Aix-en-Provence Restaurants

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Located in the restaurant laden Forum des Cardeurs, La Plancha features a modern cuisine. I dined in the outside covered patio, which with heaters was very comfortable on a cool, slightly damp evening. I started with a 50 cl bottlle of Revellet, a warm cheese plate, the the duck with a vegetable mousse, and small salad. The finished it off with a dessert sampler and cafe. An excellent feast following a day of travels.

A small restaurant, family run with authentic Indian taste. We stumbled upon this while in Aix and the chef impressed us very much. The fish dishes with subtle mustard flavour is a delight. We were also impressed to learn that they made the Indian cheese in the restaurant using local ingredients.

The wine are in different ranges. We chose the expensive one from a local vineyard and it went well with the spicy food. (I have forgotten the name now!).

Anyway a good experience overall.

Favorite Dish: The fish dishes are nice.

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UPDATE 1/29/06

I went to Chez Antoine this week on a return trip after a number of years and the original owners had sold the place 6 years ago and a hip young group seemed to be running it. I had the lasagna which was quite good, but not superbe. I did not have the tiramisu. The waiter said that it is better than what the old owners served. I may try it before I leave, but then I may rather just have the memory of the "tiramusu to die for".

This is still a very charming, tiny restaurant and very popular.

Favorite Dish: This was my absolute favorite restaurant in Aix-en-Provence when I lived in Aix in 1994-96.
I had loved everything that I ate there, but the tiramisu was the best, even better than any that I had eaten in Italy. I can't say that now with the new owners. I haven't had the courage to try it.

O.K - this is kind of fast food, but not like "Quick" or "McDonalds." It's kind of a street vendor also- but not exactly. I mean you can eat there - they have some tables outside - but the inside is very small - so I would always just get my sandwich to go. The guys who run the place are from North Africa and they have been the same guys there FOREVER. I lived in Aix in 1995 and 1996 while studying there and a friend of mine introduced me to the place. I still dream about the sandwiches to this day!

Favorite Dish: The poulet frites - rotisserie chicken, cooked up on the grill on the spot, with hot, freshly made french fries - is my FAVORITE sandwich. I order it EVERYTIME I go and I could seriously eat it everyday of my life and NEVER get sick of it!! They cook the rotisserie chicken, and the French fries right in front of you and they put it on like a demi- baguette (a smaller sized sort of half baguette). I always put ketchup on mine - but there's this sauce blanche(white sauce) that you can get on it too that's to die for! Then they put the chicken and th french fries right on top. They wrap it up in white paper and give it to you hot. It takes like 5-10 minutes max for the whole process and it's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it! I have never ever had a better sandwich in my life!

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Very pretty non Provencal decor. Presentation was very nouvelle. Manager and daughter-in-law, Melanie, was extremely friendly. Food was very good. There was an adorable toy Yorkie assigned to clean up all the crumbs on the floor. He was very efficient.

Tell Melanie that you read about her on VT.

Favorite Dish: Ordered lasagna. It was very good. The tiramisu was excellent.

AixPresso, located right on the Plaza of the Hotel de Ville, gives a modern impression. Chairs and tables have a modern, comfortable outline. They serve the meals/snacks as well as drinks. Our experience was -however- mixed. The waiter took very long to notice us and two neighboring tables, but quickly picked up a conversation obviously with a friend who checked the table about 10mins after we and the neighboring couple had taken our seats. Clearly, they were to order first...
Well - seating was nice and the weather beautiful. Asking for a cafe and a capuccino resulted in a good expresso, but a horrible capuccino experience. You know what you get when you mix a US office coffee with water diluted milk ? Right, exactly the "capuccino" I got. No cream, no rich taste.
Sigh, I left after two sips, paying 4.50 for the expresso and the "capuccino".
Suggesting to check out the brasserie to their right "la mus"....

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The restaurant has outside covered area, inside downstairs and an upstairs areas. The staff are friendly and atentive. I had a starter, main coarse, dessert, bottle water and glass of beer cost 22 euro.

My wife and I arrived without a reservation and were told that it was unlikely we would be able to eat here as the wait was likely to be considerable. We had never eaten Japanese food before and had been looking forward to this evening and so we decided to wait. When it became clear that we were not leaving we were seated almost immediately. We explained to the waitress that we were new to Japanese food and needed her help. She suggested a "mêlée" which we understood would be a selection of different items which she initially said was for two but then went on to ask if we would like one each. After checking with her that this was reasonable we opted for one each. A completely disinterested waiter served us two absurdely large plates of raw fish, soy sauce, plain rice and sliced ginger. We both have a great appetites but were not able to eat half of what was served and had to send them back uneaten. This was such an inappropriate recommendation for 2 newcomers to Japanese food and we were very unhappy at receiving a bill for 94 euros (over £30 per plate of fish).

Favorite Dish: Raw fish? Not really. We had rather hoped to get a varied selection of Japanese cuisine, not a protein overdose of Sushi. One of the plates we were served would have made a plentiful dish for four people. We were unable to explain this to the waitress and so asked for the Maitre D' who came to our table. She understood exactly what had happened and was in no doubt that we were unhappy. Any half-decent restauranteur who had the slightest notion of the meaning of service would have offered not to charge for the second plate, or would at least tried to make some peace (even a complementary glass of wine would have been some sort of gesture) but not this madame! Apart from saying "I am sorry for you" she made not one jot of compromise. We left feeling that we had been advised and fed quite inappropriatley, served with disinterest ... and completely ripped off to boot.