My wife and I visited this restaurant last October 2023. The service and the food were extremely…read moregood and very reasonable. I would definitely recommend

This is a very nice small restaurant with outside seating and English is spoken well. I was able…read moreto make reservations and we were sat upon our arrival. I ordered the summer Profiteroles, Tiscan cod and finished with the Pavlova sunrise. Each dish was perfect. The starter had such great flavor that I used the fresh bread on the table so that I could get every last drop. The fish was expertly prepared with the flavor of the cod dominating yet enhanced by all the other flavors on the plate. Dessert was insane, just the fact that decorum dictates that I not have two is the only reason I stopped. With one small and one large carafe of wine and one large bottle of Pellegrino we were just shy of €70. Worth every cent, I'm here for another 8-9 days so I will definitely be back.

It was great! Simply the best lasagna I've ever had definitely worth going also it's right next to…read morethe coliseum! The service was amazing it's family owned and it shows. The atmosphere was as if your mother was serving up food. Highly suggested.

Superb pizza. Could end the review there, but the staff were also sweet, helpful, charming. Now,…read moreback to the pizza: light crisp crust, high-quality ingredients arrayed to please the eye, tasty sauce, all in perfect proportion - - a topography of construction and tastiness such that every bite is different than the last. This is what great pizza is (or should be) all about.

I cannot speak highly enough of L'Essentiel, from their food, to their service, to the beautiful…read moredecor and table settings. Service is welcoming and accommodating for my poor attempt at culinary French terms. The Chef even came out to answer questions at three occasions. First up, a trio of amuse bouches called land and sea. I don't typically like foie gras but this was incredible. I would actually order this again if ever back in Avignon. The Parmesan biscuit was technically amazing, with such subtle flavor, crispy on the outside, and soft, light and creamy inside. The mushroom "egg roll" was crispy, flaky with great umami. The Jerusalem artichoke risotto was my absolute favorite; I'll likely dream of this dish and try to replicate the recipe. It's unlike anything I've had before, so creative, unique and insanely delicious. The artichokes were cooked perfectly , tender but still firm. The risotto was actually a thick, creamy foam, packed with bold creamy flavor and truffles on top. The sea bream was glistening with the crispiest skin, along with carrots and a silky champagne sauce. The veal was so tender with the most delightful sweet onion tart. The tart was surprisingly good with the best onions I've ever had. Kudos to the chef for shopping the market everyday for the freshest and highest quality products! The scallops were sliced beautifully and were balanced so well with the acidity of raspberries and pomegranates. We started out with the strongest amuse bouches, and Chef didn't disappoint from there, maintaining and exceeding our palette's expectations. Chef Mohamad deserves a Michelin rank!!

KenScale: 8.0/10…read more It's not often a restaurant boldly comes up with a name "essential". When I was looking up different restaurant options during our stay in Avignon, I initially chuckled at the name and figured why not give a chance at the place. My wife Jun and I were coming back from a full-day wine tasting tour with a rather big lunch, so we were not completely starving when we entered L'Essentiel's lovely courtyard. Still, we ended up having a very solid meal here, as all the dishes we ordered had something nice to say about. You can go with either one of the tasting menu options or simply go a la carte at L'Essentiel. Given that we weren't terribly hungry, Jun and I opted for the latter and ordered one appetizer, two main dishes and a dessert to share together. I don't know why we saw tomato gazpacho only just now near the tail end of our two-week honeymoon/summer vacation; in any event, the one that the kitchen put together was quite refreshing, perfect for a summer appetizer with mozzarella di buffalo cheese in the middle. While cod with orange sauce infused into jasmine and creamy polenta looked pedestrian in plating, there is no denying that the fish was expertly cooked with ideal temperature and texture. I was initially worried that the fried foie gras accompanying the beef Rossini filet might simply overpower the meat with too much richness, but the server assured that won't be the case. Listening to her turned out to be a smart idea because the foie gras had a surprisingly delicate side to it that complemented the beef filet quite well. With roasted potatoes on the side, the filet was a winner dish. For dessert, a rather artful display of chocolate ganache and crispy peanut on top of chocolate dulce emulsion (with black chocolate ice cream submerged below) was as delicious as it looked. I secured a reservation at L'Essential through my credit card concierge service so I don't know how difficult it is to get a table at the restaurant; if you want to go for al fresco dining in the summer season at the courtyard that makes you feel like you're eating inside a small but lovely palace, it does seem like a good idea to book in advance. There is a multi-page wine list focusing on the wines from the region; we ordered a bottle of nice vacqueyras that worked well with the dishes we had ordered. L'Essentiel is somewhere in the middle in terms of value proposition; it is not as pricey or fancy as three Michelin-star haute cuisine establishments but it certainly is more refined than an everyday bistro, which also means it works on a more variety of different occasions. If you are staying in Avignon and feel like you want to have an elegant meal without breaking the bank, L'Essential is a good option to consider.

First on our list of restaurant contenders in Arles was Le Galoubet. The woman at the front desk of…read moreour hotel happily made a reservation for us, since pretty much everyone says you need a reservation to get a table there. She seemed to be on a first name basis with whomever it was on the other end of the line. It was warm enough to sit outside, and we were given the last table on the patio out front. The starters were a mixed bag. I ordered the octopus salad, which was bland and uneventful. My wife ordered an incredibly tasty leek salad with sardines and hazelnuts, which she happily devoured. But the highlight was the mains. I ordered what was basically a New York strip cooked medium rare in a morel mushroom sauce. The steak was cooked to perfection - and on the rarer side - while the sauce was very subtle, but you could still get a bit of that earthy, mushroomy flavor. I'd been craving a dish like this for several days, and it totally hit the spot. My wife's dish may have been even better: cornish hen bathed in a creamy, herb-infused sauce with freshly sautéed shitake mushrooms. My god this was delicious. The hen was amazingly juicy and tender, and generous amounts of rosemary and flat-leaf parsley made this dish explosively flavorful. The potent shitakes were rich and earthy, and perfectly suited/melded with everything else. For dessert, I had this chocolate thing with nougat inside and a nice caramel sauce, while my wife had this thing that was a pile of whipped cream and broken pieces of meringue with raspberries, raspberry coulis, and red currants. I liked mine better, but the wife's was light and refreshing, which suited the summer-like weather. And before we were halfway through our meal, the place was full. We saw the hostess turn away at least a dozen people, so good call on the reservation.

It's super excellent! The anglet de beouf is super. The terrase is beautiful and the waitress is…read morenice. I would come back to arles for the beef here.

Enjoyed the duck pate and the steak frites with the pepper sauce. The service was ok albeit a bit…read moreabrupt and hurried. Prices are on the high side. Very nice location by the river.

We stayed in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue for 5 weeks, in September and October. It is a perfect town to…read morestay in while visiting Provence, as you can make many easy day trips to many interesting sites, and the town itself is lovely. We ate at La Balade at least 3 times a week, sometimes more, and always at lunch. We ate both inside and outside by the river. So, we tried virtually everything on both menus, and we were delighted with every meal--especially the Iberian pork. Wow! We also loved the grilled mackerel with sorbet on top; who knew that could be done so deliciously! We never had any doubts about the kitchen, so we would try anything and everything they served, and we were never disappointed. As for the service, it was always very friendly and professional, but not stuffy. The servers belied the myth that French waitstaff aren't friendly and chatty. We felt like locals, even though our French is limited.

I wish I could have rated this place five stars. Food & the garden location were superb and,…read morecombined, definitely worth the five stars & the price to go with the Michelin rating. However, the service was disappointing & I would have to rate it three. So, averaged out to four stars. The food was sublime. Loved all the local flavors that were incorporated and the presentation was beautiful. Not wanting to miss out on anything, my friend & I ordered two dinner sets with meat & one additional dinner set that was vegetarian oriented. There wasn't a miss in any of the dishes. If I had to single out one dish, that would be the dumpling soup. So good my friend & I each ordered an extra. The desserts were out of this world too - even the petite four. Perfect to pair them with a cappuccino. The garden setting was perfect for us to really enjoy the dining experience as it started from twilight into the darker hours with the garden lights slowly coming on. The only drawback was the mosquitoes - there seemed to be many. Come prepared with bug repellent slathered all over yourself :-) The service totally let us down though. The captain was fine - he was genial & accommodating. The serving lady seemed like part of the seasoned staff but gave off very stressed vibe. We tried to engage with her to lighten the mood but not happening. She was stern, abrupt & seemed more bent on making sure the dishes came out perfect, served on time & presented perfectly rather than making sure we were comfortable & enjoying the experience. Which was all fine & we appreciated the effort but she made us tense every time she came out. Some of the other reviewers pointed this out as well and indicated, perhaps, this may be the older French standard. Things haven't changed for many years & I'm sure there's no change coming in the near future. Not sure if we'll come back - the food was amazing, pricey to go with it but service gave us a pause.

First, I recommend coming here on a warm day, one on which you can sit outside. While the food…read morestands alone, I expect most of the diners at La Maison Jaune are not from St. Remy, and the ambiance really adds to the experience. The menu has multiple 'tiers' of options, but the lower options are hardly worth it. The bread was fresh, the goat cheese was light, the chutney sweet and sour. The amuse-bouche made way to perfectly cooked steak (the highlight of the meal), and the dessert was good, though not something I would return for alone. The portion size was perfect (sometimes a concern when shelling out at a high-end restaurant), I came hungry and left very satisfied. The service was wonderful, befitting the stature of the restaurant - the only Michelin star restaurant in St. Remy.

I believe this is the only restaurant in St Remy with a Michelin star. We had great expectations,…read morewhich were met. We started with a house special aperitif : Champagne with an almond liquor and a mandarin orange liquor. It was fabulous, really unique yet still champagne. We had three amuses, my favorite being a quail egg with sharp tasty tomato. For my starter I had grilled extra large shrimp, with raw fennel and chorzio. Delicious, a great combination of flavors. My main was a duck dish, with an orange and ginger sauce and apricot chutney. You're getting the picture - lots of fresh seasonal flavors with great ingredients. Everything was different from combinations I've had before, but perfectly matched in new ways. The cheeses were good, but not special. Fresh cheese in Provence is easy to come by. Dessert was uneventful, three small servings of good but not great items. Service was attentive and professional. The rooftop atmosphere was just right for a warm evening in Provence. But there is one issue I feel I need to mention. In over 800 reviews, I have rarely mentioned price, unless something is a real bargain. Websites give people plenty of chances to check out prices. But La Maison Jaune has a special con going on. The menu has three options - 38 Euros, 58 Euros, and 68 Euros. On the top left is the 38 Euro menu - basically salad and dessert, with no real main courses (in my opinion). Who goes to a 1-star restaurant to not eat? Then the 58 Euro menu, on the lower left side, has a couple of extra choices, an extra course, but again very limited options. The whole right side, the 68 Euro option, has a dozen great choices. But you only get to them by paying top bucks. I really don't think it's fair to offer three prices, as many restaurants do in Provence, but then to not offer any of your terrific main courses on the first two. It's still a five star rating, because everything was terrific. But there are other restaurants in St Remy that I also give five stars to, and I'll go back to them, and recommend them, before La Maison Jaune, because the food and service are just as good at half the price.

A quite remarkable restaurant with great food and excellent service…read more I was looking for Provençal Cuisine and they had a couple of dishes that fit that description. Everything was creative and beautiful prepared. I had a lovely evening.

I ordered multiple pastries and they did not put the right amount and correct pastries in my bag!…read moreI was over charged and under delivered! I left a message without a return call!