Looking for a restaurant for New Year's Eve or a festive dinner between Chinon and Saumur often means choosing between a grand establishment far from anywhere and a soulless banquet hall. At Château de Candes, the answer lies in a 17th-century cellar carved into the tuffeau stone: from 3 December to 3 January, Le Pressoir du Château offers a festive menu, and on 31 December it welcomes New Year's Eve celebrations. Here's what awaits you, the prices, and how to book.
A festive menu, from 3 December to 3 January
For a month, the Menu du Château gives way to the festive menu. It is served Thursday to Sunday, from 7 pm to 8.30 pm, in the troglodytic dining room of Le Pressoir, by candlelight. An aperitif is complimentary, an amuse-bouche opens the meal, then the chef unfolds four or five courses:
- Marbled duck foie gras with Rabelaisian wine, crushed cranberries and walnut lace
- Pan-seared scallops, buffalo milk cream, cecina and red chicory
- Rouge des Prés rump steak glazed with rosehip, Périgueux sauce and fresh watercress with herbs
- Sainte-Maure mousse with charlottes and candied shallots, in five courses
- Like a pavlova with mango, passion fruit and verbena
The four-course menu is €89, the five-course menu, with cheese, is €99. Wine pairing, with Loire wines, adds €34 for three glasses or €44 for four.
The vegetarian festive menu
It is not a substitute menu: it has its own dishes, crafted with the same care. Perfect egg, meurette sauce and crushed cranberries; glazed cardoons and mushrooms, buffalo milk cream and red chicory; large truffle gnocchi, fresh watercress and rosehip; then the Sainte-Maure mousse in five courses and the pavlova. It is €79 for four courses, €89 for five courses, with the same wine pairing available as an option. Children up to 12 years old have a menu at €29, main course and dessert.
New Year's Eve on 31 December at Le Pressoir
On New Year's Eve, there's only one menu: the New Year's menu, drinks included, at €238 per person. The details of the dishes will be revealed in the course of November; tables can be booked from now on, and as every evening at Le Pressoir, arrivals are staggered, one table per time slot, so that the kitchen can give each guest the attention they deserve. The dining room is intimate, seating around twenty to thirty: that's what makes its charm, and why it fills up so quickly.
Why dine beneath the rock
Le Pressoir is a former troglodytic press house from the 17th century, nestled against the hillside of Candes-Saint-Martin, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, 25 minutes from Chinon and 20 minutes from Saumur. The tuffeau vault, the alcoves, the tables set into the rock itself and the candlelight create a dining room that needs no Christmas decoration to feel festive. The restaurant opened on 2 October 2026, with chef Guillaume Susin at the helm, working with produce from the Loire Valley: Rouge des Prés beef, Sainte-Maure de Touraine cheese, wines from Chinon, Saumur and Bourgueil.
Before dinner, the illuminated park
A tip: arrive an hour earlier. Le Street Art Parc, the estate's open-air urban art museum, is included for restaurant guests. In December, night falls around 5 o'clock and the artworks are lit beneath the ancient trees. A half-hour stroll from one work to the next, then down to Le Pressoir: it's the perfect way to begin the evening.
Stay overnight after the New Year's celebration
The estate has 26 rooms and suites: bedrooms in the château, the 15th-century Tour d'Aubigny, suites with kitchens and houses sleeping up to eight. Each night includes two hours at the Zen Garden spa, and during the Christmas holidays, from 19 December to 3 January, a buffet breakfast is served each morning at the Grand Pressoir. On New Year's Day, the Nordic bath at 38 °C overlooking the Loire is a sensible way to start the year.
Packages for two over the festive season
From Thursday to Sunday, the evening is arranged as a single package (book online): Spa & Dinner, two hours at Zen Garden followed by dinner, £214 for two; Spa & Dinner Côté Loire, one hour of private spa overlooking the river then dinner, £238; the Signature Evening, couples massage, private spa and dinner with wine pairings, £479; and the Romantic Night, the suite, massage, spa, dinner and breakfast, from £699. During the festive menu period, please ask us for details of the dinner included.
Book a table: chateaudecandes.com/reserver-table · 02 47 93 69 16. Le Pressoir du Château, Château de Candes Art & Spa, 11 rue Trochet, 37500 Candes-Saint-Martin, between Chinon and Saumur.
Your questions
Do I need to book for the festive menu?
Yes. The dining room is intimate and arrivals are staggered, one table per time slot between 7 pm and 8.30 pm. Booking is available online or on 02 47 93 69 16.
Is the festive menu served on 31 December?
No. On 31 December, only the New Year menu is served, drinks included, at £238 per person. The festive menu resumes on 1 January and continues until 3 January.
Is there a children's menu?
Yes, for children up to 12 years old: a main course and dessert, £29, served on the same evenings as the festive menu.
Can I give dinner as a gift?
Yes. The château's gift vouchers can be ordered online and given all year round: a dinner, a Spa & Dinner package, a massage or a night away.
