My boyfriend and I will be spending 5 nights in Avignon this August and I would appreciate any recommendations on restaurants. I am looking for places with good food and atmosphere with meals in the 40-50 euros per person and less price range (we are both graduate students so our budget is a little more limited than we'd like)
We will not have a car, so places in the villages outside of Avignon may be difficult for us to go to.

Le Bain Marie,
Café des Artistes,
christian E'taine
Heily-Lucullas,
La Vielle Fontaine(the terrace at the L'Hotel Europe..I wanted to also eat at the Le Port Des Barques that was recommended to me because I love seafood but it was closed for a few weeks.

rocketgirl - When I was there back in '96, my friend and I went to the beautiful little town square (black and white stone terrace, beautiful old church) where there were about five restaurants with outdoor patio seating. You can shop the menus and get a pizza margherita and a half carafe of red and watch the world go by - I hope that this is still reasonable price-wise, as it was one of my fondest memories of Avignon. Have a wonderful trip, and hopefully there'll be a neat exhibit at the Palais des Papes...

Try L'Epicerie on the Place Saint Pierre. Food is great and sitting outdoors on a summer evening facing the little church is a real pleasure.

Also like the Crillon on the place Crillon in front of the old theatre. Again a nice outdoors spot.

-Kevin

Another vote for the Crillon. It's been some time, but that salmon was so fresh, it was like it swam right into the pan in which it had been cooked.

Bon Voyage & Bon Appetit,
BC

Over about 3 decades, we have enjoyed La Fourchette. I believe the last time we were there 2 years ago, its name had changed to La Fourchette II. It is an established but up-to-date bistro and has wonderful Provencal food.

Another vote for L'epicerie. that is my absolute favorite in Avignon. It's casual, reasonable, and the sampler platter is full of fresh stuff from the region. Go early if you don't have reservations.

I'd recommend Le Petit Bedon, 70, rue Joseph Vernet. We've eaten there a couple of times in the past year and found excellent provencal cooking, a great offering of local wines, a charming atmosphere, and excellent service. It seemed to be a popular spot, so reservations are recommended.

Your budget will allow you to eat at practically every place in Avignon.

I really concur with Anselm's recommendation of Au Petit Bedon. It offered traditional provencal cuisine, with an emphasis on high quality ingredients. Well-executed food, and the lady that owns and runs the restaurant was very charming.

We also really liked Le Grand Cafe, which is located next to an artsy movie theatre. The space was really cool - sort of like an old factory decorated eclectically. The food was a bit more inventive than traditional. Service was very accomodating. It gets packed after 8:00 PM, so either make reservations, or go early enough.

We enjoyed almost every restaurant we stumbled on during our time in Provence. I'm more concerned about your spending 5 nights in Avignon without plans for a rental car. I had no idea how TINY the walled city is. Are you planning to take trips via bus out each day? Think about reconsidering the rental car. The beauty of Provence's countryside and villages is best seen when you are out and about. I honestly don't know what we would have done for 5 nights in Avignon.

Pity the budget constraint, as one of my favorite August experiences in France was a leisurely al fresco lunch in the gardens of Le Prieure, a wonderful hotel in Villeneuve-les-Avignon, which is directly across the river and a very short bus ride from Avignon.