101 Best Restaurants in Provence, France

You could hardly beat the location of this (mostly outdoor) bistro in the shady, elegant courtyard of the Collection Lambert. Hearty lunches and dinners include a fish and meat choice with plenty of fresh local vegetables and salads on the side—perhaps, salmon gravlax with an Asian-inflected cabbage salad or roasted lamb with bright steamed veggies. Wines are mostly organic with plenty of choices by the glass, or spring for a fresh-pressed juice with a spritz of fresh ginger. Scrumptious desserts round out the meal or make a pleasant teatime break after exploring the collection.

Patrick Fischnaller returned to southern France from London and quickly won acclaim (and a Michelin star) with this dazzler just outside the town center. Start off by enjoying a glass of wine (from €8) while seated on the orange sofa in the Art Deco–style lounge before heading to a table for foie gras and smoked eel terrine, pigeon pie, or strawberry soup with basil and black olives from the €70 menu (or order à la carte). But be sure to try the sublime roast beef with cherry marmalade or the roasted cod with stuffed piquillo peppers. The philosophy that wine is as important as food is reflected in an extensive list. Did we mention that the Sorgue River runs underneath the terrace?

Who would have thought that you could find a 100% organic, raw, gluten-free, and vegan restaurant of this caliber in the heart of meat-centric Provence? It's foodie heaven to those with restricted diets, offering a tantalizing range of cold-pressed juices, salads, pastries, and smoothies so good that even carnivores will appreciate them. The rustic dining room is adorable, and there is a sunny terrace overlooking the village.

Most recently the chef at Alain Ducasse's Monaco palace, the thirtysomething chef at the helm of this cozy wine bar is passionate about tracking down the best local ingredients, whether it's the juicy tomatoes with your roasted octopus salad or the Camargue rice with your succulent lamb. And he's no less scrupulous about wines, with a penchant for small natural and biodynamic producers from every region of France. It's a good idea to order several of the delicious, well-priced small dishes to taste as many as possible, but the fixed-price menus assure a great price-to-quality ratio. Be sure to reserve ahead, as the restaurant has only 20 spots and is an absolute favorite with locals.

This is the kind of place that young cooks dream of working in to learn the ropes, and Féval, quite young himself, has trained many a Michelin-acclaimed chef. After earning his fame in Paris, Féval opened this casual-elegant dining room, tucked away on a typically picturesque Aix side street, with a menu of dishes so masterful and flavorful that the restaurant soon became a local benchmark. Olivia Féval charmingly presides over the dining room to ensure that every moment is impeccable.

You'll never feel more like a kid in a candy shop than when you feast your eyes on the scintillating pastries, candied fruits (a specialty of the Vaucluse since Roman times), chocolates, and other local sweets sold here. At the charming café next door you can enjoy your selection with tea or coffee; there's also a small menu of savory lunch dishes.

This luminous, casual dining room is an absolute must on any foodie circuit of Provence. Michelin-starred chef Mathieu Desmaret's thoughtful approach to seasonal Provençal products and wild ingredients and exquisite attention to unusual flavor pairings make for a revelatory experience far beyond the usual gourmet cuisine. Beautifully presented dishes both delight and surprise—such as a luscious emerald-green velouté of wild-dandelion paired with chèvre and flowers or perfectly roasted Ventoux black pork with tender asparagus and mussels. Lunch features three- or six-course menus; dinner sees six- or eight-course menus.

Tucked away on a pretty street in the center of Avignon, this cozy duplex restaurant with a Japanese vibe is the city's newest hot spot for delicious, locally sourced small plates that elevate the humble vegetable. Aurélie Tomassin's thoughtful cuisine follows the seasons in dishes like squash-blossom-and-cheese-stuffed fritters, anchovy toast with sweet onion and homemade aioli, tender shredded chicken sandwich with lemon and frisée, or spicy hummus with homemade pita.

Named for its illustrious chef and pastry chef, the restaurant of the L'Auberge de Saint-Remy hotel draws foodies from near and far. Inventive, earthy, and refined, Rey's cuisine doesn't so much redefine Provençal cooking as expand it. With a laser focus on local, sustainable ingredients, she eschews all animal fats, salt, and other staples of French gastronomy in favor of rich, slow-cooked fish and vegetable broths steeped with herbs and seaweeds, olive oil, peppers, and edible leaves and flowers to complement fish and meat. Rey first gained notoriety as second runner-up in France's Top Chef 2011 and then shattered the culinary glass ceiling in 2017 with her first Michelin star. Her dishes are small works of art that leave diners satisfied without a hint of heaviness, even after 10 courses. Wahid, Rey's husband and the winner of France's Pastry Chef of the Year 2005, creates the desserts—small wonders as beautiful and complex as they are delicious.

The stellar period interior of this renovated 12th-century mansion makes for an impressive backdrop to innovative and delicious cuisine. Try the pan-roasted veal medallion with dried porcini blinis and thinly sliced mushrooms with chervil, or splurge for the whole lobster sautéed in olive oil, muscat grapes, and beurre blanc with verjuice. The seasonal truffle menu may be too rich for some (€145), but a €45 lunch menu offers nice balance for budget-conscious travelers.

Don't be put off by the name—a blend of the initials of owners Sébastien Kieffer and Alban Barbette—because this restaurant has an enchanting shaded garden terrace and a seasonal menu by chef Damien Sanchez that will not disappoint. Crispy Provençal lamb with fresh vegetables makes for a great main dish, and for dessert there's poached apple on a crispy pastry with apple jelly, nougat, heavy cream, and gingerbread ice cream. Fixed-price menus run €95–€130, but the €50 weekday lunch menu is a great value—if you can get a table.

At this sleek little wine bar, an understated decor belies splendid cuisine that easily stands up to some of Aix's more pricy gastronomic tables, but with much less fuss. In keeping with the wine bar ethos, plates are small (all the better to pair with wines by the glass) but beautifully conceived and sometimes thrilling—think foie gras with apricot confit, sea bream and wild mushrooms, or zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and mint. Don't be shy to ask for advice on wine pairings; you'll be glad you did.

This ultrapopular eatery on the edge of Old Town consistently serves fresh, locally sourced cuisine with a price-to-quality ratio that keeps the locals coming back. Imaginative dishes like pot au feu de coquilles Saint-Jacques (stewed scallops and vegetables) and mussels in saffron broth are ample and served with flair. The set menus at lunchtime (€19, two courses with wine and coffee) and dinner (€30, €42 for four courses) are a bargain. Choose between a table on the umbrella-shaded terrace or one in the pleasantly unpretentious dining room.

Under the soaring beams of Le Telegraph, a cultural space in Toulon's old central post office, this trendy new restaurant delivers the food and the fun. After a frothy cocktail apéro, you can tuck into dishes like Toulon bay oysters with tomato cubes and crisp nori seaweed flecked with fennel flowers or a rich tartiflette made with reblochon cheese and pancetta. Vegetables also play an important role on the menu, and prices for the tantalizing selection of wines by the glass start at an amazing €5. 

Set in a quiet, leafy courtyard a few steps from the Collection Lambert, this is a good place to enjoy fresh, unfussy, reasonably priced dishes paired with local wines and served by a friendly staff. The pretty dining room's bucolic frescoes set the tone for a cuisine based on whatever's fresh, and you can eat outside in nice weather.

The more elegant sister to Mathieu Desmaret's locavore mecca, Pollen, this dining room set in a 14th-century cloister attracts a chic, upscale crowd that fits right in with the stunning decor. You'll find all the flair and precision that put this talented chef on the foodie map, but with an Asian touch in dishes like candied beets with miso yogurt and kumquat or roasted pollack with lemongrass, ginger, and lacquered leeks. For a more casual meal of appetizers and wine, with many options available by the glass, head to the wine bar and grab a seat inside or out on the beautiful cobbled terrace; there's also a cocktail bar with a menu of creative libations.

Dating back 100 years, this is among the Cours Mirabeau's oldest cafés. Its old-fashioned interior and terrace facing the pretty square give it a certain Provençal charm, and you'll find a menu of French brasserie classics along with the usual café fare.

Run by two sisters who are as committed to using local, sustainable ingredients as they are to coaxing all the goodness from the humble vegetable, this bright, popular lunchtime eatery is set amid boutiques on a pedestrian street minutes from the old port. Seated either in the chic dining room or on the sunny terrace, you can tuck into homemade veggie and goat cheese pizza drizzled with local olive oil or slow-cooked pork with nigella seed croquettes. Everything can be paired with a natural wine, craft beer, homemade kombucha, or fresh-pressed vegetable juice.

A well-known hole-in-the-wall, this small pizzeria is filled daily with politicos, professionals, and other loyal patrons, who provide a soundtrack of laughter and chatter in the rich Marseille patois. Brace yourself for an epic meal, starting with a large anchovy pizza from the wood-burning oven, and then, perhaps, digging into fried squid, eggplant gratin, or a slab of rare grilled beef.

Tucked into the tiny fishing port of Vallon des Auffes, this local landmark has one of the loveliest settings in greater Marseille. A variety of fresh seafood, impeccably grilled, steamed, or roasted in salt crust, is served in two pretty dining rooms with picture windows overlooking the fishing boats that supply your dinner. Try classic bouillabaisse served with all the bells and whistles—broth, hot-chili rouille, and flamboyant tableside filleting. For tapas or an apéro, head next door to Viaghji di Fonfon.

This beachside Michelin-starred brasserie near the Jardin du Pharo is considered the last word in bouillabaisse and draws a knowing local clientele willing to shell out a few extra euros (€80) for this authentic classic. Before dining, the fish are paraded by your table and then ceremoniously filleted before being served with the classic accompaniments of a spicy rouille and buttery croutons. Oysters, whole grilled fish (priced by the kilo), and an authentic garlic-steeped bourride (fish stew) are other fine choices—as are the great local wines.

We'd love to keep this friendly restaurant a secret, but the chefs craft dishes of such rare subtlety and sophistication (especially at this price range) and the wine list has such a dazzling array of affordable options by the bottle or the glass, that it seems wrong not to share among copains. Though à la carte is possible, opt for the excellent-value prix-fixe menus to try dishes like panfried octopus and soppressata ham, hay-smoked Aubrac steak with parsnip purée and anchovy condiment, or foie gras with trout caviar and passion fruit. For dessert, consider the caramelized puff pastry with fig compote and vanilla cream. Note, too, that the chefs here are happy to accommodate special requests, making this a great place for finicky eaters or those with allergies.

For fresh seafood dishes and delicious pizzas grilled on an open fire, head over to this marine-themed restaurant set on a vast terrace across from Marseille's new Les Grandes Halles du Vieux Port market. The menu features a variety of scintillating pizzas, as well as heaping plates of crustaceans on ice, mussels in a spicy saffron sauce served with hand-cut fries, and whole roasted fish.

Like many restaurants in Provence, this one has a pleasantly shaded terrace with a view, but it also offers truly warm and welcoming service and consistently good food. Alongside hearty dishes like cod with aïoli and grilled vegetables, Iberian pork with chestnuts and whipped potatoes, or classic roasted duck breast, the menu features plenty of fresh, inventive salads—not always easy to find—like wild salmon with shrimp, melon, and tomato confit. At €17, the two-course lunch is just the thing.

If you have a car and feel like a long, leisurely lunch or dinner in the countryside, this leafy spot 7 km (4 miles) from Aix is a good choice. On nice days, you can sip the local wines under tall plane trees and take in the bucolic views before enjoying fresh local specialties prepared with care and precision. On cooler days, having a meal in the pretty dining room or atrium is almost as pleasant as dining en plein air. Afterward, you're welcome to try your hand at pétanque court over a digestif. If the local wines have proven too tempting, you can stay at the on-site Gaogaïa Hotel.

To experience all of the city's culinary diversity under one covered-marketplace roof, head to the food stalls at the new Grandes Halles du Vieux Port, which is open 9 am to midnight. Here you can order the freshest catch of the day or vegetarian dishes, as well as gourmet sandwiches, classic pizzas, and authentic tapas to take away or to enjoy on the outdoor terrace. There's also a year-round farmers’ market, a central wine bar, local craft beer, and much more.

You couldn't have a more perfect setting for chef Marco Casolla's delicious pizzas and pasta dishes—inspired by his native Naples and the bounty of the sea—than the white sands of Toulon's Plage du Mourillon. At this beachside terrace restaurant, diners cool off with an apéro spritz in the shade of umbrellas at lunchtime or wrap up a day at the beach over a sunset dinner.

Franco-Vietnamese chef Céline Pham, a talented veteran of top restaurants in Paris, headlines at this chic bistro set in a 13th-century chapel. This is a food lover's destination, not only for the seasonal dishes with subtle and surprising combinations but also for the excellent-value menus (three courses at lunch, €41; dinner, €55 or €85 with wine pairings).

This bright, elegant-modern dining room, tucked away behind the church in the vieille ville, is a real find for a market-fresh gourmet meal you won't soon forget. Beautifully presented dishes include a parfait of local wild mushrooms and poached egg to start, followed by perfectly poached dorade with roasted citrus-infused fennel or succulent guinea hen with oregano polenta. A superb cheese plate and the best local wines complement an exceptional, well-priced menu, including a prix-fixe dinner for €49.

Locals come to this restaurant in a former fire-horse shed for Provençal hors d'oeuvres like fried eggplant, green tapenade, chickpeas in cumin, and a slab of ham carved off the bone, perhaps followed by roasted potatoes with lamb chops grilled in the great stone fireplace. Call at least a week in advance to reserve table in summer, when you can opt for just the first-course buffet—and go back for seconds or even thirds.