Café Corbon

The former Basque Country wine merchant Antoine Orsoni returned to his Loire homelands to open up this beautiful village café in the heart of Vouvray’s wineries. We spot a morning espresso atop the pine wood bar, and others on the terrace with a fountain at the center and some reputable winemakers here and there. Hard at work in the kitchen is chef Pierre Thomas, brightening up daily life with his sensational small plates (award-winning pâté en croûte, prawns in ponzu sauce or eggplant parmigiana with olive oil jam – whipped with an egg yolk, giving it a marmalade-like texture) and stunning mains, like slow-roasted pork belly with black garlic jus. Our lunch included: cauliflower carpaccio with peanuts and cilantro; roasted swordfish in a delicious tomato sauce, served with zucchini tagliatelle; and a fat blackcurrant panna cotta to sweeten the deal. // Thomas Jossin 

FEELING THIRSTY? : Arnaud pampers a hundred or so fresh natural wines in his wine cellar, which you can take to go (for 20% less than the restaurant price) or pop open in house: Les Perruches, a Chenin from Bruno Dubois in Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg (€42), Le Chant de Tyr, a red from Julien Prevel (€24), Les Pieds Rôtis, a Chinon white from William Rousse (€5 a glass), not to mention the excellent Loire vermouth from Jean-Michel Durivault (€6), or Iridescent, a locally-brewed IPA (€4). 
PRICE: : Small plates €7-15, mains €15-22, desserts €6.50 to €8.