests with dietary preferences, every menu offers a plant-based path by default, unusual for a venue of this formality in rural France, directly recognised by the We're Smart 4-radish award.

Lunch vs Dinner: Which to Book

Dinner is the intended format here. The setting, the wine cellar depth, the tasting menu length, the Relais & Châteaux hotel context all point toward an evening experience where you are not watching the clock. Lunch is available and represents a more accessible entry point in terms of pacing and likely price, but the full case for Auberge des Templiers, the cellar, the unhurried progression through the menu, the grounds at dusk, is made at dinner. If you are driving through and considering a midday stop, the kitchen is capable enough to justify it, but you will be leaving before the venue shows its leading hand. For a return visit, book dinner and stay overnight.

Booking Window

Book at least four to six weeks ahead for weekend dinner tables, longer for peak French holiday periods (late July through August, the Christmas-New Year window). As a Michelin-starred Relais & Châteaux property roughly two hours from Paris, Auberge des Templiers draws a well-organised clientele, last-minute availability on a Saturday night should not be assumed. Midweek bookings in shoulder season (October, early November, February, March) are more forgiving, if your schedule is flexible, that is the window to aim for. The game dishes in autumn and winter are where the kitchen's classical strengths are clearest, if your first visit was in spring or summer, returning between October and January gives you a materially different menu. The plant-based route is worth exploring even for committed meat-eaters: a kitchen awarded 4 radishes by We're Smart is doing something deliberate with vegetables, not simply accommodating requests.

Further Exploration

For more options in the area, see our full Boismorand restaurants guide, our full Boismorand hotels guide, our full Boismorand bars guide, our full Boismorand wineries guide, and our full Boismorand experiences guide.

For context on what a Michelin-starred auberge experience looks like elsewhere in rural France, Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern and Auberge du Vieux Puits in Fontjoncouse are useful comparisons. For ambitious tasting-menu destinations further afield, Flocons de Sel in Megève, Mirazur in Menton, Bras in Laguiole, Troisgros in Ouches, Assiette Champenoise in Reims, Au Crocodile in Strasbourg, AM par Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille, and Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or all offer points of comparison. For international modern cuisine benchmarks, see Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen, Frantzén in Stockholm, and FZN by Björn Frantzén in Dubai.