Provence restaurants - Aix , Uzes, Bonnieux
 

Hello Fodor friends. You were all such a help in planning our Provence trip which begins on Monday, May 16. I can't believe it's almost here. I am just finishing the last bits of preparation and want to make a few restaurant reservations. I can't find websites (not surprising) reviews, phone or fax for several of the places you have recommended.

Uzes -
Les Trois Salons
Les Fontaines
Any further info (email, phone, menus)on these would be appreciated (or any other in town restaurant) Sorry Stu, Le Table de l'Horloge and l'Oliviers look great but DH will have been driving all day and I don't want to ask him to take the car out of the garage again and drive to dinner.

Bonnieux -
Auberge de la Loube
Bartaville
Bernard Mathys
Le Fournil
Am I right that Bernard Mathys is the more formal and expensive of these restaurants? We are staying right in Bonnieux. How is the drive at night to the Auberge,Bartaville, and Bernard Mathys- hard to find? Do you think reservations midweek are necessary before we get there? Maybe I'm just being too anal.

Aix - Not sure which is the right restaurant for us. Would love Clos du Violette but can't afford it with the curent euro rate. Anybody know anything about L'Amphitryon, la Petit Verdot, or la Vieille Auberge? Any other suggestions?

Thanks for all your wonderful help!!! I'll post our itinerary and hotels and report back when we return.

Peggy

Les Fontaines is one of my favorite lunch spots when I'm over in Uzes.

Les Fontaines
This is a charming small restaurant in the center of town. Tiny indoor patio area among the ruined walls. Good eclectic mix of food... sometimes a Moroccan tahjine, sometimes provençal.
6, rue Entre les Tours
Tel: 04 66 22 41 20

Notes from our 2003 trip:

In Uzes itself, we tried two places, both in the centre of town:

Les Fontaines -- interior courtyard, (fairly soigne but no chi-chi)Nice/ fancy cooking e.g. their noisettes of veal cooked with wild thyme and a duo of souffles -- coriander and anis...

Bistrot de Grezac, right on the perimeter walls of the old town. Recommended by our hosts, we had resisted it because it looked too simple, even touristy. How wrong we were. We took the 20 E menu with a bottle of Chateau de Bastet rose. I had -- and this sounds heavy but it was heavenly -- the following blow-out dinner:
1. seafood platter -- 6 oysters, 6 mussels, 4 clams, 2 large ecrevisses, white langoustine, 18 winkles and 6 snails
2. duck magret with cherries, with carrots, tortolini, curried cabbage and snow peas with lardons
3. very rich mousse au chocolat

>>>Am I right that Bernard Mathys is the more formal and expensive of these restaurants?<<

I would not call it formal, but it is more expensive - because it's better food, IMO.



>>We are staying right in Bonnieux. How is the drive at night to the Auberge,Bartaville, and Bernard Mathys- hard to find?<<

Auberge is a little hard to find, but it's dirctly on the small road, so finding the corect road is the only difficulty. Bernard Mathys is right off the N100, so it's very easy to spot - look for the sign on the north side of the road in Le Chene. Goult is very easy to find, but once you have parked the car, the restaurant is down a pedestrian cobbled street, and sometimes takes some wandering around and asking directions. Goult is a perfect town to walk around in. Get to dinner 30 minutes before your reservations & explore the town & find out where the restaurant is. Dinner is actually served on the street & in a small courtyard across the street from the restaurant.

>>Do you think reservations midweek are necessary before we get there<<

Nope - call a day ahead. Probably can call at lunch the day of.

Thanks again for your usual helpful replies PB and Stu. Any suggestions for Aix?

The clos de Violette in Aix is the best but I found it too stuffy for our tastes.
I'll chechk to see the other places we ate at.

We will be staying one night also in Uzes. Does anyone know how good the food is at d'Entraigues?

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