5 Best Restaurants in Provence, France

This ultrapopular eatery on the edge of Old Town consistently serves fresh, locally sourced cuisine with a price-to-quality ratio that keeps the locals coming back. Imaginative dishes like pot au feu de coquilles Saint-Jacques (stewed scallops and vegetables) and mussels in saffron broth are ample and served with flair. The set menus at lunchtime (€19, two courses with wine and coffee) and dinner (€30, €42 for four courses) are a bargain. Choose between a table on the umbrella-shaded terrace or one in the pleasantly unpretentious dining room.

Like many restaurants in Provence, this one has a pleasantly shaded terrace with a view, but it also offers truly warm and welcoming service and consistently good food. Alongside hearty dishes like cod with aïoli and grilled vegetables, Iberian pork with chestnuts and whipped potatoes, or classic roasted duck breast, the menu features plenty of fresh, inventive salads—not always easy to find—like wild salmon with shrimp, melon, and tomato confit. At €17, the two-course lunch is just the thing.

A popular place for lunch or dinner, this modern bistro and terrace in the heart of the Vieille Ville draws a lively mix of locals, expats, and tourists looking for authentic market-driven meals. A small but satisfying menu is generously laced with local delicacies—savory ragoût of wild boar, cod with puréed local vegetables and tapenade-laden croutons, and poached-egg cocotte with foie gras cream and turmeric-balsamic toast. A generous wine list offers plenty of local choices by the glass, and the dessert tray in the window—another big draw—features tantalizing concoctions, like a classic chantilly-topped baba al rhum (a small cake made with rum syrup) and creamy tarte au citron (a lemon tart). Service can be slow, but it's always friendly.

An open kitchen, a chalkboard menu, a bright terrace, and friendly service combine to create a laid-back atmosphere here, but, when it comes to the food, chef Nicolas Epiard is on his toes, serving up traditional local cuisine with flair and exuberance. Try dishes like the meltingly tender, slow-cooked bull with wild morels and a puree of root vegetables or the sea bass with savory herb pistou (Provence's answer to pesto) and crisp vegetables. Desserts might include fig crumble or white chocolate mousse. A refreshing rosé (the locally influenced wine list has plenty of choices by the glass) is the perfect accompaniment to an exemplary meal that's easy on the wallet.

Claude and Dana Douard collaborated with some of the greatest chefs of our time before getting away from the big city lights to open this bistro–wine bar hot spot in the center of St-Rémy. The wine selection is magnificent, and so is the simple food—try the grilled sea bass with chorizo, mashed potatoes, and seasonal vegetables or the grilled Mont Ventoux spiced pork.