Avignon Restaurants

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The Tapas Locas in Avignon is apparently the "mother ship" for a series of franchised restaurants. It's inexpensive - each tapas is 3 euro, rustic, casual, noisy. The food is decent and it's a good place to take a group of students, as we did. The restaurant does predate the recent tapas craze.

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We ate here right after it first opened and was struggling. Since then it has developed a jazzy personality, while still serving delicious and creative cuisine. The chef and his wife are delightful. She spoke a little English, but was very kind to our French. The cuisine was inventive and well prepared, although presentation still was a work in progress. The orange cast of the photos reflects the restaurant lighting. I didn't want to use flash so what you see was cleaned up a bit in photoshop.

Favorite Dish: I had a lovely fish and squash cooked in an aluminum foil "papilotte." It was fragrant, moist and delicious.

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I've eaten here twice and my impression has been the same. Tasty North African food, not elegantly presented, but with waiters who make it a lot of fun. True to its name, the best dishes are those set on a bed of couscous. Portions are generous so keep that in mind when ordering.

The decor is Moroccan, beginning with the tiles that line the walls of the narrow staircase.

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L'Epice and Love is a unique restaurant. The food is French with a North African flair. It's not haute-gourmet, but it's very tasty and served with love:) The real delight is the owner-chef and the eclectic decor. She lived in San Diego for a while so her English is excellent. The food is very much comfort food, presented simply. We enjoy our dinner a lot!

The restaurant is cash only. Reserving is a good idea.

It may sound like heresy from someone who loves to eat and cook, but I'm really not very excited by French food. However, having spent a glorious evening at L'Épice and Love, I may have to revise my opinion!

L'Épice and Love is located on the unfortunate sounding Rue de Lices, and is a tiny restaurant that you would easily walk by were it not for the suspended display of vintage kitchen equipment in the front window. The inside is eclectically furnished but very welcoming - a little like walking into the lounge of your eccentric maiden aunt who has a passion for travel - another big tick from me.

But oh, the food!!! The menu is fairly short, but well balanced and is cooked with wonderful ingredients, great simplicity and enormous love. I had a sublime goat's cheese and salad starter that transported me into raptures, followed by a very good octopus stew for main course. The dessert was also perfection: grilled figs with a little mound of soft cheese to dip each morsel into. My parents' food was equally good, although they were a little more conservative in their choices: again, the place is perfectly pitched to appeal to both adventurous and more conventional eaters.

The service was friendly - one delightful waitress miraculously handled the entire restaurant with seemingly effortlessly efficiency and aplomb and also spoke excellent English. Because it is so small - only about 12 tables - booking in advance is essential: we were there on a Thursday evening in late September, and every table was full.

If you're in this area for supper, treat yourself to a stroll northwards down Rue des Lices, past the Aucône Générale towards the gorgeously atmospheric Rue des Teinturiers: perfect for either a pre-supper drink or a post prandial stroll before bedtime.

Bon appetit (and raise a glass in my honour when you're there for the excellent recommendation)!

Rest assured that there is absolutely no shortage of places to eat in Avignon: but many of the options - particularly along Rue de la Republique and in Place de l'Horloge can be crowded, fairly expensive and somewhat 'samey'.

Which is why this unassuming little creperie just off Place du Palais was such a lovely find. As well as a whole range of savoury and sweet pancakes, it also serves a range of salads and the usual range of cafe style food such as croques messieurs/mesdames. The location is shady and the cafe is located just down the road from a nice series of gift/craft stores, which are tempting to peruse before or after your meal.

We didn't eat here, but we did stop for an icy-cold beverage and what appeared from the kitchen looked very good (it also got an excellent review on TripAdvisor) - in my case, I was ecstatic to find cider on the menu, which was as delicious and frosty as I could have hoped for!

There is a restaurant chain in France called Flunch where, for a really low price, you can have a good lunch/dinner.

The menu du jour (menu of the day), just 6,00 €! A main course plus drink and all the salad, rice, pasta, chips, etc. you want/can eat.

I'll give you the address and phone number of the one I visited; I really don't know if there are more in Avignon.

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In 1965 Hiely and Lucullus were separate establishments. Lucullus had two Michelin stars; Hiely had none, but was listed in the guide. A specialty at Lucullus was canard a la orange. It was the main course in what was then the finest meal I had ever had.

In the 1966 Guide Michelin the restaurants were already combined, located at 5, rue de la République (Lucullus's address), and without a star.

Today Hiely Lucullus is still at that address, but on the 1st floor (2nd, US-style) rather than the ground floor.

The decor is now far more posh. The food is still rich and delicate: my lamb was done to perfection.

One clear difference is price. A three-course meal for two, with an excellent chateauneuf du pape, cost 80 francs (about US$16) in 1965; in 2010 it cost over 120€ (about $144).