Provence restaurant recommendations
 

We will be based in St.Remy for five nights in early April and would like to reserve a few restaurants. We like market fresh, home-cooking, where the locals eat restaurants. (Not necessarily fancy) Any ideas for towns around the area are very appreciated. If the email or web-site is available that would be great! Thanks!

Hy star. Try this link.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

They list lots of restaurants in St. Remy. I found it by putting "St. Remy restaurants" in the search window at the top center of your screen. There were lots of other answers too.

Hope this helps. Great area. We love it, but I suspect we're far more budget than you so I won't suggest any restaurants. The foodies here have wonderful suggestions.

Put the Bistrot du Paradou high on your list--it's on the main road from Fontvielle to Maussane-les-Alpilles. You MUST reserve in advance, preferably by fax (011-33-4-90 54 32 70). Lunch and dinners offer one main dish only, with choices of starters and desserts. What's unique about the place is that each table gets a bottle of house wine to go with the meal...and another if you finish that one...possibly more, but we stopped with two. The cheese board is brought to your table and left for you to help yourself to as much as you want. The food is absolutely delicious; an aioli feast is often offered on Fridays. The restaurant is very popular with locals, and you often see families celebrating birthdays together. It's a fairly casual operation, but the service seems to have been choreographed--it's that precise, and fun to watch the way the waiters communicate with each other.

Quite near the restaurant is a museum with a large display of santons, some of which move--rather like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland only on a small scale. Good gift shop, too.

For a splurge, the 1-star Régalido is fun. Just down the street from it (on the left) is a nice little restaurant with a picture of a cat on the front; can't remember the exact name.

In St. Remy you might want to consider Le Jardin Frederic, dinner only, reservations required. Located at the northern end of the main road in the center of town (near the police station, if I recall correctly). Moderately priced.

In St.Remy, I would suggest La Gousse d'Ail. They recently moved to a larger location across from the Church, and I can't remember their new address.

For a wonderful meal, the Bistrot La Petite France just outside of Maussane. They recently "turned in" their Michelin star to become a bistro... less stress. The food is still one star and the wine list is superb, and realistically priced.
Personally I'd scratch the Bistrot du Paradou from your list, but (the owner) Jean Louis's daughter has a wonderful small restaurant in Maussane called "La Vallee".

For a real treat, take a drive into the Camargue and dine at La Chassagnette - just outside of Le Sambuc. The owner, a former Michelin starred chef from the Bordeaux region, has come here to live his dream. And what a dream ! He grows all of the vegetables and herbs used in the meals...which can run to ten courses. Mostly vegetarian, there is one course of either meat or fish.
The setting is amazing and it's worth the drive (about 45 minutes from St Remy)

PB
(in Maussane)

I stop at the "Paradou" every year. If you go to the "Chassagnette", check out the walls of bay leaves under chicken wiring. Very effective. Also in the Camargue is a small resto, very nice 'La Telline." We also like "The Petite Bu"in Eygalieres.

PBProvence,

Why do you suggest scratching the Bistrot du Paradou? Has something changed there recently?

My wife and I would return to the Bistro Paradou at any year. A wonderful experience.

We enjoyed lunch at Bistrot de Paradou last May -- tried to reserve for dinner but they weren't open for dinner until June. I'd tried to call and reserve at all hours of the day to no avail....we just stopped by at lunch and made reservations for the next day. It is really yummy, there is a fixed menu each day...no choices except maybe for dessert ;-) Don't worry. Everything they make is wonderful.

Underhill:

I don't think that the Bistrot has "maintained" all that well. Considering the cost, I just find that you can dine better elsewhere. I know that many visitors love the place, and the ambiance. I just liked it ever so much better six or seven years ago.
PB

"Gousee d'Ail" is great--Thursday nights is jazz Night (Stephane Grapelli-type jazz)

"La Source", only if garden dining open.

For lunch "Varietes"; "Bistro Des Alpilles"


"Ostallerie de Maillane", in Maillanne right near St. Remy.


Upscale, "La Maison" in the Mas de Bournissac near Noves, about 10 km from St. Remy

Just outside Isle sur la Sorgue is Patricia Donzi's Mas de la Cure Bourse, which is well known for its good food. She, the chef, makes the rounds of the tables in her toque with its signature sprig of fresh parsley in it! I mentioned that I had read of her place in Patricia Wells, and she said," J'adore Patricia (pronounced it "Patreecea") Wells."A nice dining experience, either lunch or dinner.

Not far from Gordes, in Les Imberts, I believe, is another very fine restaurant with a woman chef; I will try to do a search and find that name. Cigalechanta knows of that place, too, and may add the info.

The restaurant in Les Imberts (tiny village) is owner/chef Elizabeth Bourgeois' Le Mas Tourteron.

The last time I visted Le Mas Tourteron (2002) Ms. Bourgeois and her husband were running this restaurant. It is quite an outdoor experience, really lovely setting. You can readily imagine yourself back a hundred years in rural France. Watch for the sign, it is off to the right headed toward Gordes.It is about 45 minutes from St. Remy, as I recall.

There is not ONE bad selection in everyone's suggestions,s. The only one I have not tried but will from an earlier advice from Powell is the one PB mentions, 'Gousee DÁil. But I disagree about the Paradou. I have been going many years and I think his wife's cooking has improved. Grandmere, Mde Doxé will always be Ms Artichoke to me(during our stay he wore a dandling artichoke on the hat. While staying at
the Régilido, we dined one night at the Cat place, can't remember the name either. The chef/owner of the R. suggested we try one night. Pb tell us more about La Vallee.

Yes, I know, Cigalechanta, we will eternally stick to our own memories of Mme Donzi; you with l'artichaut and I with le persil! :-)

sorry for my typos, my friend, but the arthritis is bad today.

We all make typos, Mimi, but I hope your arthritis calms down for you.

Patricia (PB Provence)
It is so good to see your posts again. You were dead on correct with your restaurant recommendations when we were in the area in Oct. 2002. We loved La Gousse D'Ail and La Petite France. La Chassagnette was probably the best dining experience that we ever had (not exaggerating).
We also loved La cuisine du Planet in Fontvielle - is that still open?
JoeG

A few years back we stayed overnight and dined at Le Mas de Cure Bourse and thought it excellent in every way.

Hi Joe !

Nice to "see" you again, too.
The Cuisine au Planet is still open, from what I understand, but since last spring the chef has been in partnership with Karine at La Vallee here in Maussane. They are getting a very good reputation, and their complete artichoke menu is getting famous - here's the website (all in French)
www.la-vallee.net
You'll be happy to know (as were we) that La Chassagnette was spared in the recent flooding - the dikes along the nearby Petit Rhone held and they stayed dry. I have stocked my pantry with several of their tapas dishes (like the chickpea spread)for an instant "fix".
LOL

Patricia

Patricia, you said the magic word-artichokes! We will be staying in St. Remy from March 13-20. How far would Maussane be? Too far for dinner? TIA.
Abigail

For a wonderful day trip, go east to the beautifully perched village of Moustiers Ste. Marie, in the Provencal Alps and have lunch at Restaurant des Santons. Besides the lovely scenery, Moustiers is known for its very fine faience, if you're interested in "pottery". See the Gorge du Verdon coming/going.

AGM: It's just a hop over the alpilles from St-Rémy to Maussane - just past Les Baux. Maybe a 15- or 20-minute drive.

Add my praise for La Chassagnette - I still dream about some of those inventive little dishes.

AGM, it's 76 route de Sambuc, Arles.
There is a web site but I lost it when my computer crashed. maybe PB has it.

AGM: Just so you're not confused, Cigale has given you the address of La Chassagnette. You asked how far to Maussane - that was the information in my last post. La Chassagnette is not just a hop over the alpilles.

Moustiers is one of our very favorite places to go, but I think it would be a long day trip from the St.-Rémy area, as it's in the mountains on the eastern side of the Luberon. It's a nice run up from Aix, however, and if you could base there for 1 night (or somewhere in the Lubéron, for that matter) it would make for a very pleasant trip. Or you could spend the night in or near Moustiers (we know of a wonderful château B&B owned by a count and his Scottish wife).

Bistro du Paradou with alot of locals.
To eat where the locals are, go to the villages with the simple cafes.
We also cast a vote along with cigale and grandmere for Mas de cure Bourse.
The kitchen behind glass was a treat to watch to watch Donze cook and wave to us.