Maybe I've just been unlucky, but past experience suggests that you should just give St.-Rémy a…read morehard pass when it's time to eat. Overpriced and mediocre seems to be the pattern, and Bistro des Alpilles did nothing to alter that perception.
The staff was a mixed bag. While the host and busboy were friendly and accommodating, our waitress was ridiculously slow; when she finally meandered over to take our order, she spent a full 2-minutes standing at our table fiddling with her electronic device before even looking at us or saying a word. WTH? Later, she delivered my soup but I had to go fetch someone to bring me a spoon to eat it.
The food was not great. It wasn't even good, sporting aging trendy touches like black burger buns, and balls of gooey burrata on top of various dishes for no discernible reason other than fashion.
I ordered the sweet pea gazpacho, which is a delightful spring/early summer season cold soup made with puréed fresh peas and mint. But bizarrely, this one was made with dried split peas with a frozen pea garnish. It was a pretty disgusting interpretation, even if there hadn't been something off in the dish. The flavor was just so bizarre--maybe the ricotta was spoiled? The soup fermenting? I couldn't eat it, and sent it back with the busboy, something I don't think I have ever done before.
I might have assumed it was a one-off problem, but a companion's creamy raviole was possessed of a similar off-putting flavor. And our other companion had a "Caesar" salad which was nothing of the kind, and whose lettuce had brown ends.
Probably best to just pack a picnic lunch next time you're in St.-Rémy. Or head over Les Alpilles and budget for one of the many Michelin-starred restaurants on the south side.
